Toth v. Cal. Univ. of Pa.

• Decision Date: 09 January 2012
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 09–1692.
• Citation: 282 Ed. Law Rep. 257,844 F.Supp.2d 611
• Parties: Linda TOTH, Plaintiff, v. CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, Angelo Armenti, and Sean Madden, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Pennsylvania

844 F.Supp.2d 611

282 Ed. Law Rep. 257

Linda TOTH, Plaintiff,

v.CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, Angelo Armenti, and Sean Madden, Defendants.

Civil Action No. 09–1692.

United States District Court,

W.D. Pennsylvania.

Jan. 9, 2012.

James B. Lieber, Thomas M. Huber, Lieber Hammer Huber & Bennington, P.C., Pittsburgh, PA, for Plaintiff.

Brian P. Gabriel, Paul N. Lalley, Campbell Durrant Beatty Palombo & Miller, P.C., Tracey A. Wilson, Office Of The Attorney General, Pittsburgh, PA, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

NORA BARRY FISCHER, District Judge.

I. Introduction

This matter comes before the Court on cross-motions for summary judgment filed by the parties pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. Docket Nos. 47 & 49. For the reasons that follow, the Plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment (Docket No. 47) will be denied, and the Defendants' motion for summary judgment (Docket No. 49) will be granted, in part and denied, in part.

II. Background

California University of Pennsylvania (“California” or “the University”) is a postsecondary educational institution existing within Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education (“the System”). 24 Pa. Stat. § 20–2002–A(a)(2). Angelo Armenti (“Armenti”) has served as the University's President since 1992. Docket Nos. 50 & 65 at ¶ 17. Sean Madden (“Madden”) started teaching at the University in 1989. Id. at ¶ 20. He became the Acting Dean of the University's College of Liberal Arts in July 2006. Id. at ¶ 21. Donald J. Thompson (“Thompson”), the University's Provost, retired in January 2007. Id. at ¶¶ 17–18. After Thompson retired, Armenti selected Madden to serve as the University's Interim Provost. Id. at ¶ 22. Laura Tuennerman–Kaplan (“Tuennerman–Kaplan”) became the Interim Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and assumed Madden's prior duties. Id. at ¶ 34. Madden became the Provost and Vice–President of Academic Affairs in October 2007. Id. at ¶ 23.

Linda Toth (“Toth”), a female of Polish descent, is a graduate of the University. Docket Nos. 68 & 75 at ¶¶ 2–3. She holds a doctorate degree in psychology. Id. at ¶ 6. In 1990, Toth was hired by the University as an Assistant Professor of Psychology. Id. at ¶ 4. She was awarded tenure in 2003 and later promoted to the position of Associate Professor of Psychology retroactive to the fall of 2002. Id. at ¶¶ 5–6. The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (“APSCUF”) serves as the union for the faculty members teaching within the System. Toth served as the Vice–President of the APSCUF's California chapter from 2002 to 2006. Id. at ¶ 7. She became the first female President of the chapter in May 2006 and held that position until May 2010. Id. at ¶¶ 8–10.

California's University–Wide Promotion Committee (“UWPC”) consists of faculty members charged with the duty to review the applications and dossiers submitted by faculty members who are seeking promotions. Docket Nos. 50 & 65 at ¶ 28. The members of the UWPC are elected by the University's faculty. Id. Only one professor from a particular department can serve on the UWPC at a given time. Id. Barbara Hess (“Hess”), a mathematics professor, served as the Chairperson of the UWPC during the 2005/2006 promotion cycle. Id. at ¶ 29. She was succeeded by Robert Kane (“Kane”), a health sciences professor, who served as the UWPC's Chairman during the 2006/2007 promotion cycle. Id. at ¶ 30.

The collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) between the System and the APSCUF that was in effect from July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2007, required applications from professors seeking promotions to be submitted to the “appropriate department chairperson[s]” in the first instance. Docket No. 70–12 at 21. Each application had to be considered by a “departmental committee” before it was presented to the UWPC. Id. The relevant portion of the CBA required the appropriate Dean or department chairperson to submit a “detailed recommendation” to the UWPC concerning a professor's application for promotion by February 1 of the year of the promotion cycle. Id. A copy of the “detailed recommendation” was to be forwarded to the applicant as well, who had until February 15 to submit a written response to the UWPC. Id. The Provost was required to submit a recommendation to the UWPC by February 21, and the applicant was given until March 1 to respond to that recommendation. Id. The CBA directed the UWPC to forward the full list of applicants, along with its recommendation concerning each application, to the President (or the President's designee) by April 15. Id. at 22. Each applicant was afforded the right to appear before the UWPC and speak in favor of his or her application. Id. Promotions approved by the President were to be announced no later than July 15. Id.

