Lincoln v. Board of Regents of University System of Georgia

• Decision Date: 10 February 1983
• Docket Number: No. 81-7297,81-7297
• Citation: 697 F.2d 928
• Parties: 31 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 22, 31 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 33,360, 8 Ed. Law Rep. 934 H. Anita LINCOLN, Plaintiff-Appellee, Cross-Appellant, v. BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF GEORGIA, and Clyde W. Hall and Evanel R. Terrell, Defendants-Appellants, Cross-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

Page 928

697 F.2d 928

31 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 22, 31 Empl. Prac.

Dec. P 33,360,

8 Ed. Law Rep. 934

H. Anita LINCOLN, Plaintiff-Appellee, Cross-Appellant, v. BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF GEORGIA, and Clyde W. Hall and Evanel R. Terrell Defendants-Appellants, Cross-Appellees.

No. 81-7297.

United States Court of Appeals Eleventh Circuit.

Feb. 10, 1983.

Arthur K. Bolton, Atty. Gen. of Ga., Alfred L. Evans, Jr., Sr. Asst. Atty. Gen., Atlanta, Ga., for defendants-appellants, cross-appellees.

John J. Sullivan, Gilbert L. Stacy, Savannah, Ga., for plaintiff-appellee, cross-appellant.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia.

Before RONEY and HATCHETT, Circuit Judges, and WISDOM ^*, Senior Circuit Judge.

WISDOM, Senior Circuit Judge:

The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia appeals from a judgment for Dr. Anita Lincoln on her employment discrimination claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e et seq. From 1974 through 1978, Dr. Lincoln was employed under four separate one-year contracts as a nontenured professor of home economics at Savannah State College, a state school subject to the oversight of the Board of Regents. When her contract was not renewed in 1978, she brought this action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, alleging that the decision not to offer her a fifth contract was racially motivated. Dr. Lincoln is white, and Savannah State is an integrated, but historically and predominantly black, institution.

Dr. Lincoln's complaint sought reinstatement and back pay under Title VII and compensatory and punitive damages under the Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1981. It named as defendants the Board of Regents and two members of the Savannah State faculty, Mrs. Evanel Terrell and Dr. Clyde W. Hall. ¹ Mrs. Terrell was head of the home economics department during Dr. Lincoln's first two years at Savannah State. Dr. Hall was head of the technical sciences division, which includes the home economics department, during most of Dr. Lincoln's term of employment and was acting president of the college in 1978, when Dr. Lincoln was not offered a new contract. Both Mrs. Terrell and Dr. Hall are black.

Before the case went to trial, the district court dismissed the Sec. 1981 claim against the Board of Regents, on the ground of sovereign immunity. It also dismissed the Title VII claim against the individual defendants, on the ground that they were not "employers" within the meaning of the statute. The court empaneled a jury to decide the Sec. 1981 claim against Mrs. Terrell and Dr. Hall and instructed it to return an advisory verdict on the Title VII claim against the Board. ² The jury returned a verdict for the individual defendants, and the district court entered judgment accordingly. In its advisory verdict, however, the jury recommended judgment for the plaintiff against the Board. The district court entered its own findings of fact and conclusions of law, granting judgment in accord with the advisory verdict. The court awarded Dr. Lincoln back pay and attorney fees and ordered the Board of Regents to purge its records of all references to the events leading to Dr. Lincoln's departure. ³

The Board brought this appeal, contending that the district court's judgment against it violated the seventh amendment, because it was premised on the theory of respondeat superior and was therefore inconsistent with the facts as found by the jury in exonerating the individual defendants, the Board's agents. The Board also contends that the district court's findings were clearly erroneous. Dr. Lincoln filed a cross-appeal, urging that the jury's verdict on the Sec. 1981 claim was inconsistent with its advisory verdict on the Title VII claim and must be set aside. We reject all the arguments of the appellant and the cross-appellant and affirm the judgment of the district court.

I. Factual Background

Our review of the district court's decision in this case is best understood against a background that goes back to the beginning of Dr. Lincoln's career at Savannah State. Her career was marked throughout by personal friction, particularly with Mrs. Terrell, and by complaints of students and some other faculty members. Neither the friction nor the complaints can be attributed entirely to Dr. Lincoln's professional deficiencies or to racial bias. Her history at Savannah State seems to establish only that elements of both were present.

