What’s known, and unknown, about UM’s 2024 sex discrimination settlement

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Alani Bankhead chose the location of her first big announcement as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate with purpose.

She made that announcement while standing within 50 yards of Main Hall at the University of Montana in Missoula, where independent candidate Seth Bodnar had spent the previous eight years as UM’s president before resigning to pursue his own U.S. Senate campaign.

“As the leader of the University of Montana, Seth settled a lawsuit with 18 female plaintiffs for sexual discrimination to the tune of $350,000,” Bankhead said Monday, delivering a blistering broadside designed to compel the attention of Democratic women, the party’s biggest voting bloc.

Bankhead encouraged Bodnar, a Rhodes Scholar and West Point graduate, to “read the room and drop out” — exactly what Bodnar supporters hoped Bankhead would do to clear the path for the better-financed and better-organized independent.

The lawsuit Bankhead referenced was originally filed in 2021 and included 18 female University of Montana employees suing the University of Montana, the Montana University System, and John Does 1-50, alleging that UM had violated the anti-discrimination policies of Title IX, a federal statute enforceable by the U.S. Department of Education. UM is required to follow Title IX as a recipient of federal funding.

The lawsuit was settled in 2024, and the settlement was sealed by the court, making it impossible for the public to see the details that brought the lawsuit to an end.

In the original complaint, the plaintiffs suggested that the university’s focus on athletics as a source of revenue and alumni outreach had “fostered a good ol’ boys club culture, favoring male athletes and employees, while excluding women from participation in activities and benefits regularly afforded to their male counterparts.”

The earliest issues raised by the plaintiffs predated Bodnar’s 2018 arrival at UM by several years. Bodnar himself is not a party to the lawsuit. The plaintiffs did, however, cite instances involving Bodnar in which they thought the university was creating obstacles to their career advancement based on assessments of their age and attractiveness. They believed they were not receiving the same opportunities for advancement as younger, more athletically built women and men.

One of the women, Catherine Cole, former vice president of enrollment management and strategic communications, alleged that her $170,000 starting salary was less than that of her male counterparts. Cole received good performance reviews, but felt Bodnar set unreasonable expectations, and according to the lawsuit informed her that she was moody and asked her to smile. Cole indicated in the lawsuit that she felt compelled to resign in 2020.

Barbara Koostra, director of UM’s Montana Museum of Arts and Culture, butted heads with the administration over the handling of its $25 million art collection. Koostra said the collection needed more care than Bodnar was allowing, but her advice wasn’t taken. She alleged in the lawsuit that she had been assigned to an office space in McGill Hall that had asbestos issues.

In 2018, less than a year after Bodnar’s arrival, Koostra was informed that her contract wouldn’t be renewed. She was half a year short of qualifying for full retirement benefits.

Other plaintiffs described similar allegations.

In response to questions raised about the lawsuit during the Senate campaign, Bodnar has said that during his tenure the university went from one female dean to seven. Seventy-eight percent of campus employee promotions during Bodnar’s tenure were for women, according to Bodnar’s campaign.

The settlement’s payment breakdown was made public in a court order approving the amounts, which totaled $350,000. Attorneys’ fees totaling $116,666.67 and litigation costs totaling $199,934.55 accounted for most of the settlement’s cost. 

Payments to the plaintiffs totaled $33,398.78, or $1,855.49 each.