Critic of school’s treatment of student athletes

Jan Kemp, 59, the University of Georgia English professor who was fired after publicly criticizing the university for allowing athletes who failed remedial classes to continue playing sports and stay in school, died Thursday at a nursing home in Athens, Ga., of complications from Alzheimer’s disease.

Kemp sued in federal court after being fired by the university in 1982, contending that she was targeted because she protested the preferential treatment of athletes.

She was awarded $1.08 million and reinstated. She retired in 1990 on a disability after being hurt in a car crash.

Before the Kemp case, athletes with SAT scores reflecting little academic prowess were routinely admitted to Georgia.

Today, all NCAA schools must adhere to standards on test scores, grade-point averages and the type of courses taken in high schools.

Kemp’s son Will described his mother as a person who wanted to battle injustice.

“My mom didn’t do it for the attention,” he said. “It was in her nature. If she saw something unfair, she would always handle it.”