Ahmed Mahmoud, a former University of Wisconsin assistant professor, may now proceed with a federal lawsuit that claims he was denied tenure at UW on the basis of discrimination, according to the Cap Times.
Mahmoud began as a tenure-track assistant professor in the Cell and Regenerative Biology department in 2017, according to the Western District of Wisconsin case information. His research focused on developmental, stem cell and regenerative biology, according to the case information.
Assistant professors are placed on a seven-year tenure plan and must obtain tenure by the end of their sixth year, unless an extension is granted on a case-by-case basis, according to the case information.
In 2023, as Mahmoud sought tenure, the department’s executive committee voted against requesting arms-length letters for Mahmoud, according to the case. That week, department chair professor Deneen Wellik emailed Mahmoud that there would be a procedural vote to non-renew his appointment with the university and that he could request a reconsideration.
The reasons for the non-renewal included claims that Mahmoud put low effort into teaching preparations, the pace of his productivity and expressed concern that Mahmoud was not readily available for those he mentored, according to the case.
Mahmoud requested reconsideration, and some executive committee members shared that they believed Wellik had withheld context regarding his accomplishments, while other members expressed new concerns that Mahmoud had made overstatements, according to the case.
Mahmoud appealed to the Committee on Faculty Rights and Responsibilities, which found that his non-renewal was partly due to arbitrary and irrelevant assumptions and procedural error, according to the case.
Due to his identities as Muslim, Arab and Egyptian, Mahmoud contends that he was denied tenure, according to the case. He has brought claims of unlawful discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act against the Board of Regents, according to the case.
In 2024, an ad hoc committee ruled in favor of recommending granting Mahmoud tenure, according to the case. Mahmoud was granted tenure in February 2025, according to the case. He resigned the next day.
“The university’s position is the department did not discriminate based on race or national origin and looks forward to providing those facts at trial starting March 30,” UW spokesperson John Lucas said in an email statement.
Mahmoud is seeking financial damages and also requests that the university conduct an independent investigation of his tenure process, according to the Cap Times.
A final pretrial conference in the case is scheduled for March 18, according to the Cap Times.
“We are pleased that the Court has allowed the case to proceed to trial, and we look forward to a fair and just resolution based on a full presentation of the facts,” Mahmoud said in an official statement with his attorneys.
