A former Iowa State professor in the College of Design, Carol Prusa, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court June 9 against university administrators for the loss of a tenure track.

She claimed the loss was caused by a comment in which she criticized ISU President Martin Jischke’s art taste.

Prusa applied for a vacant tenured position as a painting and drawing professor in the spring of 1997.

While a faculty member at ISU, Prusa was on a committee that selected art to be placed in front of the Student Health Center and was quoted in the Register and Tribune on May 28, 1997 making remarks about Jischke’s decision to cut an art project from the plans.

According to the Ames Tribune, Prusa said in her lawsuit that chairman of Art and Design Mary Stieglitz told her, “You really don’t want a job here, do you?”

The lawsuit states that Stieglitz placed Brenda Jones, associate professor of art and design, on the tenure committee so that Prusa would not be selected.

Prusa claims that Mark Engelbrecht, dean of Art and Design, promised her a tenure-track teaching position in 1996.

She also asserts she was the most qualified person for the position that Jones received.

According to the Tribune, Prusa’s lawsuit said that her job description was changed to make her seem less qualified for the position.

Pruse said that she believes she is being discriminated against because of her sex and because she spoke out against Jischke.

Besides Engelbrecht, Prusa is also suing Jischke, the College of Art and Design, Stieglitz and Jones.

Jones could not be reached for comment and Stieglitz was not available for comment.

John McCarroll, university relations, said the university has not received a copy of the lawsuit and declined comment.

Engelbrecht declined comment on the lawsuit because he had not seen it.

However, he said tenure is determined by the department and evaluation from students.

A professor can be given a tenure track that allows them seven years to try for tenure before they are terminated, he said.

Engelbrecht said five to seven faculty members sit on the committee to grant tenure.

The positions are advertised in several faculty magazines through- out the country.

“We run a national search for a [tenured] position,” he said.

“[The selection process] is designed to find the broadest range of talent available to the position,” he said.

He also said the Art and Design department works with the Affirmative Action Office to ensure the department invites all applicants.

Prusa was an adjunct professor at ISU until May 1998.