Indian-Origin Professor Files Race Discrimination Lawsuit Against Massachusetts College

A Massachusetts associate professor of Indian descent has launched a lawsuit, claiming that she was the victim of racial and gender discrimination.

An associate professor of entrepreneurship at Babson College, Lakshmi Balachandra said, “Due to maltreatment and administrators’ reluctance to look into her complaints, she lost career chances, and suffered financial losses, emotional pain, and reputational damage”.

She named Andrew Corbett, a professor and former chair of the college’s entrepreneurship division, as one of the “primary direct perpetrators of the discriminatory work environment” in her lawsuit.

According to the complaint filed on February 27, 2023, in US District Court in Boston, Balachandra claimed that Corbett, who oversaw teaching assignments, class schedules, and annual reviews, only allowed her to teach required entrepreneurship courses despite her requests to teach electives – despite having previously taught such classes at MIT Sloan School of Management and Harvard Business School.

“Babson favors white and male teachers and largely reserves prizes and privileges for them”, Balachandra’s complaint said.

She was allegedly refused multiple leadership roles and opportunities for greater time to conduct research and write despite her research history, professed interest, and contribution to the college.

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The lawsuit stated that white male faculty members in the entrepreneurship division frequently receive such benefits.

The professor has also reported alleged discrimination to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, according to Monica Shah, the attorney for Balachandra.

As a response, Babson College said that it takes complaints seriously and has set procedures and resources in place to fully evaluate and address them.

“The college is home to a diverse global community where equity and inclusion are cherished and implemented across every part of campus, and where discrimination of any type is not permitted,” a Babson College representative said.

The report further stated that Balachandra is requesting unspecified damages while on leave to attend a fellowship at the National Science Foundation.

(With input from PTI)