Librarian Files Suit Against Harvard

Citing racial and gender discrimination, a black, female librarian at the Design School’s Loeb Library has filed a lawsuit against the University.

Desiree Goodwin, a 39-year-old Cornell graduate who also has two masters degrees, claimed in an August 2003 court complaint that she had been unfairly denied over a dozen promotions at several of Harvard’s libraries during her nine years at the University. Goodwin also claims that Harvard administrators did not adequately address her concerns.

According to the complaint, Goodwin was repeatedly passed over for white men and women who were “less qualified, less experienced.” Her employer faulted her “sexy” wardrobe and bad reputation for her inability to climb the ranks—and told her she would never get a promotion at Harvard, Goodwin alleges.

Goodwin’s requests to file a complaint were denied twice by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Each time, she was told to take up her concerns with the appropriate officials at Harvard.

When the EEOC did take up Goodwin’s case—a-year-and-a-half after her initial contact—it was dismissed without a hearing. The commission found that her supervisor’s comments did not demonstrate racial or gender bias.

The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) also allowed Goodwin to file a complaint but dismissed her case without a hearing this June.

This August, she filed suit against Harvard on two counts of discrimination and a breach of contract and implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

“The case is without merit,” University Spokesperson Joe Wrinn said in a press statement this weekend. “Gender and race were not factors, and the fact that the independent agencies established to investigate these types of charges dismissed this case indicates how this suit ultimately will be resolved.”

But Goodwin’s lawyer, Richard D. Clarey, maintained that Goodwin was a victim of discrimination.

“She is far more qualified than a lot of people at Harvard,” Clarey said yesterday. “She is very talented and articulate. They didn’t even give her an interview, and then they gave the jobs to people with no degrees.”

Clarey also charged that Goodwin was a victim of negligence on the part of the University. Harvard failed to protect her against employer discrimination and was not sufficiently candid about her case, he said.

Goodwin’s lawsuit, first reported Friday in the Boston Herald, comes after two years of failed attempts to file a complaint through outside advocacy groups.

According to Clarey, Goodwin’s travails began in 1999, after she completed a masters degree with honors in library science at Simmons College, with the hope of earning a promotion at Harvard.

Goodwin applied for 13 advertised positions within Harvard’s library system, including posts at Widener, Hilles, Lamont and the Business School library.

In the fall of 2001, Goodwin was allegedly told by superiors to reduce her hours to part-time, “even though two other employees...were obvious candidates for demotion.”

After being turned down for each post, usually without an interview, Goodwin approached her superior at Loeb Library in December 2001. At that meeting, Goodwin’s supervisor allegedly told her that her skimpy clothing and zealous search for promotion had made her a “joke among her...colleagues” and that she should seek employment elsewhere. The superior told her that, as a black woman, she could get a job anywhere, according to Goodwin’s lawyer and the legal documents.

Both Goodwin and her supervisor were unavailable for comment yesterday.

In January 2002, Goodwin made her first attempt to file a complaint with the EEOC but was allegedly told by an investigator there to first seek help inside Harvard’s human resources and affirmative action offices. According to the court documents, Goodwin’s case was so “outrageous” that the affirmative action office consulted Harvard’s General Counsel’s office, who allegedly sent Goodwin’s superiors to diversity training.

In April 2002, the EEOC again declined to take up Goodwin’s case and this time allegedly told her to pursue a pending job at Hilles Library. According to Goodwin, she was not offered an interview at Hilles and did not get the job.

The EEOC eventually took up her case in October 2002, but her complaint was dismissed this June, “partly on the grounds that she did not file her complaint until October 2002.” Clarey said that the EEOC offered her poor advice and delayed filing the report. According to the court documents, Goodwin was not contacted in any way about the case.

According to Clarey, at the time of the EEOC decision, Goodwin was also unaware of an “inch-high” stack of paper that documented a communication between Harvard’s General Counsel’s Office and the EEOC. The court complaint states that the EEOC decision was based in part on these “ex parte” communications.

Goodwin, who also has a masters degree in English and has worked in University libraries for over 15 years, has worked at Harvard since 1994. At Loeb, where she continues to work, she is responsible for circulation and reference.

Goodwin also holds a job at the Arlington Public Library. According to Clarey, she is well-liked there and has never been accused of indecency.

Maryellen Loud, head of Arlington Public Library, declined to comment yesterday.

—Staff writer Rebecca D. O’Brien can be reached at robrien@fas.harvard.edu.