Posted March 25, 2005.

Plaintiff Takes the Stand in Harvard Bias Suit

Plaintiff Desiree Goodwin testified on the first day of her federal discrimination suit against Harvard University that she had been passed over for a promotion in the campus library system 16 times since earning her MLS in 1999 because she is an attractive African American. A library assistant in the Francis Loeb Library since 1994, Goodwin stated March 22 that Head of Public Services Barbara Mitchell, who is her supervisor, had told her in December 2001 that Goodwin would never advance in rank at Harvard because of her reputation for dressing in tight pants and low-cut tops. Goodwin said that Mitchell advised her to apply for librarian posts elsewhere “because the first thing employers look for is a qualified black person,” according to the March 22 Boston Globe.

In his opening statement at the U.S. District Court in Boston, Harvard counsel Richard Riley denied that Goodwin’s inability to get a promotion was due to discrimination. “The competition is fierce for all of the library positions at Harvard,” he told the jury, contending that hiring decisions for each of the posts were made through a “fair and rational process.”

Under cross-examination March 23 from defense attorney Judith Malone, Goodwin admitted that she had also been rejected for librarian posts at four other universities. The plaintiff also conceded that she did not have a science background, which was required of one of the Harvard openings, the Boston Herald reported March 24.

The trial began the day after attorneys were unable to reach an out-of-court settlement. Judge Joseph L. Tauro had recommended that university officials offer Goodwin a promotion to see how well she performs, according to the March 23 Harvard Crimson. Goodwin, who also works part-time at the Arlington (Mass.) Public Library, filed suit in 2003 after her complaints were dismissed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. She earned her MLS from Simmons College in Boston and has a master’s degree in English.

Posted March 25, 2005; revised March 28, 2005.