Former professor Sheila Addison sues John F. Kennedy U., claims she was fired for burlesque show performances
SF Appeal
March 14, 2011
An Oakland psychologist has accused Pleasant Hill-based John F. Kennedy University in a federal lawsuit of unfairly firing her from an assistant professor job because she participated in a burlesque show.
Sheila Addison sued the university, President Steven Stargardter and an affiliated company, National University Services LLC of San Diego, in federal court in San Francisco on Wednesday.
Addison, a clinical professor with a Ph.D., began working as an assistant professor in the university's graduate school of professional psychology in 2007.
The civil rights lawsuit says Stargardter told her in a June 21, 2010, letter that she was fired because of her performances in a San Francisco-based burlesque show entitled Hubba Hubba Revue.
The show offers political and social commentary on gender and sexuality and Addison's performances "were designed to challenge traditional views of the role of women," the lawsuit says.
Among other claims, Addison alleges the university discriminated against her in violation of federal and state law because it took no action against a male professor who appeared in a different off-campus show that included disrobing and partial nudity on stage.
"The male professor was held to a different standard because of his gender and was not disciplined for his performance," the lawsuit alleges.
