Roxas v. Presentation College, 95-2387

• Decision Date: 23 July 1996
• Docket Number: No. 95-2387,95-2387
• Citation: 90 F.3d 310
• Parties: 71 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 609, 69 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 44,282, 111 Ed. Law Rep. 107 Rodolfo ROXAS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. PRESENTATION COLLEGE, a South Dakota Corporation; Bernadetto Bodin, individually; Tim Bergstrom, individually; Joyce Englert, individually; Joseph Vogel, individually; Rodney Fouberg; Harold Higgins, individually; Cecilia Kitto, individually; Patricia Larson, individually; Craig McFarland, individually; Joan Reichelt, individually; Ancilla Russell, individually; Katherine Scholtz, individually; Susan King-Schutz, individually, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 310

90 F.3d 310

71 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 609,

69 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 44,282, 111 Ed. Law Rep. 107

Rodolfo ROXAS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. PRESENTATION COLLEGE, a South Dakota Corporation Bernadetto Bodin, individually; Tim Bergstrom individually; Joyce Englert, individually; Joseph Vogel individually; Rodney Fouberg; Harold Higgins individually; Cecilia Kitto, individually; Patricia Larson, individually; Craig McFarland, individually; Joan Reichelt, individually; Ancilla Russell, individually; Katherine Scholtz, individually; Susan King-Schutz, individually, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 95-2387.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted Feb. 15, 1996.

Decided July 23, 1996.

John E. Burke, argued, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for appellant.

Rory King, argued, Aberdeen, South Dakota, for appellees.

Before HANSEN, LAY, and JOHN R. GIBSON, Circuit Judges.

HANSEN, Circuit Judge.

Rodolfo Roxas brought this action against the defendants alleging discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, gender, and age, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981, Title VII (42 U.S.C. § 2000e), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) (29 U.S.C. §§ 621-634), in the denial of his application for sabbatical leave. The district court ¹ granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment because Roxas failed to produce any evidence to show that the defendants' proffered reasons for the denial were pretexts for unlawful discrimination. Roxas appeals and we affirm.

I.

Rodolfo Roxas, then a 54-year-old Asian Roman Catholic priest born in the Philippines, was employed at Presentation College (the College), located in Aberdeen, South Dakota. The College is a Roman Catholic institution sponsored by the Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary and governed by a Board of Trustees (the Board).

Father Roxas was hired by the College in 1977 and worked there 15 consecutive years until 1992, when he resigned. During his tenure at the College, Roxas performed several duties which were roughly apportioned as follows: 50 percent to teaching, 25 percent to counseling, and 25 percent to chaplaincy. During his employment at the College, the Board granted Roxas a one-year sabbatical leave during the 1984-85 academic year, during which he obtained a certificate by completing "A Catholic Chaplain Clinical Pastoral Internship" at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C.

On September 23, 1991, Dr. Edward Stibili, who was the Academic Dean of the College, circulated a memorandum to all faculty members, informing them that requests for sabbatical leave for the 1992-93 academic year were required to be submitted to him no later than November 4, 1991. The College's personnel manual provided certain guidelines concerning sabbatical applications, among them the proviso that a faculty member had to have worked for seven consecutive years to be eligible for sabbatical leave. The personnel manual also provided that a request for sabbatical should be accompanied by a short statement outlining the purpose of the sabbatical, the type of scholarly activity that would be undertaken, any sources of extra income during the sabbatical period, and any other information the applicant deemed pertinent. Finally, the personnel manual stated that the proposed sabbatical activity must meet "the needs of the College." (J.A. at 338.)

Roxas submitted what he termed a "Tentative Plan" for sabbatical leave on November 4, 1991. He set forth "three possibilities" of areas of interest to him: (1) a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, (2) a Master/Ph.D. in Theology, (3) a Sabbatical Certificate. (Id. at 340.) He did not indicate which program he preferred to pursue, stating that such a determination depended upon the "kind of support" he received from the College and that a more definite and detailed plan would be submitted at a later date if his sabbatical request was granted. (Id. at 342.) Significantly, Roxas's application was almost identical in terms of language and content to his application for a sabbatical which was approved for the 1984-85 academic year.

