A former Penn State professor claims he didn’t receive tenure because of his race and ethnicity and he’s taking his case to court.
Dr. Yongsheng Chen, a Chinese native, is suing the university for discrimination and breach of contract.
Chen was hired by the university’s College of Earth and Mineral Sciences in 2007 as an assistant professor of energy and mineral engineering. In a lawsuit filed with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania on Thursday, attorney James Lieber alleges his client was denied tenure because of his background.
“Dr. Chen was a superior performer and he outperformed or performed equally to people who were not Asian,” Lieber says. “We see that this area of Penn State seems to be hiring many people who are Caucasian.”
In the filing, Lieber compares Chen with a number of Penn State professors in the same department or college who he claims received tenure despite having lesser qualifications. When Chen was denied promotion or tenure in Feb. 2013, the review committee said he did not publish enough first-authored papers, according to the filing. Chen had published 22 peer-reviewed articles since coming to Penn State.
“[The committee] faulted him because he was first author on only one of those and due to the presence of multiple authors the Committee indicated that it was not possible to judge the ‘true extent’ of Dr. Chen’s work on those papers, which was bogus, arbitrary and capricious,” the filing says.
Lieber says it’s standard practice in Chen’s field for large groups of authors to collaborate on peer-reviewed articles. He adds that Chen later went to Earth and Mineral Sciences Dean William Easterling and showed his specific work on the published papers. Lieber says his client was told then that he should have received tenure, but the decision was not reversed. In fact, an appeal to the faculty senate was denied in May 2013.
“Penn State’s justifications for the denial of tenure and promotion are false and a pretext for discrimination,” the filing says. “As a result of the discrimination, Dr. Chen has suffered financial and compensatory damages. Penn State belatedly, falsely and pretextually destroyed Dr. Chen’s career and harmed his family.”
The filing alleges that professors who are Caucasian and born in the United States were not subject to the same criteria as Chen when being reviewed for tenure.
In the lawsuit, Chen asks for front pay, back pay, and emotional damages for what he says is a wrongful decision to deny him tenure based on his race and nationality. Chen found a new job in Hong Kong and will move back to China shortly, though his family will stay in State College because his children attend school here.
“Instead of having the tenured position that he earned according to Penn State’s published standards that he met, Dr. Chen must relocate to Hong Kong to receive employment in his field while enduring the great hardship of being separated from his family in Pennsylvania,” the filing says.
University spokesperson Lisa Powers says Penn State has no comment on this particular lawsuit, but the university “has confidence in its tenure review process.”
POPULAR STORIES:
State College Nonprofits Benefit from Gov. Wolf Eliminating Background Check Fees
Allen Street Redevelopment Planning Now Underway
One Year Later, Federal Restaurant Raids Shrouded in Mystery
Fear Itself: Penn State Drug Abuse Conference Explores Dangers Of Scaring Kids
Expansive NCAA Reform Legislation Introduced in Congress
Penn State Football Players Score Big in the Community; Kids’ Lift For Life Next Up
Penn State Basketball: Geno Thorpe Leaves Program
Penn State Football: Ability To Recruit Needs As Impressive As Ability To Recruit Talent
