Physics Institute Settles Suit, Takes Steps to Increase Diversity

摘要

"This book is stolen. Written in part on stolen time, that is." When science journalist Jeff Schmidt penned those words, he inadvertently began a 6-year legal tale that even he didn't see coining. The yarn ended last month, as Schmidt settled a lawsuit against his former employer, the American Institute of Physics (AIP), which represents 10 professional societies. In the suit, Schmidt claimed that AIP, based in College Park, Maryland, fired him in 2000 for protesting the lack of racial diversity on the editorial staff of AIP's magazine Physics Today. AIP says it was responding to his claim that he used company time to write his book Disciplined Minds: A Critical Look at Salaried Professionals and the Soul-Battering System That Shapes Their Lives. The book's first line says as much, although Schmidt says he was engaging in hyperbole.