Whaley v. City University of New York
| Decision Date | 24 April 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. 04 Civ. 7107(CM).,04 Civ. 7107(CM). |
| Citation | 555 F.Supp.2d 381 |
| Parties | Arthur L. WHALEY, Plaintiff, v. CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, Sophie Davis School of Education, Gregory H. Williams, Individually and as President of the City College of the City of New York, Marthe R. Gold, Individually, and as Chair of the Department of Community Health and Social Medicine of the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, and Stanford A. Roman, Jr., Individually and as Dean of the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Sandra Dorothy Parker, Law Office of Sandra D. Parker, New York NY, for Plaintiff.
Michael Robert Klekman, Office of the Attorney General, New York NY, for Defendant.
DECISION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
Plaintiff Arthur Whaley ("Dr. Whaley" or "plaintiff), a professor with the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education ("Sophie Davis"), sued his former employer after he was not reappointed. The amended complaint alleges that the defendants (i) discriminated against plaintiff on account of his race in violation of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and 42 U.S.C. § 1981 by, among other things, forcing him to respond to his offer of employment within 24 to 48 hours, refusing to give him a new computer, excluding him from a faculty search committee, and initially denying him certain research and administrative assistance; (ii) discriminated against plaintiff on account of his race and age in violation of the New York State Executive Law § 296 ("NYHRL"), and New York City Admin. Code § 8-107 et seq. by engaging in these same practices; and (iii) retaliated against plaintiff in violation of Title VII by terminating his employment. The City University of New York ("CUNY"), Sophie Davis, Gregory H. Williams ("President Williams"), Marthe R. Gold ("Dr. Gold"), and Stanford Roman, Jr. ("Dean Roman") (collectively, the "defendants") have moved for summary judgment dismissing plaintiffs complaint. For the reasons set forth below, defendants' motion is granted in part and denied in part. What is left of the case will be tried on July 21, 2008.
The facts are set forth in the Defendants' Local Rule 56.1 Statement and Plaintiffs Response to Defendants' 56.1 Statement. For the most part, the salient facts are not disputed.
Plaintiff Arthur L. Whaley is a 49-year-old African-American male who was appointed to the position of Medical Professor (Basic Sciences) without tenure in the Department of Community Health and Social Medicine ("CHASM") at Sophie Davis, an academic unit of City College (a senior college of CUNY) for the period July 1, 2001 through August 31, 2002 at a salary of $90,000. He was reappointed to that position for the 2002-2003 academic year. He was not reappointed for the 2003-2004 academic year and his employment at CUNY ended, effective August 31, 2003.
Defendant City University of New York ("CUNY") is a New York State educational institution, with its principal place of business in New York, New York.
Defendant Sophie Davis School of BioMedical Education ("Sophie Davis"), an educational institution, is part of the City College of the City University of New York ("City College"). City College and Sophie Davis are part of the CUNY system. Their principal place of business is New York, New York.
Defendant President Williams is an African-American male, age 63, who has been President of City College since August 2001. Pursuant to CUNY's Bylaws, a college President's responsibilities include: "the duty to recommend to the chancellor for appointment, promotion, and the granting of tenure only those persons who he/she is reasonably certain will contribute to the improvement of academic excellence at the college."
Defendant Dr. Gold is a white female, age 56, who has been the Arthur C. Lofan Professor and Chair of CHASM at Sophie Davis since February 1997. She was awarded tenure as a Full Professor at Sophie Davis in 2001. Dr. Gold, as a department chairperson, is the executive officer of her department. Among her responsibilities are to arrange for careful observation and guidance of the department's instructional staff members and to generally supervise and administer the department.
Defendant Dean Roman is an African-American male, age 64, who has been the Dean of Sophie Davis since 1990. Between 1999 and August 2001, he also served as Interim President of City College.
During the first half of 2000, Dr. Whaley applied for a position as Director of the Population Health Laboratory at CHASM. He later informed Dr. Gold that he had decided not to pursue the position.
In or about September 2000, Dr. Whaley contacted Dr. Gold and expressed interest in a position of Associate or Full Professor of Epidemiology. The responsibilities of the position, as summarized in the CUNY Personnel Vacancy Notice (the "PVN") were:
To contribute to the Department's formal teaching responsibilities within the areas of epidemiology and health services; to develop an integrated research program in epidemiology with emphasis on social determinants of health status through use of secondary and/or primary data sources; to participate in interdisciplinary research and program evaluation involving primary care and/or community interventions; and to collaborate with, and mentor junior faculty and post-doctoral fellows.
Among the qualifications required for the position were a "track record of scholarship and successful grant writing in social epidemiology, urban health, or related disciplines," and "commitment to and successful history of collaboration in a team-oriented environment." (Defs. Ex. E.)
