The first-ever female doctoral candidate in Brigham Young University's department of electrical engineering has accused her academic advisers of blocking her progress toward a doctorate.
In a civil-rights action filed Friday in U.S. District Court for Utah, Lisa M. Talbot said her dissertation proposals were "repeatedly rejected" even though some were eventually approved for development by male doctoral students.Her husband, Bryan G. Talbot, who was also a doctoral candidate in the department, joined her in the suit, saying he, too, was subjected to discrimination after he got involved in his wife's grievance process.
Named as defendants in the suit are BYU and its owner, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and 20 "John Does."
BYU attorney David Thomas said the school has been working to resolve the dispute and had scheduled a dissertation defense for Lisa Talbot before the suit was filed.
Thomas said the Talbots' attorney informed him late Friday that the suit was primarily intended to preserve the Talbots' legal standing beyond the statute of limitations should the dispute-resolution process break down.
Lisa Talbot, a resident of Virginia, graduated cum laude from BYU in 1987 and was awarded a master's of science degree there in 1988. The suit says that from 1988 to 1990, she completed her course work and other requirements for a doctorate with the exception of her dissertation.
According to the suit, she was told early in the doctorate program that she didn't need to move through the program quickly because her husband lagged behind her in the program.
At the same time, the suit said, her academic advisers "exploited her work for personal and/or financial gain without regard for her academic progress" and broke verbal promises regarding her dissertation.
She filed a formal grievance with the dean of the graduate school in January 1995 alleging sex-based discrimination. An investigation by the school concluded that the allegations of sex discrimination could not be substantiated.
In June 1995, Talbot took her case to the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, which hasn't completed its investigation.