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Gina Marie November 14, 1997

TS Prof Says College Forcing Her Out

By Courtney Leatherman
Contributed by Gina Marie

A professor at Quinnipiac College (Hamden, CT) who is undergoing a sex change to become a woman says the college forced her to take a leave of absence and began proceedings to fire her after learning that she is a transsexual.

The professor, now known as Wynd D. Harris, taught at Quinnipiac, a small, private college, for five years as William D. Harris. But two days after Professor Harris informed the college of the planned sex change, Quinnipiac officials recommended that she take a paid leave of absence for the current semester. She has filed a union grievance against the college.

The professor was head of the department of marketing and international business as an untenured professor and was to have taught a course this semester. In August, she said, she told college officials that she wanted to be recognized as a female professor this academic year. In response, they asked that she provide medical documentation of her condition including a physical examination, she said.

Ms. Harris said she complied with other requests the college made, including that she not wear overtly feminine clothing on the campus, and that she give them a report from her psychologist and access to other medical records.

But she has refused to take the physical exam.

She and her lawyer believe that the college is discriminating against her. Furthermore, Ms. Harris said, "the act of requiring a physical exam, above and beyond the other documents I've been willing to provide, is sexual harassment."

The college's faculty union, the Quinnipiac Faculty Federation, filed a grievance on her behalf last month. Union officials met last week to discuss the case.

College officials maintain that Professor Harris told them in May about the name change and about plans to begin wearing a long hairpiece, both of which she said reflected her American Indian ancestry. But they say she didn't say anything about a sex change until August.

Professor Harris said that when she told the college of the name change, she explained that it was because of her ancestry and because of "deeply felt personal reasons," although she was not specific.

"Professor Harris presented himself two days before the start of classes and said he had a long-standing medical condition and requested special consideration for that condition," said Pat Smith, a spokesman for the college.

Mr. Smith said college officials wanted some medical verification of the claims. He denies that Professor Harris has provided the college with medical records.

By putting the professor on leave, Mr. Smith said, "Quinnipiac had been trying to act in the best interest of Professor Harris and the students in trying to resolve this." The college's policy against discrimination does not protect transsexuals, he said, but even so, "this is absolutely not a case of discrimination."

Last week, Mr. Smith also said of Professor Harris, "There is no indication that the college was thinking of letting him go."

But Professor Harris said that, in fact, the provost, John B. Bennett, sent her a letter on October 22 noting that the professor had refused to undergo a physical exam, by a doctor appointed by the college, "to substantiate representations you made to the college about being wrong sexed." The letter continues, "You have not been forthcoming in your dealings with the college and there has been a pattern of conduct on your part that the college considers unprofessional, inappropriate, and improper."

The provost wrote that the college had "lost confidence and trust in you as a member of the faculty." The letter said Professor Harris was being "suspended for cause and we are initiating termination procedures."

The professor's lawyer, Adam J. Shelton, said a physical exam was unnecessary. "Let them tell us why a physical examination is relevant to her competency as a professor."

He added: "We are more than happy to disclose her medical records and her counseling records. We even agreed to meet with a psychologist or psychiatrist of the college's choice, to show that she is mentally competent to teach. They want her to drop her pants. They want to see her genitalia."

Ms. Harris said that she had taken female hormones for four years, and that the sex change would be completed by the end of this year.

Her lawyer noted that his client's Connecticut driver's license identifies her as a woman.

"If the state recognizes you as a female," he asked, "who's the college to say that you're not?"

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