Eight female professors claim bias in lawsuit
Male colleagues were paid more, they say

Eight female professors at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center's medical school have filed a discrimination lawsuit, saying they were paid less than male colleagues.

The eight have been trying to correct alleged pay and benefit inequities for more than seven years, according to the lawsuit filed in federal court in Harrisburg.

The suit is filed against Pennsylvania State University, which is the parent of the medical center and medical school, as well as various officials and department heads at the medical center and medical school.

Medical center spokesman Sean Young said yesterday that the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had investigated the women's complaints and had found no probable cause of discrimination.

One of the women bringing the lawsuit is Carol Whitfield, a professor in the department of cellular and molecular physiology.

Her accomplishments include creating a curriculum used by all medical students in their first two years, according to a 2004 news release from the medical center.

The others involved are Cara-Lynne Schengrund, Joanna Floros and Kathryn Lanoue, professors in the department of cellular and molecular physiology; Judith Weisz, a professor in the departments of obstetrics and gynecology and pathology; Margaret Goldman, an associate professor in the departments of medicine and microbiology and immunology; Patricia Grigson, an associate professor in the department of neural and behavioral sciences; and Kathleen Mulder, a professor in the department of pharmacology.

Telephone messages left for five of the women weren't immediately returned yesterday.

The lawsuit says a 2004 study by an outside firm found evidence of gender bias at the medical school, and Penn State responded by adjusting salaries.

But the adjustments didn't adequately remedy the bias, the lawsuit says.

The women complained to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Neither found probable cause of discrimination.

Clifford Haines, whose Philadelphia-based law firm represents the women, said a finding of no probable cause doesn't mean discrimination didn't occur.

"If the EEOC were the final authority, there would be no discrimination lawsuits," he said.

Haines wouldn't discuss details of the case. "I'm not trying this case in the newspapers," he said.

A conference with the judge is scheduled for late June, he said.

The women want back pay along with unspecified damages and legal expenses. They also want the medical school to be required to carry out a program to ensure equity for women.