Former Dean Sues Sul Ross State University for Sex and Race Discrimination

ALPINE, TX — Dr. Barbara Tucker, the longtime Dean of the College of Education and Professional Studies at Sul Ross State University, has filed a federal lawsuit against the university alleging sex and race discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The 13-page complaint, filed Monday, December 2, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Pecos Division, claims Tucker was systematically underpaid compared to newly hired male deans who took over portions of her previous responsibilities, abruptly removed from her deanship without cause despite an exemplary record, and then returned to faculty at a drastically reduced salary — while a less-experienced male colleague earned significantly more.

Tucker, who had served as dean since July 2019 and oversaw the university’s largest college (enrolling half or more of Sul Ross’s total students), states she consistently received the highest possible performance evaluations (“distinguished” as dean, “meritorious” as faculty) and never faced any disciplinary action in over 15 years at the institution.

According to the lawsuit, in early 2024 all four academic deans at Sul Ross were women and were the lowest-paid deans among Texas public universities. The deans, with support from then-Provost Bernardo Cantens, requested a three-year plan to raise their salaries to $145,000 — still below many peers but aligned with the lowest-paid deans at Angelo State University ($144,999.96). The university denied the plan. Tucker’s salary was increased only to $126,467 for 2024–2025.

In the months that followed, Sul Ross created three new dean positions — all filled by men and paid significantly more:

Dr. Sumantra Sengupta (South Asian male) – Dean of the newly created Rio Grande College of Business – $150,000  
Dr. Dean Culpepper (male) – Dean of the new College of Health Sciences – $135,000  
Dr. Kevin Badgett (male) – hired in 2025 as Dean of Education – $135,000  

The complaint states that Tucker had previously overseen all three of those areas (Business, Kinesiology/Health Sciences, and Education) plus Criminal Justice, Homeland Security Studies, and the Law Enforcement Academy — essentially doing “the work of three men, each of whom are more highly compensated than she had been when covering all their duties.”

On December 2, 2024, during a routine weekly meeting, Provost Cantens informed Tucker she was being immediately removed as dean and returned to faculty, offering no reason beyond “the university is going in a different direction.” She was partway through a 12-month contract that ran through August 31, 2025, but alleges she was not paid for June–August 2025 and was ultimately placed on a nine-month faculty contract at $80,000 — far below a less-experienced male colleague in her department who earned $113,000.

The lawsuit also references an incident at an August 2024 deans’ retreat at Cibolo Creek Ranch in Marfa, where University President Dr. Carlos Hernandez, while smoking cigars with the provost, saw Tucker and three other women (deans and a staff member) walking to swim and called out, “Will there be any skinny dipping?”

Tucker further alleges race discrimination in the hiring and $150,000 salary given to Dr. Sengupta, a South Asian male, just months after the university refused to grant female deans even a phased raise to $145,000.

Sul Ross State University has not yet filed a response as of Dec. 5, which is common as notifications of lawsuits can take weeks.

The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge David Counts. Tucker is seeking back pay, compensatory damages, attorney’s fees, and other relief. A jury trial has been demanded.