Appeals court: It doesn't matter if Bruce Speck called black professor "uppity"

Though he was no longer a defendant in the lawsuit by the time the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals made its decision in a racial discrimination case against Austin Peay University, the accusation that Speck made a racist comment to an African American professor was included in the decision.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Austin Peay in a decision handed down April 14, saying no proof was provided that the administration discriminated against African Americans when making seemingly arbitrary decisions to eliminate programs. Speck, now president of Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, was vice president of academic affairs at Austin Peay at the time the actions were taken. The programs were eliminated during drastic budget cuts at the Tennessee university, a situation also faced at MSSU.

The opinion referred to a comment Speck allegedly made to one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Jacquelyn Wade:

"With respect to these claims, the district court correctly concluded that Wade did not
establish a prima facie case of discrimination because the incidents alleged were not severe or pervasive. Specifically, the district court properly disregarded Wade’s assertion that Dr. Speck once remarked on Wade’s “uppityness.” As pointed out by the district court, “the remark . . . is isolated in this voluminous factual record. Dr. Wade has not pointed . . . to any other similar comment made to her by an APSU administrator or employee at any time.” The offhand comment did not amount to discriminatory changes in the terms and conditions of Wade’s employment."

The lawsuit also provided what might be an indication of how Speck handles people who challenge him, something which could be repeated in the near future with the forming of a union among faculty at Missouri Southern. From the Dec. 28 Turner Report:

The lawsuit said that Speck, who served as vice president of academic affairs at the university, insulted two of the plaintiffs, Jacqueline Wade, director of the university's African American Cultural Center (AACC) and Nancy Dawson by saying
"he 'was tired of your arm-twisting and resistance to my decisions.'
He also made clear that he would not tolerate Dr. Wade’s and Dr. Dawson’s 'pushiness' and 'uppityness.' Dr. Wade was offended by the latter comment as 'covert racial denigration.' "

At the time, Dr. Wade was fighting the administration over cuts to her staff's budget. The lawsuit says, "Dr. Wade 'limped along' without adequate staff and funds. She felt that none of the co-curricular programs directed by Caucasian directors suffered the same budget and staff cuts."

In the lawsuit, Dr. Wade says she was racially harassed by Dr. Speck on another occasion as she battled for her job, harassment which led her to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.