A federal judge awarded $422,327 to Haiying Huang, a professor in the mechanical and aerospace engineering department at the University of Texas at Arlington. A jury in Fort Worth found in August that UTA retaliated against her and did not act promptly to address sex-based harassment. Huang still works at UTA.
Jurors found UTA removed Huang from her associate chair position, which she held from 2022 to 2024, because she raised concerns about workload for women faculty members. They also found that then-department chair Erian Armanios harassed her because of her gender. Jurors did not find that her gender was a factor in her removal. UTA's current faculty directory lists Armanios as a professor emeritus.
U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman's Oct. 16 judgment includes nearly $200,000 in attorneys fees and costs. The total also includes the $75,000 jury award, back pay, future lost pay and prejudgment interest, and $140,000 in front pay covering five years of income from the associate chair role. Interest will continue to accrue on eligible amounts until they are paid.