Turner v. Barber-Scotia College, C-82-379-S
| Decision Date | 12 March 1985 |
| Docket Number | C-82-625-S.,No. C-82-379-S,C-82-379-S |
| Citation | 604 F. Supp. 1450 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Middle District of North Carolina |
| Parties | Albert TURNER and Robert Goetzman, Plaintiffs, v. BARBER-SCOTIA COLLEGE; Mable P. McLean, President; and the United Presbyterian Church, USA, William P. Thompson, Stated Clerk, Defendants. |
Jonathan R. Harkavy, Greensboro, N.C., for plaintiffs.
Guy F. Driver, Jr., and M. Ann Anderson, Winston-Salem, N.C., for defendants.
Plaintiffs Albert A. Turner and Robert Goetzman filed separate actions against defendants Barber-Scotia College, Mable P. McLean, and the United Presbyterian Church, U.S.A., on April 2, 1982, and June 3, 1982, respectively. Each alleged that defendants had discriminated against him in terms of his employment and because of his race, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.). Each also alleged that defendants had illegally retaliated against him for pursuing his rights under Title VII.
The cases were consolidated and trial was held on November 26 through 30, 1984.1 Having fully considered the evidence presented at trial, arguments of counsel, trial briefs, stipulations, and other matters of record, the Court concludes that the plaintiffs have failed to show that defendants illegally discriminated against them because of their race or in retaliation for pursuing their rights under Title VII. Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 52(a), the Court enters the following Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law.
1. Defendant Barber-Scotia College (BSC) is an institution of higher learning and is an employer within the meaning of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. BSC is a predominantly black private school located in Concord, North Carolina, and is owned by the United Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.
2. Defendant United Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. is now known as the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and is a religious institution headquartered in New York City and Atlanta, Georgia. This defendant is guarantor of the mortgages on the real property owned by BSC, and annually pays principal and interest with respect to those mortgages. The Church, until 1977, also provided operating funds to BSC.
3. Plaintiff Albert Turner is a white male who is currently a resident of Houston, Texas. Turner was employed on the faculty of BSC from August 20, 1973, until May 1, 1981.
4. Plaintiff Robert Goetzman is a white male who is currently a resident of St. Louis, Missouri. Goetzman was employed on the faculty of BSC from August 30, 1973, until May 1, 1981.
5. Defendant Mable P. McLean is a black female who has served as President of BSC since 1975.
6. Turner has a Ph.D. in History from Duke University. He was hired by BSC as an Associate Professor of History in 1973, and was promoted to full Professor in 1975. McLean was Academic Dean at the time he was hired, and President when he was promoted.
7. Turner was highly respected by his colleagues and the administration at BSC. In 1975 Turner was made Director of the Center for Political and Social Development, one of five "centers" of study at BSC.
8. During the academic year 1978-1979, a contract dispute arose between BSC and certain of its faculty. BSC had promised salary increases contingent upon enrollment figures, but allegedly failed to abide by its promise. Turner was cosigner, along with Goetzman and certain other faculty members, of letters to the Board of Trustees and the Presbyterian Church concerning the "worsening problems" at BSC. During this same period Turner became involved, as Center Director, in a salary dispute between Mike Wolf, an adjunct professor within his center, and Dr. R. Timothy McDonald, then Vice President for Academic Affairs. On March 1, 1979, Dr. William E. Laukitis, Director of the Center for Humanities, resigned as a result of his own contract dispute and the alleged "hostility" of the administration.
9. During this period, certain of the faculty attempted to unionize the faculty members. Turner was active in the attempt, which failed.
10. In 1980 BSC reorganized from five "centers" to two "divisions." Turner wanted to be a division chairman but was not appointed. While at one time all the center directors had been white, the two division chairmen, Drs. Fields and Pyles, were both black.
11. On March 21, 1980, Turner was evaluated by Dr. Myland Brown, who from 1979 through 1981 served as Vice President of Academic Affairs. The evaluation was very unfavorable to Turner, and he protested for procedural irregularities and lack of substantiation. The next month Brown criticized Turner for having too few office hours. Turner responded that he had more than six hours per week as required in the Barber-Scotia Policy Handbook, and that he felt he was being harassed. Turner sent a copy of this response to a lawyer. On the same day that Turner responded to his criticism, Brown sent a memo to the Coordinator of Personnel Records stating that Turner had "left is sic post prior to the end of his class schedule Friday, April 4, 1980," and "left the campus at 1:39 p.m. Friday, April 4, 1980."
