Wichita ? The president of Newman University sent a campus-wide e-mail Monday defending Newman’s hiring policy and saying he was “saddened” by recent complaints of sex discrimination at the Roman Catholic university.

Newman President Aidan Dunleavy sent the letter to faculty, staff and students. In it he also said some people at the university had not adjusted to changes brought about by “strategic restructuring” in the past four years.

“For any organization to proceed and prosper there must be change,” Dunleavy wrote. “Everyone does not always welcome change but it is something that Newman has experienced and will continue to experience as we grow and strive to fulfill our mission and vision.”

Faculty members have expressed concerns about high turnover in recent years brought about in part by faculty not having their contracts renewed.

Marla Sexson, former dean of admissions, and Tara Morrow, former director of transition programs in student life, recently filed the complaints. Both women said the president made disparaging remarks about pregnant women and did not want to hire or promote young women who could possibly become pregnant in the future.

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has not yet ruled on the complaints.

Dunleavy also wrote in his e-mail that he was not aware of a second complaint of retaliation Sexson said she filed.