Carol Tracy, left, with colleague Sheila Jennifer, at Penn (Billy Penn, via Penn Women’s Center)
“If there is one lesson, it is the power of joining forces,” WLP Executive Director Carol Tracy said in a recent profile in 34th Street, a publication run by students at University of Pennsylvania, where Tracy teaches courses on gender and the law. “Collective work is really important.”
A new profile of Tracy brings together Tracy’s current role as a professor at University of Pennsylvania with her youth as a campus organizer and whistleblower.
From the piece, which you can read here:
After graduating from Penn, Tracy worked as the director of the Bicentennial Women’s Center. When the former director of Penn Women’s Center left, Tracy took on that role while simultaneously pursuing her J.D. degree at Temple Law School. During her time as director of PWC from 1977 to 1984, Tracy focused on addressing issues around affirmative action and sexual assault on campus.
One of the most influential cases she oversaw occurred in 1983, when a group of Alpha Tau Omega (ATO) brothers allegedly raped a female student at their fraternity house. The case received national attention but ultimately resulted in a six–month suspension for the frat. Meanwhile, the University offered the female student a monetary settlement to prevent her from suing over the administration’s actions. It’s unclear if she took the settlement. Several hundred students protested against Penn’s handling of the case and violence against women on campus at large.
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