Local News in Brief : Judaism University Sued

A former teacher at the University of Judaism has sued the school for $5 million, alleging that she was denied tenure because she expressed her feminist views and refused to conform to the Los Angeles school’s “preconceptions of submissive women.”

Marcia Falk, an associate professor who taught Hebrew literature for four years, alleges in the Superior Court lawsuit that she was a victim of sexual bias and that men with similar credentials were granted tenure.

In addition to monetary damages, the lawsuit seeks a court order making Falk a tenured professor at the university, which has about 200 students.

“The conduct was motivated by hostility to Dr. Falk, including sexual bias against self-reliant women who refuse to conform to stereotypical preconceptions of submissive women,” the suit says.

Falk, the first woman to be considered for tenure in the school’s 41-year history, was denied promotion June 1, 1987, and dismissed last June 30 after receiving an unfavorable review.

In denying tenure, reviewers said Falk had spent too much time on writing and not enough time on research, that she wanted to teach literature and not grammar and that she had a reputation for being difficult.