OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A law professor at Oklahoma City University has filed a federal lawsuit against the university and its law school dean, claiming sexual discrimination and violation of the Equal Pay Act of 1963.
Danne L. Johnson, as associated professor of law since 2003, contends male law professors at the school make as much as 52 percent more than their female counterparts at OCU.
Thirteen of the school’s 32 full-time law professors are women.
University officials declined to comment on the allegations levied by Johnson in the lawsuit filed earlier this month in federal court in Oklahoma City.
“The university is disappointed that the lawsuit was filed, but will deal with the issues in a manner that it deems appropriate,” OCU officials said in a written statement.
In the statement, OCU says it promotes diversity by providing equal opportunities without discrimination, but Johnson claims otherwise in a 24-page lawsuit, which details complaints made by her and several other female law professors.
It apparently began last year when Johnson complained to law school Dean Lawrence Hellman about the lack of racial or gender diversity on a Constitution Day panel in September 2007. All five professors on the panel were white men, according to the lawsuit.
