A&M faces accusations of sex discrimination, retaliation at Qatar campus

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – Dr. Sheela Athreya, a professor in the Department of Anthropology at Texas A&M’s College of Arts and Sciences, has taken legal action against Texas A&M University, alleging sex discrimination and retaliation at the university’s Qatar campus.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on July 6, 2023, highlights a series of alleged incidents involving the campus’s treatment of women faculty.

According to the complaint filed in the Southern District of Texas – Houston Division, Dr. Athreya, was actively recruited by the Liberal Arts Program Chair at the Qatar campus. The Program Chair wanted her to teach a core curriculum course there, a required course for graduation, and wanted the campus to have more women faculty. At the time her contract began, Dr. Athreya alleges she was “the only woman serving at TAMUQ from the main campus, the only woman with tenure, only one of two women in research-engaged positions promoted past assistant professor and one of only four women in a research engaged position at any rank.

Her attorneys at Wiley Walsh, Wiley Wheeler, and Rob Wiley, P.C. says eight days after Dr. Athreya arrived in Doha with her family, the Dean told the Liberal Arts Program Chair that her contract would not be renewed though he had never met Dr. Athreya.

“The reasons for the non-renewal, based on the pleadings, were so unsatisfactory that the Program Chair filed a complaint of sex discrimination against the Dean,” said attorneys in a news release shared on Monday.

This is not the first time there have been complaints of sexism at the TAMUQ campus and against its Dean per the filing. Based on one witness statement quoted in the complaint, the Dean “makes women feel uncomfortable and unsupported. Eleven or twelve female faculty have left since his arrival and five or six specifically due to Dean Malavé’s treatment.”

Dr. Athreya states that she is filing this lawsuit “to hold accountable the individuals who create a hostile climate for women, as well as those who shield them; because accountability is essential for change.”

Texas A&M University did not respond to a request for comment on this story.

Dr. Athreya’s lawsuit was filed the week prior to Dr. Kathleen McElroy’s employment fallout inside the journalism program at Texas A&M University’s flagship campus in College Station.

On Sunday, the Board of Regents authorized negotiations for a potential settlement of claims by McElroy, and directed a quick and thorough investigation, with the intention of releasing the findings to the public.

Below: View Dr. Athreya’s lawsuit

Professor sues Texas A&M University Alleging Sex Discrimination and Retaliation at the Qatar Campus by KBTX on Scribd