In the effort to win tenure for Washington University professor Dr. Leslie Brown, some unlikely alliances were forged. A diverse coalition of several hundred students petitioned the administration urging them to reconsider Brown’s tenure, arguing that the popular professor of African-American studies was a valued asset to the university — particularly a university with a miniscule number of tenured Black professors.
The Association of Black Students worked alongside the largely White student government association in calling for a review. Even the fraternities and sororities got involved. For days they held rallies, organized emergency meetings and letter-writing campaigns.
“This was really marvelous,” says Brown, who has taught at the institution since 2000 and held a joint-appointment in the history and African-American Studies program. “It was wonderful to see the students put into action the kind of activism that they had been reading about.”
But despite all of these efforts, including the unanimous endorsement from her colleagues in the history department, the university refused to reconsider Brown’s request for tenure. And Brown has decided not to appeal or reapply for tenure next year.
“My case will not look all that different next year,” says Brown, who served as a bridge between Washington University and the city’s largely African-American community, which often expressed suspicion and distrust at the university.
Brown and her supporters argue that the decision to deny her tenure reflects broadly on the university’s lack of commitment to diversity.
“In my mind, I think that the decision to deny Dr. Brown tenure is inconsistent with the college’s stance on diversity,” says Sheleema Taylor, who graduated from Washington University in May with a degree in history. Brown was her advisor.
