University of Texas Professor Gets Trial in Pregnancy Bias Suit

The University of Texas at Austin must continue to defend against discrimination and retaliation claims brought by an assistant engineering professor who says she was denied tenure because of her pregnancies and gender, a federal judge ruled.

Evdokia Nikolova presented enough evidence to raise a factual dispute as to whether UT’s stated reasons for denying her tenure were a pretext for discrimination and that her gender and pregnancies were “motivating factors” in its decision, Judge Robert Pitman said.

Different members of the reviewing committee gave conflicting explanations for why Nikolova was denied tenure, the court said.

The former President of ...