A lawsuit filed in Chelan County Superior Court is raising new questions about how Wenatchee Valley College handled the tenure and employment of former economics professor Waleed Muhammad.
According to Muhammad’s complaint, he first worked at WVC as a temporary full-time economics professor in 2022 and later became a tenure-track professor. He alleges that he complained to College management about racially charged conduct and later filed an internal race-discrimination and retaliation complaint involving WVC employees.
A Positive Tenure Recommendation — Then a Reversal
The lawsuit alleges that the members of Muhammad’s tenure committee unanimously made positive statements about his work at the College and recommended that he return for another year on tenure track.
Despite that recommendation, Muhammad alleges that Vice President Tod Treat wrote to the WVC Board of Trustees in March 2024 recommending that the Board deny Muhammad tenure and continued employment.
According to the complaint, Treat’s letter discussed Muhammad’s discrimination complaints and other protected activity. The lawsuit says Treat’s stated reasons for recommending denial included concerns such as collegiality and responsiveness to “constructive feedback.”
On March 20, 2024, the WVC Board of Trustees denied renewal of Muhammad’s contract and tenure, ending his employment.
Muhammad Alleges Retaliation
Muhammad alleges that WVC violated Washington’s Law Against Discrimination by retaliating against him for conduct he believed was protected under the law, including reporting discrimination. He seeks damages, attorney fees, interest and other relief allowed by law.
WVC, represented by the Washington Attorney General’s Office, denies the substantive discrimination and retaliation allegation and has asked that the lawsuit be dismissed. The allegations remain disputed and have not been proven in court.
If Muhammad’s tenure committee unanimously recommended that he continue, what happened between that recommendation and the Board’s decision to end his employment?
The Tod Treat Letter
One document could provide important context: the March 2024 letter Muhammad says Treat sent to the Board recommending that his continued employment be denied.
Public-records requests have now been submitted seeking that letter and related communications between Treat, the WVC Board of Trustees and President Faimous Harrison concerning Muhammad. The records could help show what information was before College leadership and the Board as the tenure decision was being made.
A Previous WVC Retaliation Case Ended in a $1 Million Settlement
The Muhammad lawsuit is separate from an earlier case involving Bobbi Johnson, an adjunct biology and natural resources professor at WVC, but the earlier case provides relevant institutional context.
Johnson sued the College alleging gender-based harassment and retaliation after she filed a Title IX complaint. Local reporting said Johnson alleged that male colleagues attempted to block her appointment to a tenure-track teaching position following her complaint and that she later relinquished the tenure-track appointment after going on physician-certified medical leave because of what she described as a hostile work environment.
Reporting on that case also stated that a third-party investigator later substantiated claims of a culture of discrimination by male faculty against female faculty within WVC’s science department.
WVC ultimately reached settlement terms awarding Johnson $1 million, with Johnson not returning as a professor. The settlement does not establish the truth of the allegations in Muhammad’s case, and the two lawsuits involve different people, facts and legal issues. But both cases place attention on how the College has handled employee discrimination complaints and allegations of retaliation.
What Comes Next
The Muhammad case remains pending. The College has denied liability, and the court has not determined whether retaliation occurred.
This site will continue following the case and will publish significant public records as they become available so readers can examine the underlying documents and reach their own conclusions.