Associate professor Dr. Patricia Young is trying to resuscitate an academic career that she said has flatlined at the Univ. of Maryland Baltimore County, and she has filed a discrimination complaint against the school alleging a pattern of being denied resources, promotion and career mobility on the basis of her race and gender.
“I have a sour twang in my mouth,” said Young, an African-American whose May 2017 complaint filed with the Baltimore County Human Relations Commission is in mediation. “I do what I have to do and what I’m assigned to do as a tenured professor. I don’t think it’s fair, but academia is like that for Black women. There’s no place of comfort.”
In higher education, as in other professions, taking legal action against your employer can leave you feeling isolated, especially when you’re still on the job. Young is not alone in that regard. As quiet as they usually are kept, complaints and lawsuits against colleges and universities alleging discrimination on the basis of race, gender and age are more common than the public realizes.
Minority and women faculty continue to complain of discrimination at a time when diversity among student populations is steadily increasing. And while minority students and faculty are more forcefully demanding greater representation among the ranks of tenured faculty, their numbers are generally flat or declining.
Young, 53, said the EEOC is still investigating as she and UMBC try to resolve the dispute in mediation – they agreed in January 2018 to try it – rather than in court. She said she seeks equity in terms of pay, treatment and the same latitude as her colleagues to choose what courses to teach.
Young filed her complaint on May 2017 after Dr. Philip Rous, university provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, agreed in February 2017 with the report of a committee formed to investigate Young’s objections to certain faculty serving on her comprehensive tenure review committee.
She contended that she was denied the right outlined in the university faculty handbook under the peer-review policy to object to individuals on her peer review committee. Two had voted previously to deny her tenure. Young described a hostile work environment through discriminatory behavior dating back a decade, such as general lack of support and equity, being blocked from some leadership roles and summer teaching assignments, and depriving her of opportunities to teach and do research in her area of expertise.