When Dr. Lincoln arrived at Savannah State College under a one-year contract in the fall of 1974, she was in her middle fifties and had an extensive background in home economics, specifically dietetics. She had several degrees, including a Ph.D., and considerable experience in governmental and administrative work germane to her area of expertise. Her familiarity with certain practical and elementary aspects of her subject, however, particularly those associated with introductory courses and laboratory instruction, was limited. At the time of her arrival, her supervisors were Mrs. Terrell and Dr. Hall. Dr. Hall had been head of the division of technical sciences since 1961. He served in that position until 1976 and again from 1977 until March 1978. He was acting president of Savannah State from that time until 1980. Mrs. Terrell had been head of the home economics department since 1947. Both Mrs. Terrell and Dr. Hall recommended Dr. Lincoln's appointment in 1974 and knew at the time that she was white.

It was not long before Dr. Lincoln encountered problems with both students and faculty. Friction developed between her and Mrs. Terrell in particular. Mrs. Terrell, and Dr. Hall as well, viewed themselves as supervisors, while Dr. Lincoln was accustomed to considerable professional independence. Mrs. Terrell found Dr. Lincoln insubordinate in several instances, particularly when she moved a class without consulting Mrs. Terrell and when she failed to file a required inventory. As our discussion in Part III will elaborate, there was evidence, and the district court found, that Mrs. Terrell's reactions to any insubordination on Dr. Lincoln's part were exacerbated by racial bias.

Mrs. Terrell soon began complaining to Dr. Hall about Dr. Lincoln. Dr. Hall was not convinced that Dr. Lincoln was incapable, however, and he offered her a second contract for the 1975-76 term. The problems between Dr. Lincoln and Mrs. Terrell continued, and in October 1975, Mrs. Terrell wrote to Dr. Hall concerning alleged inadequacies in Dr. Lincoln's performance. Dr. Hall held a conference with Dr. Lincoln and Mrs. Terrell, and Dr. Lincoln said that she had neither interest nor ability in teaching laboratory work but that she would try to improve.

Mrs. Terrell wrote to Dr. Hall again in January 1976, recommending that Dr. Lincoln not be offered a new contract. She wrote a third letter in May of that year, recommending dismissal, and at this time, students as well had begun to complain of Dr. Lincoln's inadequacies. Dr. Hall nevertheless remained cautious, hoping the situation would improve. He offered Dr. Lincoln a contract for the 1976-77 term but wrote her that the department had been "badly disappointed" with her performance and that he expected a "tremendous improvement" as a condition to reappointment.

A second conference took place during the summer, at which Dr. Lincoln again promised to improve. In the fall of 1976, student complaints continued, and Dr. Hall visited several of Dr. Lincoln's classes to investigate her performance. As he testified at trial, he observed several serious deficiencies but took no immediate action.

In February 1977, several students in the home economics department signed a petition calling for Dr. Lincoln's removal. The petition bore 37 signatures and asserted numerous serious inadequacies on Dr. Lincoln's part. The allegations centered on delinquency in teaching methods, ⁴ a smell of alcohol on Dr. Lincoln's person, and absenteeism and lateness. One allegation also concerned Dr. Lincoln's insubordination toward Mrs. Terrell. ⁵ The district court, relying on evidence we will discuss in Part III, found that the "direct and clear appeal of the petition is racial" and that Mrs. Terrell, who had retired the previous summer, and perhaps other faculty members as well, had played some role in originating it. Dr. Hall later discovered that the petition had been typed in his office on college stationery.

Apparently prompted by the petition, Dr. Hall suspended Dr. Lincoln from teaching duties on February 18, 1977. He stated, however, that he was still trying to keep the situation under control. On February 24, he held a meeting with Dr. Lincoln, Dr. Teresa Anthony, a white faculty member who was acting as department head following Mrs. Terrell's retirement, and Dr. Thomas Byers, Dean of the College and Dr. Hall's immediate supervisor. Only specific charges concerning Dr. Lincoln's performance as a teacher were discussed, as Dr. Hall considered racial charges an inappropriate basis for action. Dean Byers also held a meeting with Dr. Lincoln and students, in an ineffective effort to "restore confidence".

On March 10, 1977, Dr. Anthony wrote to Dr. Hall, recommending "immediate termination" of Dr. Lincoln, based on "incompetency and lack of accountability". Dr. Hall still felt that the situation could be improved without such drastic action. He asked Dr. Anthony to withdraw her suggestion, but she refused. Her letter then became the basis for formal action.

After attempts at mediation failed, a faculty committee was appointed to review student charges. The committee consisted of Ms. Diana Wagner, a black assistant professor of home economics, and two faculty members from unrelated disciplines, Dr. Luetta Millege and Mrs. Gaye Hewitt. The committee heard testimony from Dr. Anthony and nine students and, in a letter to the president of the...