A former Sacramento State diversity administrator has filed a civil lawsuit against University President Luke Wood and the California State University Board of Trustees, alleging workplace discrimination.<\/p>\n
Dr. Mia Settles-Tidwell, who served as Sac State\u2019s vice president for Inclusive Excellence and diversity officer for more than two years, filed a civil lawsuit in May 2025 in Los Angeles Superior Court alleging discrimination and harassment based on age, gender and race, retaliation and wrongful termination.<\/p>\n
Settles-Tidwell, who is Black, pointed to more than a dozen alleged instances of discriminatory incidents following Wood taking the helm as Sac State\u2019s president in July 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 56-year-old\u2019s complaint states that these incidents, and other issues, left Settles-Tidwell \u201cincapacitated to perform her duties\u201d and with \u201cno other choice but to resign from the job and community that she loved at California State University, Sacramento.\u201d<\/p>\n
CapRadio reached out to Settles-Tidwell\u2019s attorney Mainak D\u2019Attaray, Sac State and the CSU system for comment regarding Settles-Tidwell\u2019s lawsuit. A CSU spokesperson directed questions back to the campus.<\/p>\n
In a statement,\u00a0a Sac State spokesperson told CapRadio Settles-Tidwell’s lawsuit was not served to the CSU for 10 months after it was filed. “CSU believes the claims asserted by Plaintiff Settles-Tidwell are entirely baseless and devoid of merit, and CSU is prepared to vigorously defend against these claims,” it said.<\/p>\n
Wood and the CSU system also filed a motion May 22 to transfer venues from Los Angeles to Sacramento County Superior Court.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Defense attorneys wrote that Sacramento would be the proper court to hear the case, and that it also was more convenient for \u201cwitnesses and ends of justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
A hearing for the venue transfer motion is scheduled for Sept. 8 in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
The allegations<\/p>\n
Settles-Tidwell\u2019s lawsuit says she was the \u201conly dark-skinned, Black woman at the vice president level\u201d when she was hired in 2021 by then-President Robert Nelsen, and that \u201cit was her plan to retire from Sacramento State.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her responsibilities included implementing Sac State\u2019s Antiracism and Inclusive Campus Plan, office staffing, budget, policy and programs, among other tasks. The complaint states she received two performance evaluations from Nelsen for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 academic years, both classified as \u201cMeets Expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nelsen retired in July 2023, the same month Wood was announced as Sac State\u2019s ninth president. The lawsuit states Settles-Tidwell and Wood initially had a \u201ccollegial\u201d relationship, with the new president assuring her that \u201cshe was an integral part of his cabinet team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wood also reportedly commended Settles-Tidwell for her leadership, and wrote an email to the Millennium Leadership Institute \u201cwithout Tidwell\u2019s prompting\u201d endorsing her for the organization.<\/p>\n
But the complaint alleges that conditions changed between the end of 2023 and early 2024. Settles-Tidwell\u2019s suit says she had her portfolio \u201creduced\u201d as parts of her office were reassigned to different departments, her authority to hire staff was \u201crestricted and limited,\u201d and that she was excluded by Wood from the 2024-25 budgeting process.<\/p>\n
In her complaint, Settles-Tidwell said emails she wrote to Wood and other officials about some of these changes were not responded to or acknowledged.<\/p>\n
Settles-Tidwell also alleges she was excluded from the Black Honors College\u2019s leadership team despite writing the original proposal for Sac State. The lawsuit says Wood later asked her via text to join the college\u2019s advisory council after community members questioned Wood at a pre-press conference.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
In March 2024, the lawsuit says Settles-Tidwell received an email from Wood with several other administrators copied on it. In the email, the complaint says Wood \u201cberated her in front of her cabinet level peers and stated that her leadership was perceived as \u2018not effective,\u2019\u201d and that it subjected Settles-Tidwell to \u201cpublic harassment, professional humiliation, defamation and reprimand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Settles-Tidwell allegedly requested a meeting with Wood and others to discuss the email, but did not receive a response. Her lawsuit says Settles-Tidwell also did not have an opportunity to provide rebuttal data.<\/p>\n
The civil suit also says Settles-Tidwell was only given a 1.5% merit increase, while other administrators at her level received a 2.5% increase or greater, and that there was no explanation for the difference. It also says her \u201ccompensation level, retirement benefit and retroactive payment were adversely impacted by President Wood\u2019s intentional and targeted actions to negatively impact her compensation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Settles-Tidwell submitted her resignation letter on April 11, 2024, as the “continuous, disparate and adverse conditions\u201d created a \u201chostile work environment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The suit says Wood made no attempt to discuss her resignation or try to retain her. But days later, he allegedly sent Settles-Tidwell a \u201creprimand text based on hearsay\u201d and expressed \u201chis disappointment and differential expectation of her based on her protected classification as a Black woman of his \u2018community.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Wood also allegedly texted two other colleagues and told Settles-Tidwell to not show up to any more cabinet meetings until her departure.<\/p>\n
Who is Mia Settles-Tidwell?<\/p>\n
Settles-Tidwell was announced as Sac State\u2019s new vice president for Inclusive Excellence and the university\u2019s diversity officer in November 2021<\/a> under Nelsen\u2019s leadership. This was her first and only position at the university.<\/p>\n Settles-Tidwell previously served as assistant vice chancellor and chief of staff for Equity and Inclusion at UC Berkeley, where she consulted on DEI initiatives and led the Disability Strategy Team. Settles-Tidwell also spent more than two decades in the Oakland Unified School District, where she served as its first Black female chief operating officer.<\/p>\n \u201cDr. Settles-Tidwell has a record of challenging institutions to examine inequitable practices, and has extensive experience removing barriers that impede success for students, staff, and faculty,\u201d Nelsen said in a statement, adding that she was \u201cjust what the Hornet Family needs right now.\u201d<\/p>\n