Beverly Buck Brennan, the daughter of the late St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck Brennan, was awarded $750,000 in compensatory damages in a lawsuit against her former employer, Harris-Stowe State University.
According to STL Today, on Mar. 22, a St. Louis jury sided with the former theater and speech instructor after she claimed she had to work in a “hostile environment” that included “racial and gender discrimination” during her tenure at the university before she retired in 2017.
The five-day trial was based on Brennan seeking compensation for three counts, including a hostile work environment against Harris-Stowe, a hostile work environment against Lateef Adelani, the College of Arts and Science dean, and retaliation against Adelani.
After over four hours of deliberation, jurors ruled in Brennan’s favor on the first count but sided with Adelani on the other two.
“I am happy with the verdict,” she said via STL Today.
Brennan, who is white, began working at the HBCU in 1993 as an instructor of theater classes and eventually became the director of the university’s speech and theater program. Her legal team argued that Brennan “loved” her job at the university, but things changed when a new administration took over in 2010.
The River Front Times reports that year, Adelani became the dean of the College of Arts and Science, along with Dwayne Smith, who became the provost for academic affairs. Under their direction, Brennan claimed that her teaching budget was cut, which reduced and disrupted her class load. She also stated that she felt instances of discrimination based on her race and gender.
The outlet shared opening statements from Brennan’s attorney, which included statements from her colleagues expressing their belief that school leadership encouraged them to “turn” against Brennan. The colleagues said leaders would ask, “Are you with them or with us?” The “them” in the question referred to white teachers.
Harris-Stowe’s legal representatives dismissed any instances of discrimination on the university’s behalf. STL Today reported their attorneys argued that Brennan was offered several promotions during her tenure and never vocalized issues with the counselor she was seeing. In closing arguments, Harris-Stowe’s attorney, Nick Lamb of Thompson Coburn, said, “This case is not about race or gender. Period.”
Brennan’s lawsuit is not Harris-Stowew’s first legal issue with former professors. More than a dozen people have served the university since 2012. AP News reported that in 2017, former professor Beverly Wilkins was awarded nearly $5 million, claiming she felt she was continuously passed over for promotions and fired because she was white.
Despite her less-than-favorable ending at Harris-Stowe, Brennan has decided to donate the entirety of her award to the Harris-Stowe Theater Department. Following the trial, Brennan’s attorney, Jeremy Hollingshead, shared what this decision meant to his “kind” and “selfless” client.
“In the hope that their behavior will change, Bev views this as more of a verdict for all of Harris-Stowe’s current employees than herself,” he said.
