Better Late Than Never, I Guess.

In November 2002, a story was published in the Chronicle (sorry, the link is for subscribers only) about a possible discrimination case at Virginia Tech:

Three faculty members holding hand-lettered signs stood in the back of the room. "Appoint Shelli Fowler," read one. "Honor Fowler's Contract," said another. The third message echoed the question that's been whispered in hallways at Virginia Tech for the past five months: "What If It Is Discrimination?"

The signs, displayed last week during a meeting of the university's Board of Visitors, refer to the board's last-minute decision to revoke a job offer made to Shelli Fowler, an associate professor of English and comparative American cultures at Washington State University. The offer had been approved in April by faculty members and administrators as part of a package to recruit her partner, Karen DePauw, as graduate dean. The board revoked Ms. Fowler's offer in June. The reversal, which appears to be unprecedented in Virginia Tech's history, came after Ms. Fowler had signed an employment contract with the university and less than a month before she and Ms. DePauw were to move to Blacksburg from Pullman, Wash.

I talked to a cohort of mine at Virginia Tech on IM just now, and he said that they have hired Fowler, I forgot when exactly. I'm glad to hear that, but sorry that Fowler and DePauw had to go through a tough time.