The Trustees of Boston College and former Professor Hristina Nikolova agreed to settle Nikolova’s lawsuit that alleged gender and pregnancy discrimination during her tenure application process.
“The parties mutually agreed to settle the pending lawsuit, with no admission of wrongdoing by either party,” University Spokesman Jack Dunn said in a statement to The Heights.
The settlement was finalized on March 28.
Nikolova, a former assistant professor of marketing in the Carroll School of Management, filed a lawsuit against the trustees in Oct. 2023, alleging she faced gender discrimination during her tenure application while she was on maternity leave.
The lawsuit called on BC to pay more than $1.7 million in damages.
Nikolova sued the University on the counts of breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, retaliation, interference, sex and pregnancy discrimination, parental leave, and family and medical leave.
Nikolova was hired at BC in 2014 on the tenure track. Her lawsuit claimed she exceeded BC’s expectations for tenure through her publications and job performance, but the University denied that Nikolova did so in BC’s defense.
“BC denies that Nikolova exceeded BC’s requirements for tenure and denies that BC promised to promote Nikolova with tenure,” the defense reads.
The lawsuit alleged that Nikolova distinguished herself as a top marketing scholar before taking a one-year maternity leave following the birth of her first child in 2019. BC denied this in their defense.
“BC denies that Nikolova had distinguished herself as one of the top marketing scholars in her cohort, and BC denies that Nikolova had exceeded every performance standard BC had set for her,” the docket reads.
In 2021, Nikolova applied to become an associate professor with tenure. At the time, she was on maternity leave after the birth of her second child. According to the lawsuit, nine members of BC’s marketing department voted unanimously that BC should promote Nikolova. Ultimately, the Promotion and Tenure Committee (PTC) unanimously voted to deny tenure, according to BC.
Following her denial, in March 2022, Nikolova had met with the deans of CSOM, Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley, and University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J.
During this meeting, Leahy implied that Nikolova “was (or should be) more committed to being a wife and a mother than to her work,” the lawsuit claims. BC denies this allegation, saying that Nikolova had indicated a commitment to her family and the desire to remain at the University.
Following this meeting, Nikolova filed a complaint to the Faculty Review Panel (FRP) that alleged she faced discrimination during her application process. The FRP reviewed her claim and filed a report that claimed it had found several instances where the PTC had failed to review her application consistently, the lawsuit claimed.
“BC states that it denies the accuracy of some of the FRP’s findings,” the docket reads. “President Leahy declined to follow the recommendation of the FRP.”
In August 2022, Nikolova reapplied for tenure, and in February 2023, Leahy denied Nikolova’s application. Following this decision, Nikolova, pregnant with her third child, met with Leahy in March of 2023, according to the suit.
“At the beginning of this meeting, President Leahy pointed to her belly and said, ‘I see you’re taking good care of the family!’ or words close to that effect,” the lawsuit reads.
BC denied these allegations.
After her tenure was denied, Nikolova alleges she was forced to leave BC. The University denied these allegations, claiming that it had offered Nikolova an additional year of employment before requiring her to leave.
“When BC denied promotion with tenure, BC notified Nikolova that she would be required to leave BC following a terminal one-year contract,” the docket reads. “Answering further, BC offered Nikolova an additional year of employment with all the benefits of employment at BC.”
BC had denied that Nikolova was owed any of the $1.7 million the lawsuit called on BC to pay.
“BC denies that Nikolova is entitled to the relief she requests or any relief,” the docket reads.
Dunn did not respond to a question regarding the details of the settlement agreement. Charles A. Lamberton, of Lamberton Law Firm LLC and lead counsel for Nikolova, did not respond to requests for comment.
Nikolova is currently an associate professor of marketing with tenure at Northeastern University.
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