Newman hit with two more lawsuits from ex-employees who say they were fired unfairly
Newman University is facing two more lawsuits from ex-employees who say they were fired unfairly – bringing the number filed in recent months against Wichita’s private Catholic college to at least four.
Sue Ellen Gardner, former tenured professor and director of the university’s School of Social Work, in a Dec. 18 Sedgwick County District Court filing claims Newman terminated her on June 8, 2017, without good cause then refused to give her a hearing to challenge it. She says in the lawsuit that she “performed her job well and without discipline” and that the school’s actions breached her employment contract’s “implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.”
The lawsuit did not say what, if any, reason the university gave for ending Gardner’s employment. She started working for Newman in 2000.
The second case, filed in federal court on Jan. 3, claims Newman fired former counseling program director and assistant professor John Walker in early 2018 in retaliation for reporting suspected rule breaking by university officials, criminal activity and information related to a 20-year-old woman’s October 2017 death at an off-campus party that included drugs and alcohol. Newman temporarily suspended three baseball players for violating team rules in connection with the gathering where Griffin Cruise reportedly snorted the designer drug, n-bomb, that killed her.
Walker, who also worked as a Title IX investigator for Newman, also contends that some instances of discrimination and retaliation weren’t reported or properly investigated by the school and that someone stole evidence connected to a complaint from his office. He says in the suit that a Newman official later told faculty and staff that he was an “active security threat” and to call police if he stepped on campus. His employment at Newman started in 2008.
Title IX is the federal civil rights law that prohibits schools receiving federal funds from engaging in sex discrimination and bars them from retaliating against a person who files a complaint.
Newman University spokesman Clark Schafer in an emailed statement said that the school could not comment on Gardner’s lawsuit because it had not been formally served with a copy.
He called Walker’s allegations “without merit.”
“All actions taken by the university in relation to his (Walker’s) claims were made for legitimate, non-discriminatory, and non-retaliatory purposes,” Schafer wrote. “Newman University investigated the allegations made by Mr. Walker, both before and after his termination. It was determined that there was no evidence to support his claim that Newman, or any employee listed in the lawsuit as a defendant violated the law.
“Newman University has a policy to prevent discrimination and retaliation in the workplace and the classroom. At all times, Newman University complied with the applicable state and federal laws.”
Both Walker and Gardner are seeking damages and a jury trial. Neither of their attorneys were immediately available for comment on Wednesday afternoon.
Newman University has been hit with four lawsuits filed by former employees over the past seven months, federal and Sedgwick County District Court records show. In addition to Walker and Gardner’s allegations:
Cindy Louthan, once a Newman education professor, claims in a June 2018 federal lawsuit that a fellow faculty member who “demonstrated an attitude of hostility towards women” harassed and discriminated against her because she is female. She says she was told last March that her contract wasn’t being renewed but that the letter that notified her “gave no grounds for separation and is not subject to appeal.”
Ex-human resources director Mandy Greenfield sued in federal court in December, claiming Newman fired her in retaliation for whistle blowing on suspected rule violations, mismanagement and unethical behavior by university officials upset about her internal investigations of Title IX complaints. Walker helped investigate some of those complaints including one lodged against Newman athletics staff by former head volleyball coach Destiny Clark, according to court records.
Louthan and Greenfield each are demanding monetary damages and a jury trial. Newman refutes the claims in both cases.
The school, at 3100 McCormick, has about 1,800 graduate and undergraduate students.
