Margaret Menzel

Research Menzel was known for her research on chromosomes, meiosis, and genetic relationships between organisms. She conducted this research on a broad array of species including plants such as Physalis and Hibiscus, the nematode Schistosoma, and agricultural crops such as tomatoes. Her work with Meta Brown on cotton plants centered on cotton cytogenetics and translocated chromosomes. Plants she collected during a 1960 sampling expedition to the Florida Panhandle remain in the herbarium at Florida State.

Lawsuit against Florida State University Menzel was an advocate for women's rights as she supported equal pay for women and was involved in the formation of the Florida chapter of the National Organization for Women. and Menzel's case is one of the cases cited as a key part of extending Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Menzel's complaint centered on discrimination in pay and promotion; she was joined by nine other women working at Florida State University. At the time of the class action suit it was the first case where female professors used a court action to demand equal pay and status; one of the arguments was that sex discrimination began when men took over the administration of what had been Florida State College For Women when it admitted men and became Florida State University in 1947. A federal judge did not agree to back pay in 1973. In 1975, the case was settled with an agreement that Florida State would establish a task force to investigate bias against women at the university and to revise its anti-nepotism policy so as to not discriminate against the wives of university employees. Menzel later served as a witness for Laura Jepsen in her successful 1976 suit against Florida State University for gender discrimination.

Selected publications

Awards and honors She received the Senior Research Award from the Association of Southeastern Biologists in 1950 and the Meritorious Teaching Award from the association in 1985. Since 1989 the Botanical Society of America has awarded the Margaret Menzel Award each year for an outstanding paper presented at their annual meeting. In 2000, Florida State University began a program allowing faculty with named professorships to select the name used and in 2002, Walter R. Tschinkel opted to honor Menzel by becoming the "Margaret Menzel Professor of Biological Science".

Personal life Menzel met her husband, the malacologist R. Winston Menzel, while she was at the University of Virginia. They married in 1949. They had 3 children. They collaborated on one project on quahog clams which was published in 1965.