The college announced last week that Old Science Hall, previously named after former professor Spencer Trotter, is now Edley-Morgan Hall. The name honors two of Swarthmore’s Black scholars, one of whom was denied tenure 50 years ago.
President Val Smith’s announcement highlighted the accomplishments of Kathryn L. Morgan and Christopher Edley Jr. ’73, H ’99. Morgan, who joined the college in 1970 and taught for 35 years, and was Swarthmore’s first African American faculty member.
Morgan was the second African American professor to receive tenure at the college after Professor of English Literature Charles “Chuck” James in 1973. But the decision came after extensive campus-wide protests and efforts rallying for the college to reverse their initial decision.
Morgan Joins Suit Against the College
Morgan was denied tenure in 1976. At that time, she had been a member of the faculty for six years, teaching courses in oral history and folklore in the history department.
Two years earlier, in May 1974, Morgan joined a lawsuit brought against the college by another faculty member, Dr. Barbara Z. Presseisen, alleging discrimination. The suit came two years after Presseisen, an assistant professor of education, first filed a charge alleging sex-based discrimination after her contract was not renewed.
In March 1976, the lawsuit was certified as a class action. A Phoenix article from the time announced the ruling: the case represented “an entire class of past, present, and future Swarthmore female faculty employees who may have been or may be discriminated against by sex.”
According to The Phoenix, her suit demanded more than $5 million in damages and claimed that Presseisen’s successor in the education department, Robert Pearson, “was less qualified and was paid a higher salary.”
Six months later, in October, Morgan was denied tenure.
“The place blew up! I mean, white students, black students — it all came out. I mean, this campus was in a riot!” she reflected in an interview with the Swarthmore College Bulletin published in 2000.
In a letter disclosed by The Phoenix, former Swarthmore College President Theodore Friend wrote that the tenure committee identified several reasons for not appointing Morgan. Foremost among them, he wrote, was that the college was unable to expand its offerings in folklore “and is uncertain about the further teaching of Afro-American history” beyond the courses Morgan taught.
Friend wrote that despite the denial, he hoped Morgan would accept a “regular part-time appointment … with full fringe benefits.”
An article published by the college says that at the time of the suit, the case was one of over 3,000 across the country involving institutions of higher education in which women and minorities sued their employers.
Students Rally
The decision to deny Morgan tenure sparked immediate rallying efforts across campus. Students established a Tenure for Kathryn Morgan Committee (TKMC), which recruited alumni, faculty, and parents. “Petitions have been circulated; and an all-college and several strategy meetings have been held,” a Phoenix article reported.
On April 4, 1976, the TKMC met with President Friend and Provost Harold Pagliaro to read their demands. But Friend stood by his decision, maintaining that it was not “imperfect.”
Friend met with the TKMC again the same week. A reported 30 students gathered in his office to dispute the decision.
“Security forgot to hang the ‘SRO’ (standing room only) sign outside the President’s office on Friday at 1:00, but it didn’t matter, there was no standing room available anyway,” a Phoenix reporter wrote. “Although there was extensive debate on Kathryn Morgan’s tenure decision, nothing positive came out of the meeting on the Presidents’ part.”
At the meeting, the students presented a postcard signed by Morgan that waived her right to confidentiality in the tenure decision. Students hoped that with her signature, Friend would disclose why she was denied.
“TKMC had surmised that this postcard would be the straw that would break the camel’s back. But it was chewed up like the rest,” The Phoenix reported.
Friend continued to assert that the decision had no “taint of racism or sexism.” As the meeting progressed, the TKMC began to read from Friend’s letter to Morgan denying her tenure. The letter was published in the Friday edition of The Phoenix, which Friend had not yet read. Caught by surprise and demanding to know how the letter was acquired, Friend ended the meeting in an “atmosphere of suspicion.”
Another protest erupted at a “commons” meeting the next week — The Phoenix reported that over 150 students attended to demand why Morgan was denied tenure. Friend reiterated that the tenure process was confidential. Opinions in The Phoenix that week expressed frustration with Friend and the administration, describing them as “Swarthmore’s own Non-Answer Man and his pals.”
In a letter titled “Morgan’s Manifesto,” Morgan wrote to The Phoenix, clarifying what she knew to be the reasons for her tenure denial: 1) the college was unable to expand its offering in folk studies; 2) there was uncertainty about her ability to teach advanced African American history; and 3) the college questioned the “intellectual significance” of her scholarship.
In the same edition, Friend also published a letter about the denial, which he argued was a “professional” decision. “Recruitment of black faculty has been generally vigorous, though not often marked by success,” Friend wrote.
Meanwhile, Morgan remained steadfast.
“I have taken a stand. I am ready, willing, and able to pursue the issue to its ultimate conclusion. I will not be turned around,” she concluded.
Students Write for Morgan
Many student groups advocated for Morgan’s tenure in the pages of The Phoenix.
In a March 23, 1976 Phoenix edition, the Swarthmore Afro-American Student Society (SASS) named Morgan’s “innovative” courses in African American history and folklore, arguing that her tenure denial would be a “tremendous loss.”
“It is our opinion that her courses contribute immensely to the quality of education at Swarthmore. Clearly, her presence enriches the college community,” SASS wrote.
“Swarthmore College, in denying tenure to a person of such ability, has seriously injured the quality of its academic program. Acquiescence to this decision will mean a tremendous loss, not only to black students, but to the entire college community, as well.”
The Steering Committee of the Alice Paul Women’s Center (now the Gender and Sexuality Center) urged the college to reconsider their decision, writing that the need for “affirmative action regarding the lack of women faculty is great.”
Two students wrote in Morgan’s support, writing that her courses provided a “vital perspective” and represented the college’s “unwillingness” to recognize the emerging discipline of folklore studies.
“Unless the decision to deny Kathryn Morgan tenure is reversed, Swarthmore College will soon find itself falling further from the mainstream of academic progress,” students Tracey Wren Setel and Suzy Seriff wrote.
According to their statement, Morgan’s Introductory Folklore/Folklife Studies Course was so popular that the enrollment was “standing room only.”
However, in the Bulletin interview, Morgan said that some professors at the college were “hostile” toward her subject areas, telling white students not to take her courses because they were not “historically valid.”
Morgan Testifies, with Tenure
In 1977, Morgan testified in front of the U.S. District Court for the eastern district of Pennsylvania. On Sept. 2, the court ruled in favor of the college.
In an interview with the Bulletin, Morgan said she received a tenure offer the day before she was set to speak in court, but she still took the stand.
She said her attorneys advised her not to “bring the racist thing in because we [the attorneys] don’t want to spoil our case.” At the witness stand, Morgan told the judge that she could not reduce her identity to her womanhood alone, “when I’m a black woman.”
An article from the college wrote that, despite the outcome, the witness testimony of the women professors and the college’s internal reports spotlighted inequities in the treatment of faculty. During the suit, President Friend established a part-time position for an equal opportunity officer and the college adopted a non-discrimination policy.
After the case ended and Morgan received tenure, she contemplated leaving the college, but ultimately decided to stay and taught at the college for over twenty more years. She died at age 91 in 2010.
“It was hard to stay, knowing I had not been wanted, but some people had wanted me to stay, and I felt I was needed,” she reflected in the Bulletin.
Current SASS President Alx Dow said the organization holds a teach-in at the beginning of every semester so new members can learn about the college’s Black history. Their teach-in on Kathryn Morgan will be held next Thursday Oct. 8.
