A diversity office leader at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville who also serves as president of the university's main Black alumni group has sued, claiming racial discrimination affected her pay.
Synetra Hughes, a UA employee since 2014, filed a lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Fayetteville, also claims she was retaliated against after filing a complaint in April with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
A university announcement last year described Hughes as managing director of the diversity office in the UA Sam M. Walton College of Business. The Walton College separately employs an assistant dean in its diversity office, according to its website.
Hughes is president of the Black Alumni Society -- a volunteer position -- but her lawsuit makes no mention of her role as an alumni leader.
Instead, the lawsuit claims unfair pay for Hughes as a UA diversity office employee.
Court documents do not state a salary for Hughes, and the university declined to answer questions about Hughes.
"The University is firmly committed to equitable employment practices. Beyond that, while we became aware of the filing today, it wouldn't be appropriate to discuss an ongoing legal matter," UA spokesman Mark Rushing said in an email Wednesday.
Budget documents published online by the state Division of Higher Education list a budgeted salary of $93,458 for Hughes in fiscal year 2023, the current fiscal year.
According to last year's UA announcement of her promotion, duties for Hughes include overseeing the "execution of recruitment strategies with the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Walton Undergraduate Programs and the Office of Student Success."
Her responsibilities also include advocating for student support across campus and within Walton College while also supervising support staff, according to the 2021 university announcement.
Last year's announcement also stated that Hughes won a staff leadership award in 2020 from the UA Chancellor's Commission on Women, and it noted that Hughes earned a bachelor's degree from UA, a Master of Business Administration degree from Webster University and a doctoral degree in workforce development from UA.
The lawsuit -- filed by Hughes without an attorney representing her -- alleges that a promotion in 2017 to an assistant director position increased her responsibilities "substantially," but UA "did not increase compensation because they was her role was deemed 'provisional' and there was 'no funding.'"
Her "state designated title remained Project/Program Director" after the promotion, and UA used "her state title to prohibit an increase in pay," the lawsuit alleges.
In August 2021, Hughes was told she was being promoted to managing director, the court document states.
The lawsuit claims Hughes had earlier "continually questioned departments on pay disparities," and after the 2021 promotion she "discussed the pay disparity again after the realization that she was not paid similar to others holding a working similar to her own."
A 2.5% "increase in payment" followed as she "was told that was 'all that they could do' even though the job required substantially more work."
Hughes then requested "state reported salaries from 2017 to 2022" under the state's Freedom of Information Act, and her lawsuit claims that the information "showed her non-black colleagues were promoted and hired at much higher compensation rates and amounts."
After filing a formal complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Hughes "has been subjected to retaliatory behavior by individual at UA including being excluded from the Remote Work Pilot Program that was given to many in the college except her office," the lawsuit alleges.
Hughes also states in the court document that she "was accused of violating multiple UA policies by the Interim Chancellor," an apparent reference to Charles Robinson, who has served as UA's interim chancellor since August of last year.
That lawsuit claims that UA's "acts in retaliating against Plaintiff because of her protected complaints include, but are not limited to, treating her worse and paying her less than employees who did not make protected complaints, passing her over for promotion, and changing the job position requirements on account of her protected activity."
Hughes in the lawsuit is seeking that she "be awarded all pay and benefits as a result of Defendant's actions" as well as "liquidated damages," among other demands. She is seeking jury trial.
Hughes said in a text message Wednesday that an attorney was "preparing a statement," but nothing was received by the Democrat-Gazette by deadline.
Brandy Cox Jackson, executive director of the Arkansas Alumni Association, in an email said the association "supports the work of the Black Alumni Society," which has its own board.
Jackson said the university's Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion works with the Black Alumni Society on the group's "day-to-day activities."
"I can tell you that Dr. Synetra Hughes is the president of the Black Alumni Society. This is a volunteer position, and the selection process is determined by the volunteer board with the president serving a two-year term," Jackson said.
Hughes began serving as president of the Black Alumni Society in 2021, according information on the group's Facebook page.