Former NYU Med School Professor Claims She Was Fired for Complaining About Colleague’s Sexist Behavior

New York University’s School of Medicine is currently facing a lawsuit handed down to them by one of their former assistant professors, OraLee Branch. According to the New York Daily News, Branch alleges that because of the sexist treatment she experienced from the department head, Claudio Basilico, her career has been ruined. In the suit, she says that among sexist comments, Basilico was demeaning, blew cigarette smoke in her face, used aggressive body language, and more. Branch also says that after lodging complaints about Basilico, she was fired in retaliation, which caused her to lose her tenure-track position. Thus, her career—and her life—were altered drastically.

The lawsuit, as the New York Daily News reports, details exactly the kinds of harassment Branch allegedly had to put up with. It reads: “He took a long drag of his cigarette and blew the smoke directly into her face. With aggressive tone and body language, he told her she was just a ‘girl’ who was ‘naïve and delusional’ if she thought she could succeed in science.” As well, Basilico refused to comment on a grant dispute involving Branch, saying he didn’t want to “come between cat-fighting women.”

The school has come out in defense of Basilico, saying, “We find the allegations of this law suit completely meritless and plan to vigorously defend the School of Medicine and its faculty against these baseless claims.”

(via Jezebel, image via Flickr/Brian Turner)

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