COLUMBIA, Mo. — The University of Missouri System has paid a $1.57 million settlement to a white former employee who alleged she was removed from her job in favor of a younger, Black woman.
Rachel Brown was 60 when she was removed from her job as associate dean at the University of Missouri School of Medicine.
She alleged in a lawsuit filed in 2017 that she faced age- and race-related discrimination and retaliation.
Brown withdrew her claim of racial discrimination earlier this year, meaning the settlement was for age discrimination and retaliation, according to the Columbia Missourian, which obtained a copy of the settlement through a public records request.
Brown, who was associate dean for student programs, alleged she was removed from her post in 2016 by former Medical School Dean Patrice Delafontaine to "make a change in leadership" not related to her job performance.
Delafontaine left the university in 2019.
She alleged an associate dean considered her opposition to changes in diversity and inclusion programs as "obstruction."
Nearly half of the settlement will go to Brown's attorneys.
