Another Penn State professor is suing the university on the basis of discrimination, citing racism because she is a black woman.

This is the third lawsuit that has been filed by a faculty member in the past six months against the university.

Beverly Lindsay, a professor in the College of Education, filed the lawsuit Monday in the Pennsylvania Middle District Court. She is suing for compensatory and punitive damages and lawyers fees.

She said in the lawsuit that she was asked to teach a heavier workload and "received substantially lower raises than her similarly-situated colleagues," who, according to the lawsuit, are all white men.

The lawsuit states that Lindsay is "the only African-American full-time female professor in the entire College of Education."

Bill Mahon, Penn State spokesman, said the university denies all allegations made by Lindsay.

"The claims made by Dr. Lindsay are false, and we will defend the university vigorously and prove that," Mahon said.

Lindsay was hired in 1996 as the dean of the Office of International Programs and became a full-time professor in 2003, according to court documents.

In 2004, Lindsay claims she received a 2 percent raise compared to the standard raise of 4 percent, according to the lawsuit.

Lindsay also cites medical conditions as a reason for suing, claiming the university failed to accommodate her disability and is therefore in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The lawsuit does not state Lindsay's specific medical problem.

She said her office did not contain basic necessities, such as a computer and phone and did not accommodate for her medical condition, according to the lawsuit.

Lindsay is also claiming a female department head stated in Lindsay's presence, "You/people like you give me trouble."

The university has seen three civil suits dealing with alleged discrimination against Penn State by professors in the past year.

Former philosophy department head Mitchell Aboulafia filed a lawsuit against the university last August because he said he was demoted to faculty status when he tried to report alleged discrimination in his department.

Aboulafia refused to comment about the lawsuit but said it was settled out of court in June.

His wife, Catherine Kemp, said they have moved to New York City and are currently working at the Juilliard School.

Joan Summy-Long, a professor of pharmacology at Hershey Medical Center, filed a complaint against the university June 6 for what she called 20 years of gender discrimination.

Long is claiming she was denied raises in salary, positions, bonuses and other benefits compared to "similarly-situated males," according to court documents.

In a previous interview, Long said she could not comment on the lawsuit because of the pending litigation, but said it was filed for personal reasons as well as for women's rights overall.

Mahon did not think the number of lawsuits against the university is unusual.

"I think we are a society where lawsuits are filed constantly and any big organization is going to see lawsuits," he said.

Penn State spokesman Tysen Kendig added the three lawsuits are completely unrelated and have no connection to one another.

Sara Austin, Lindsay's attorney, said she could not comment except to say that a complaint was filed with the court.

Lindsay did not comment after multiple phone calls to her office yesterday.