Theresa Ann Cameron (January 29, 1954, in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

– May 2012) was the first African-American woman to be awarded tenure in the College of Design at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

, in 2000.

Background

After spending her entire childhood in foster care, Cameron put herself through college, with a full scholarship to Boston College and then a transfer to the State University of New York, Buffalo. She eventually obtained her Doctorate in Design from

Harvard Graduate School of Design The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is the graduate school of design at Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It offers master's and doctoral programs in architecture, landscape architecture, urba ...

in 1991. Her difficult childhood experiences are chronicled in her book ''Foster Care Odyssey in America: A Black Girl's Story'' published in 2002, and detailed by Christel Hyden.

Controversy

On September 7, 2008, ASU President

Michael M. Crow Michael M. Crow (born October 11, 1955) is an American professor, science and technology policy scholar and expert in university design. He is the 16th and current president of Arizona State University, having succeeded Lattie F. Coor on July 1, ...

fired Cameron, an Associate Professor with tenure, for "plagiarism of syllabi" and two other charges. Cameron's firing is the only known case of a tenured faculty member being fired for using another instructor's syllabus without attribution, and the infraction is not regarded as very serious in the teaching professions, where plagiarism in actual research work is significantly frowned upon. The move to fire Cameron was strongly opposed by the University Faculty Senate (Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure), who were overruled by Crow. Cameron filed suit on August 13, 2006, in the U.S. District Court in Phoenix seeking an injunction and other relief against the Arizona Board of Regents and Arizona State University, alleging violations of federal civil rights and employment laws that make it unlawful to discriminate on the basis of disability (the Americans with Disabilities Act), gender or race. She alleged her support for a minority colleague, and a refused appeal to her Dean, Wellington Reiter, about her lower than average salary, were examples of workplace discrimination. Cameron sued ASU for discrimination, but lost the case against ASU on appeal in May, 2011.

Health and death

Cameron suffered from heart problems, including a heart attack in February 2007, and depression. She died in 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Theresa 1954 births 2012 deaths Arizona State University faculty Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni University at Buffalo alumni