In 2000, Dr. Whaley applied for the position, submitting a cover letter, his curriculum vitae, and a list of five references.
Dr. Tanya Pagan Raggio ("Dr. Raggio"), who identifies herself as an African-American, Puerto Rican, Italian/Sicilian American, was chair of the search committee that interviewed Dr. Whaley. Dr. Raggio, Dr. Lubetkin, Dr. Gold, Dean Roman, and others interviewed plaintiff for the position.
During the interview process, Dr. Whaley requested appointment at the full professor level rather than associate professor level. Dr. Whaley was the committee's top candidate, and the committee recommended that Dr. Whaley be offered the full professor position. Originally, Dr. Gold wanted to offer him an associate professor position, which was the position advertised.
According to plaintiff, Dean Roman stated, during the course of plaintiffs interview with him, that Dr. Gold only wanted to hire white females for faculty positions at CHASM. (Whaley Decl. ¶ 23.) Nonetheless, in April 2001, Dr. Gold phoned Dr. Whaley to offer him a position at the full professor level for the period July 1, 2001 through August 31, 2002. Dr. Whaley also received a formal offer letter from Dean Roman, on behalf of CUNY, dated April 4, 2001, which recommended an appointment at the rank of full Medical Professor. According to Dr. Raggio and Dr. Whaley, Dr. Gold initially informed Dr. Whaley that he must accept or reject the offer within 24 hours. She then allegedly gave Dr. Whaley an additional 24 hours. Dean Roman's letter, however, set no time limit on acceptance.
By letter, dated April 10, 2001, Dr. Whaley "enthusiastically" accepted the offer and wrote that he would now "be in a position to help build a research program integrated with clinical practice through your network of primary care settings."
The salary range listed in the PVN for Dr. Whaley's position at the full medical professor level was $68,096 through $97,469, and Dr. Whaley was offered $90,000, near the top end of the range. His employment began on July 1, 2001.
At CUNY, instructional staff appointments are only for the period specified in the letter of appointment. There is no presumption that employment will continue beyond the period indicated. First reappointment notifications at CUNY should be given no later than April 1 during the first full year of service. In Dr Whaley's case, the notification of his reappointment for the 2002-2003 academic year was not due until April 1, 2002. However, due to a staff error, Dr. Whaley was offered reappointment in November 2001.
For Dr. Whaley's position as a Full Medical Professor (Basic Sciences), the CUNY Bylaws provide that:
It shall be the responsibility of assistant medical professors (basic sciences), associate medical professors (basic sciences), and medical professors (basic sciences) to perform teaching, research and guidance duties. They shall also, among other things, be responsible for committee and program related assignments within the division, department, academic unit or university. They shall perform those administrative, supervisory or other functions as may be assigned by the appropriate college or university authorities.
(Defs. Ex. MM.)
For appointment to Dr. Whaley's position as a Full Medical Professor (Basic Sciences), a candidate must have all the qualifications of an assistant medical professor (Basic Sciences), which includes a "willingness to cooperate with others for the good of the institution." In addition, a candidate should possess (Defs. Ex. MM.)
Dr. Whaley claims that he suffered race discrimination and a racially hostile work environment during his years on the Sophie Davis faculty. His amended complaint contains a laundry list of items allegedly motivated by racial animus.
...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Henny v. New York
...motion; a plaintiff in a discrimination case must proffer ‘concrete particulars' to substantiate his claim.”); Whaley v. City Univ. of N.Y., 555 F.Supp.2d 381, 399 (S.D.N.Y.2008) (finding no inference of discrimination because Plaintiff presented no evidence supporting discriminatory animus......
-
Hogan v. Cnty. of Lewis
...of remedy applies not only to governmental entities but also to individual state actors. See, e.g., Whaley v. City University of New York, 555 F.Supp.2d 381, 401 (S.D.N.Y.2008); Roddini v. City Univ. of N.Y., No. 02 Civ. 4640, 2003 WL 435981, at *5 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 21, 2003). There is no ques......
-
Blythe v. City of N.Y.
...Chen v. The City Univ. of New York, No. 11–cv–0320(CM), 2011 WL 5419792, at *4–5 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 9, 2011); Whaley v. City Univ. of New York, 555 F.Supp.2d 381, 400–01 (S.D.N.Y.2008). “In Jett, the Supreme Court held that the express action at law provided by § 1983 for the deprivation of any......
-
Webster v. Fischer
...rights guaranteed under section 1981 when the claim is against a state actor is through section 1983. Whaley v. City Univ. of New York, 555 F.Supp.2d 381, 401 (S.D.N.Y.2008). While the Second Circuit has yet to rule on the continued vitality of Jett following the amendments of section 1981 ......