The Ohio Civil Rights Commission heard the case of former Ohio University assistant professor Robert Lipset yesterday. Lipset, who was denied tenure in January 2001 and was terminated in 2002, claims the university discriminated against him on the basis of age.
It was as if there was an attitude within the department that there was a magical quality to youth
Lipset said at the hearing.
Lipset, 55, was hired in 1994 as an assistant professor in the industrial manufacturing and systems engineering department in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology and began teaching at OU in 1995.
He applied in 2000 for tenure, and his application was judged by a three-person promotion and tenure committee composed of tenured faculty members in the IMSE department. Lipset's application was judged on the three basic expectations of OU professors: teaching, research and service. Although the committee acknowledged his teaching and service contributions, it found that Lipset fell short in the research category.
Dr. Lipset's research was significantly weaker than expectations said committee chair David Koonce, associate professor in the IMSE department. The committee found a lack of independent research and too few attempts to solicit external funding.
Lipset completed one major research project funded by DaimlerChrysler during his time at OU.
After receiving a letter explaining the denial of tenure, Lipset appealed the decision. He was denied at four levels before the faculty senate standing committee of promotion and tenure granted him reconsideration. A second committee reevaluated his application and again denied tenure. Lipset did not mention age discrimination in any of these appeals.
I didn't bring up age because it wasn't legitimate grounds based on the requirements in the faculty handbook said Lipset. The handbook lists three grounds for reevaluation: inadequate consideration of case, denial of due process and denial of academic freedom.
After the second denial, he wrote a letter of appeal to OU President Robert Glidden. Because it was outside the official appeal process, he claimed age discrimination but was again denied.
Lipset then filed a complaint with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, which found grounds for age discrimination. The university disputed the findings, and each side presented their case in yesterday's hearing in the Baker University Center Alumni Lounge.
Patrick Dull, state assistant attorney general, presented Lipset's discrimination case, and special counselor Gerald Mollica represented the university. The hearing lasted nearly five hours.
The committee members maintained that Lipset was denied solely due to inadequate research.
Only one research project was actually funded
said professor Lonnie Welch, who served on the second promotion and tenure committee. It appeared the individual did the minimum for tenure and quit - that he was slacking off even before getting tenure.
Lipset defended his research efforts and said he was denied tenure because the commission was biased against older faculty members. During his time at OU, he claimed several negative comments were made about his age, including being called dad and a legacy
which he equated with outdated computer software kept only for older people who refused to learn new technology.
At the time
I thought it was just friendly banter
Lipset said. After many comments
I started to question what this was all about.
State administrative law judge Denise Johnson presided over the hearing. She will make her recommendation to the commission three to four months after that. A final decision will come in six to eight months.
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