Thirty-nine years ago, Rita Sanders Geier sued the state of Tennessee to desegregate its higher education. Tuesday, it was announced she will join the University of Tennessee to spearhead its diversity efforts.Geir has been named an associate to Chancellor Loren Crabtree, where she will lead intercultural efforts and the university's Ready for the World initiative. Geier will also serve as senior fellow at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, where she will focus on civil rights issues and healthcare disparities."I have accepted the invitation to come to UT because this is an institution that is forward-thinking," Geier said. "International and intercultural awareness are institutional imperatives, not options. I'm excited to be part of that level of commitment."In 1968, Geier was a 23-year-old faculty member at historically black Tennessee State University. As UT announced plans to expand in Nashville, Geier feared TSU would be neglected as predominantly-white UT-Nashville became a well-funded institution.Geier's suit resulted in the 2001 Geier Consent Decree, which provided $77 million in state funds over six years to diversify student populations and faculty of all state higher education institutions.
Rita Geier to lead UT intercultural initiatives
A woman who 39 years ago sued the state to desegregate its higher education system will now lead diversity efforts at the University of Tennessee Knoxville.
