U. denies sex bias in crew case

Responding to recent allegations that the University discriminated in its hiring of a new coach for the women's crew team last summer, Penn officials denied yesterday that a male assistant coach was denied the position because of his sex. Andrew Medcalf, 47, filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in October alleging that despite being the superior candidate, he was passed over in favor of current women's coach Barbara Kirch. Medcalf, who was the women's assistant coach from 1995 to 1997, has been an assistant crew coach at Penn for eight years and continues to coach in the men's program. "We believe the charge made by Mr. Medcalf is without merit and we will defend it vigorously," University spokesperson Ken Wildes said yesterday. According to the complaint, Medcalf applied for the position almost immediately after Angie Herron resigned last May. Stan Bergman, who heads the entire Penn crew program, "forcefully recommended" Medcalf for the position, the complaint states. Medcalf said that Senior Associate Athletic Director Carolyn Schlie Femovich told him: "Andy, we're going to get a woman at least as good as you, if not better." Femovich also told members of the team who asked her to hire Medcalf that she intended to hire a woman to serve as "a strong female role model," according to the complaint. Femovich and other Athletic Department officials have refused to comment on the complaint. Through an Athletic Department spokesperson, members of the women's crew team also refused to comment. In July, the University hired Dartmouth College head women's crew coach Barbara Kirch, a University graduate, to take over the women's program. Kirch coached at Dartmouth for nine years, during which she led the varsity team to bronze medals at the Eastern Sprints in 1996 and 1997 and first- and second-place finishes at the Henley Women's Regatta in England in 1992 and 1994. She was a member of the Penn team during her undergraduate years in the early 1980s and went on to compete in the Olympics in 1984 and 1988. She also recently published a book about rowing. Despite Kirch's experience, Medcalf alleges that he was denied the job solely because of his sex. "I was the best person for the job," he said Tuesday. "That was made perfectly clear to me by numerous people." Medcalf, who holds a doctorate in cancer research, has held head coaching stints at Michigan State University, the University of London and the University of Rochester. In 1985, his London team won the national championship. Kirch declined to comment. The sex-discrimination complaint is the latest controversy to hit the women's crew team in the last several years. In 1995, the women's team asked the University to fire then-head coach Carol Bower, describing her as ineffective and "impossible" to work with. After a tense 1995-96 season during which Medcalf was assigned to assist in the women's program, Bower resigned her position, prompting a restructuring of the crew program. Bergman, who had previously been head coach of the men's heavyweight team, took the helm of the entire crew program, overseeing all men's and women's squads. Then-assistant women's coach Angie Herron took over the women's team's day-to-day operations. Herron resigned last May after just one year on the job. She could not be reached for comment this week. The University is required to respond to the complaint within 30 days of receiving it from the EEOC. Although Medcalf's attorney sent Penn the complaint, the EEOC has not yet sent the University its official copy. EEOC spokesperson David Grinberg said there is no set time frame for investigating the complaint or sending it to the defendant, although notification usually takes about 10 days. The complaint was filed October 31. Grinberg said he could not comment on any specific cases.

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