During the fall of 2005, Toth applied for a promotion to the position of Full Professor of Psychology. ECF Nos. 50 & 65 at ¶ 41. As the Acting Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Madden was responsible for reviewing Toth's application and making a recommendation. Id. at ¶ 42. In a letter to Hess dated January 27, 2006, Madden made several positive statements about Toth but did not specifically make a recommendation concerning her application. Docket No. 51–3 at 29–30.

Six professors applied for promotions to the position of Full Professor during the fall of 2005. They were Aref Al–Kattar (“Al–Kattar”), John Nass (“Nass”), Ellen Michael (“Michael”), LeeRoy Black (“Black”), Mark DeHainaut (“DeHainaut”) and Toth. Id. at 43. In letters dated January 13, 2006, Madden expressed the view that Al–Kattar and Black were qualified for the sought-after promotions. Id. at 31–34. Madden specifically recommended Nass for promotion in a letter dated January 24, 2006. Id. at 35–36.

The UWPC scored each applicant on an 80–point scale. Docket No. 51–4 at 11. A minimum score of 50 was needed for a positive recommendation. Docket No. 51–3 at 43. The UWPC awarded Al–Kattar a score of 70.1, Nass a score of 66.67, Michael a score of 63.8, Toth a score of 57.78, Black a score of 55.3 1, and DeHainaut a score of 47.56. Id. In a memorandum to Thompson dated March 28, 2006, the UWPC recommended that Al–Kattar, Nass, Michael, Toth and Black be promoted. Id. DeHainaut was not recommended for promotion because his score was lower than 50. Id.

Thompson reviewed the recommendations and computed the percentage of the available points awarded to each applicant. Because Toth had been awarded 57.78 of the 80 points available on the scale, Thompson rounded her percentile score to 72%. Id. He ultimately decided against recommending the promotion of any applicant who had not received a percentile score of at least 80%. Docket No. 51–4 at 11. In accordance with this standard, Thompson recommended that only Al–Kattar, Nass and Michael be promoted to the position of Full Professor. Docket No. 51–3 at 43. In a memorandum to the UWPC dated July 11, 2006, Thompson stated that the remaining applicants had “serious shortcomings” in the areas of “service” and “scholarship.” Docket No. 51–5 at 39. On July 14, 2006, Armenti announced that Al–Kattar, Nass and Michael had been approved for promotion. Docket No. 51–3 at 44. The applications submitted by Toth, Black and DeHainaut were denied. Id. Toth responded on July 23, 2006, by initiating the grievance procedures that were available to her under the CBA. Docket No. 51–4 at 24.

On June 14, 2006, Madden emailed Toth a message inviting her to “a nice informal chat over coffee.” Docket No. 51–2 at 38. The message made reference to the fact that Madden and Toth were “going to be working closely on issues more and more in the future.” Id. Madden again invited Toth to meet “for a cup of coffee” in a message sent on August 9, 2006. Id. at 37. Toth apparently never responded to Madden's invitations. Madden sent Toth another message inviting her to meet for “a cup of coffee” on August 17, 2006, suggesting that the two of them needed to discuss union-related issues. Id. at 39–40. In an attempt to portray himself as a reasonable person to deal with, Madden declared, “I don't have a strong allegiance to either management or union.” Id. at 40. Later that day, Toth replied to Madden's invitation with a message stating that she did not “have a spare minute to ‘hang out’ with anyone in a non-work-related fashion.” Id. at 39. Toth concluded her message by stating as follows:

So to sum it up, if you are requesting a professional meeting, let me know when and where. To not meet with you at your request would be insubordination. Other than that, I prefer that our contact remain at the formal, professional level.

Id. Madden did not respond to Toth's message. Docket Nos. 68 & 75 at ¶ 29.

Toth submitted another application for promotion to the position of Full Professor of Psychology on September 6, 2006. Docket No. 51–4 at 63–67. Thompson retired in January 2007, and Madden became the Interim Provost. Docket Nos. 50 & 65 at ¶¶ 19, 22. Tuennerman–Kaplan became the Interim Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. Id. at ¶ 34. By that time, Kane had become the Chairman of the UWPC. Id. at ¶ 30. In a letter to Kane dated January 29, 2007, Tuennerman–Kaplan acknowledged that Toth was “on track for promotion from Associate Professor to Full Professor in the area of teaching.” Docket No. 51–5 at 2. Tuennerman–Kaplan went on to state, however, that she had “some concerns” about the breadth of Toth's “involvement in the areas of scholarship and contributions to the University and/or Community.” Id. On February 2, 2007, Toth sent a letter to Kane and his colleagues on the UWPC pointing out that Tuennerman–Kaplan had not made a specific recommendation as to whether she should be promoted. Id. at 3. In her letter, Toth mentioned that she had already filed a grievance pertaining to Madden's failure to make a recommendation during the previous promotion cycle. Id. She also questioned whether Tuennerman–Kaplan had the requisite experience...