12. In July of 1980, Turner informed Brown that as an historian, he was unqualified to teach the Geography course Brown had assigned him the next academic year. Turner notified Brown that another faculty member was qualified, and volunteered to teach another course instead. In his memo asking for an explanation, Brown stated that Turner's "full-time salary for part-time service is not economical and will not be extended beyond Fall and Spring Semesters 1980-1981." When Turner asked for clarification of this statement, Brown concluded after reconsideration that Turner was, in fact, a full-time faculty member because he received three hours credit as Chief Academic Advisor of Students for Social Sciences Curriculum.
13. On October 21, 1980, Turner filed charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) claiming that he had been discriminated against in terms of salary and other conditions of employment because of his race.
14. On January 22, 1981, Turner was evaluated by Dr. Richard L. Fields, who was then Associate Dean for Special Programs. He gave Turner the highest rating in every category.
15. During February and March of 1981, Turner and Fields had a dispute over Turner's office hours. Turner accused Fields of harassment.
16. Beginning in March 1981, BSC undertook to revise its curriculum. As a result, a new "core" curriculum was developed, which included Western Civilization. When Dr. Fields informed the faculty that a new teacher would be hired to teach the course, Turner protested that as senior History professor he should be consulted in such hiring and scheduling matters and that he, in fact, was the logical person to teach the course. Turner informed the EEOC that BSC might be planning to terminate him in retaliation for having filed charges.
17. On April 27, 1981, a meeting of the BSC Academic Council was held. The meeting was chaired by Fields, and neither Turner nor Goetzman was present. The Council unanimously approved a recommendation submitted by Brown, who was also absent, to discontinue History and Political Science as majors because of lack of interest among the students.2 The next day the recommendation was presented to the entire faculty at a meeting presided over by Dr. Fields. Turner raised concern that the manner in which the recommendation had been made violated Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Standard Five, because he was not consulted before the recommendation was made. The recommendation passed sixteen in favor, one abstention, and two against: Turner and Goetzman.
18. Less than one week later, on May 1, 1981, Turner received notice that he would not be rehired. On May 6, 1981, Turner filed charges with the EEOC claiming that his firing was in retaliation for having filed charges previously.
19. For the next school year, Ms. Patricia Buggs was hired as an instructor of History, and she taught the course in Western Civilization. Buggs is less qualified than Turner, having only an M.S. degree, but she worked for only $11,800.00; Turner had earned $17,000.00 his last year at BSC, and claims that with salary increments he would have earned $19,000.00 had he been rehired. Buggs is black.
20. Turner had never been previously fired from an academic position. Following his discharge from BSC he was unemployed except for a part-time realty business for a period of eight months. On January 25, 1982, he accepted a position with Control Data Corporation in Houston, Texas. Until June 1982, when his family could follow him to Houston, he lived there alone and commuted to Charlotte, North Carolina, to visit his family. Turner claims lost wages, travel expenses, consequential damages caused by stress and humiliation, and punitive damages against the defendants. Because of cutbacks at Control Data, Turner has been informed that he will be laid off and asks the Court to reinstate him at BSC.
21. Goetzman has a Ph.D. in English from the University of Iowa. He was hired by BSC as an Associate Professor of English in 1973. At that time, and throughout Goetzman's career at BSC, BSC did not offer a major in English. McLean was Academic Dean when Goetzman was hired and President when he became a full Professor in 1978.
22. Goetzman was highly regarded by BSC students, faculty, and administration. While at BSC he was awarded a Danforth Visiting Faculty Fellowship at Princeton University, won a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, and was in charge of the Honors Program at BSC. Among the many honors bestowed on Goetzman at BSC was chairing the committee in charge of McLean's inauguration as BSC President.
23. In the fall of 1978, Goetzman agreed to teach a journalism class and publish a...
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