$545,000 Award in Discrimination Suit

A former Stanford University Medical School researcher was awarded $545,000 in damages Thursday after a federal jury found that she had been fired after complaining of sexual discrimination. After the judge ruled that there were no grounds to find actual sexual discrimination in the case, the jury found instead that Colleen Crangle had been subjected to malicious retaliation by the university and fired after her sex bias complaints. “They told me explicitly that I was to be an assistant and girl Friday to the man who acknowledged that he was threatened by my accomplishments,” Crangle told reporters after the jury’s decision. “When I complained about it, then I was told explicitly: ‘This is how things are around here; if you don’t like it then you can find another job.’ ” “We’re going to look at our options to appeal,” said Stanford lawyer Mike Lucey. “We’re pleased that the court found there was no discrimination.” Crangle was laid off from her university position in 1997 and subsequently filed a suit that said she lost her job because her male supervisor was threatened by her accomplishments. Stanford lawyers argued that Crangle had been let go simply because her grant had run out.