The Florida State Convention was honored to have two LAF plaintiffs attend. The first was Cynthia Fisher from Highland, New York. Cynthia, a biology professor at Vassar College, sued the college for sex discrimination in the denial of tenure in 1987. She alleged that the tenure denial was because she is an older, married woman who had taken an eight-year break from the laboratory to raise her children. She shared the statistics compiled by her husband showing the discrimination faced by married women at Vassar.

Although she won her jury trial, an appeals court overturned the decision, establishing a precedent that allows universities to consider the tenure candidate's absence from academe in their decisions. The U.S. Supreme Court has denied hearing her case, meaning the lower court's decision is left standing. This means colleges can consider a faculty member's time off for child rearing in making tenure decisions.

The second plaintiff was Betty Travis. Betty had been with us two years ago. She had been denied tenure by her university president in spite of the support of her peers and department. Although she also lost via the courts, she was granted tenure by the University of Texas System, and the president who denied the original request has been let go.

Both women shared the emotional and financial costs of bringing such suits. The main advantage of being accepted by LAF is the emotional support provided by AAUW members. Both Cynthia and Betty talked of going to various AAUW functions and how they always felt welcomed and valued.

Luncheon participants gave $1,500 to help LAF support these and other courageous women.

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