College professor wins pay discrimination case against UTPA

EDINBURG — Hilda Medrano was demoted from her job as dean of the University of Texas-Pan American's college of education almost four years ago.

Now the university is paying her almost $230,000.

A jury decided Monday that UTPA willfully violated the Equal Pay Act by not paying her as much as her male counterparts and did not pay her for unused vacation time when she was demoted.

Pending a final decision from the judge, Medrano stands to receive almost $350,000 in back pay, benefits, legal fees and damages, including $100,000 for mental anguish.

Although the jury awarded Medrano $37,857 for the difference in pay from any male employee who did comparable work and $26,800 in vacation pay, those amounts would be doubled because the jury found the university willfully violated the Equal Pay Act, said her attorney, Katie Pearson Klein.

"Dr. Medrano prevailed on every issue," Klein said.

A spokesman with the Texas Attorney General's Office, which represented the university, said the university has not decided whether it will appeal the jury's decision.

Medrano, who is a tenured professor in the university's College of Education, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

She was appointed to the dean position in 1997. In 2005, she and Rodolfo Rocha, then dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, were demoted to professor positions.

The university said the moves were part of former president Blandina "Bambi" Cárdenas' goal to make UTPA a more research-intensive institution.

Along with the demotion, Medrano's annual pay was cut from $116,322 to $85,000, according to court documents. She sued the university shortly thereafter, claiming it discriminated against her by paying her less than other deans who were men. She also sought reinstatement to the dean position and the annual salary she had before her demotion.

The university denied Medrano's claims of discrimination, saying in a response letter that UTPA has a policy forbidding discrimination and that the university does not determine pay based on one's sex.

Medrano has not been reinstated as dean.

In fiscal year 1999, Medrano was UTPA's second-lowest-paid dean, not including an interim dean who had been appointed that year.

Only another female dean made less. Other deans earned anywhere from $500 to almost $14,300 more than Medrano.

When she was demoted in 2005, Medrano was the lowest-paid dean, making $150 less than the second-lowest-paid, a man who had started his tenure during the 2002 fiscal year. The highest-paid dean earned $143,556 in 2005, according to court documents.

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Jennifer L. Berghom covers education and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4462.