Tenure Suit

WICHITA, Kansas--The director of the dance program at Wichita State University has field a $1.5 million lawsuit in federal court charging that she was denied due process by a university committee that recommended she not be awarded tenure.

Chifra Holt, who was hired by the university in 1979, also said she was discriminated against because she is Jewish and female.

The lawsuit charges that one member of the tenure committee, an instructor in the dance program, stated before the committee was appointed that she wanted Holt to leave the university. The Chronicle of Higher Education reported last week.

The suit asserts that the dean of the college of fine arts and the vice-president for academic affairs knew of this attitude before they appointed the woman to the committee, and that the appointment violated Holt's right to due process.

A university spokesman denied comment.