Two other faculty members, both female Caucasians, also submitted requests for sabbatical leave in November of 1991. Connie Marheine, a 37-year-old nursing instructor who had been employed by the College for approximately three years, requested a two-year sabbatical in order to obtain her Ph.D. in nursing from the University of Kentucky. Marheine requested that the College maintain her life and health insurance and pay her a monthly stipend of $200 during her sabbatical and that the College forgive the cost of the sabbatical at a rate of 20 percent per year for each year she taught at the College after returning from the sabbatical. The other sabbatical applicant was Sherry Tebben, a 45-year-old chemistry professor who had been employed at the College for 18 years. She requested a sabbatical leave at half of her salary in order to complete her doctoral program. ²

At the time these sabbatical requests were made, the College was undergoing a major change. The College, which had in the past offered only two-year degrees in nursing, was seeking to upgrade its nursing program to award a four-year bachelor's degree and to achieve accreditation from the National Association of Nurses and the State Board of Nursing. One of the major requirements for accreditation was that members of the nursing faculty obtain Ph.D.s in nursing.

The Faculty Development Committee of the College (the Committee) initially reviewed the three sabbatical applications, listing them in order of priority, and issuing recommendations. The Committee recommended approving the applications submitted by Marheine and Tebben and denying Roxas's request. The Committee based its decision with respect to Roxas's application on the facts that his application was unfocused and that it placed the burden on the College to determine in what program he should enroll. Further, the Committee determined that out of the three proposals Roxas submitted, the only one that would be of any benefit to the College was the Master/Ph.D. in Theology proposal. Accordingly, the Committee recommended that Roxas research and re-examine the academic areas he wished to pursue and submit a more detailed and focused plan the following academic year.

That same day, Dr. Stibili reviewed the three sabbatical applications and sent a memorandum of his observations to the President of the College, Sister Bernadette Bodin. Dr. Stibili noted that Roxas had received a previous unpaid sabbatical and received "satisfactory, if uneven teaching evaluations from his students and supervisors," and that Roxas was qualified to make the sabbatical request. (Id. at 346-47.)

The sabbatical requests were then reviewed by the Administrative Council, which consisted of the President, the Academic Dean, the Chief Financial Officer, the Director of Resource Development, the Mission Effectiveness Coordinator, the Director of Admissions, and one faculty representative. The Council recommended that Marheine's application be granted and that Roxas's and Tebben's applications be denied.

Sister Bodin then sent a letter to the Board of Trustees, summarizing the findings and recommendations of the Faculty Development Committee and Dean Stibili, and also containing her own views. Sister Bodin recommended denying Roxas's and Tebben's applications because they did not further the needs of the College, and approving Marheine's application because her proposal directly advanced a specific and immediate academic need of the College.

These recommendations and the three applications for sabbatical were considered by the Board in an executive session on January 12, 1992. The Board specifically observed that the Committee had reviewed the applications, listed them in order of priority, and provided recommendations on them. The Board, after specifically considering the needs of the College, approved Marheine's application for a sabbatical and denied Roxas's and Tebben's applications.

Upon being notified that the Board had denied his sabbatical request, Roxas applied for a faculty/chaplain position with Teikyo Marycrest University in Davenport, Iowa (where he is currently employed). He later filed a charge of discrimination against the defendants with the South Dakota Division of Human Rights, contending that the defendants discriminated against him on the basis of race, national origin, gender, and age when they denied his sabbatical application. The South Dakota agency forwarded Roxas's complaint to the EEOC because South Dakota does not have a statute covering age discrimination. On September 27, 1993, the EEOC determined that the evidence did not support Roxas's charge and informed him of his right to sue.

Roxas then commenced the instant action, making the same claims he raised with the EEOC and also alleging that he was constructively discharged. The defendants moved for summary judgment, contending that Roxas failed to generate a genuine material factual question on the issue of pretext. The district court granted the defendants' motion, and Roxas appeals.

II.

A.

We review the district court's grant of summary judgment de novo, applying the same standards which that court did. Garner v. Arvin Indus., Inc., 77 F.3d 255, 257 (8th Cir.1996). Summary judgment is appropriate when the record, viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, reveals that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). A party seeking to avoid having summary judgment entered against it must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine material issue that requires a trial. Marts v. Xerox, Inc., 77 F.3d 1109, 1112 (8th Cir.1996).

B.

Roxas alleges that the denial of his sabbatical application constitutes discrimination on the basis of age in violation of the ADEA, on the basis of race in...