According to Penn State, a black female professor received a lower raise than her colleagues because her performance did not exceed expectations, not due to racial discrimination as she is claiming.

Yesterday, Penn State attorneys filed a formal response to a Sept. 18 lawsuit filed by Beverly Lindsay, a professor in the College of Education who is accusing the university of racial discrimination.

The lawsuit, filed in the Pennsylvania Middle District Court, is the third filed by a faculty member against the university in the past seven months.

Lindsay, who is the only black female full-time professor in the College of Education, is alleging that she received substantially lower raises than similarly situated colleagues who were all white males, according to the lawsuit.

The university admitted giving Lindsay a raise of 1.8 percent for the 2003-04 academic year because her performance was only satisfactory

compared to those of her colleagues, who exceeded expectations, according to the response.

According to Penn State, the performances of Lindsay's colleagues justified larger raises, meaning that Lindsay was not similarly situated with her peers. The response did not state the percentage increase that other professors received.

"At no time did the university discriminate against [Lindsay] on account of her race or otherwise," the response said.

Lindsay was hired September 1996 as dean of University Office of International Programs but resigned in 2002 to be a professor in the College of Education. The resignation occurred after an "academic administrative review" of Lindsay's performance as a dean, according to the response.

Lindsay also said in her lawsuit that she was asked to teach four courses during the 2004-05 academic year, which she believed to be a heavier work load than that of her colleagues.

However, the response said Lindsay was asked to teach four courses because she failed to secure external funding. Still, she only taught three classes, according to the response.

Throughout the original lawsuit, Lindsay also stated that she suffered from "various medical conditions" that required accommodations so she could do her job, such as specific office equipment and special airfare.

The university said its attorneys could find "no knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to what, if any, medical conditions may affect Lindsay," according to the response.

Penn State asked the judge to dismiss Lindsay's case and award Penn State costs of the lawsuit and attorneys' fees.

"Penn State has behaved at all times in good faith and in a manner that is reasonable, appropriate and consistent with its policies and practices," the response said.

Two other faculty members have filed lawsuits against the university during the past year.

Former philosophy department head Mitchell Aboulafia filed a lawsuit last August because he said he was demoted when he attempted to report alleged discrimination in his department. The case was resolved out of court in June.

Joan Y. Summy-Long, a pharmacology professor at Hershey Medical Center, filed a lawsuit June 6 for what she claimed was 20 years of gender discrimination because she said she was denied raises in salary, positions, bonuses and other benefits compared to similarly situated males.

Sara Austin, Lindsay's attorney, Lindsay and Penn State attorney John A. Snyder could not be reached for comment by press time.