Lawsuit: Professor relieved of teaching duties following disagreements with University of Michigan administrators
A University of Michigan professor says he was unfairly removed from his teaching duties following disagreements with administrators.
Higher education professor Edward St. John is suing the school of education dean and others in federal court, claiming fundamental disagreements over teaching theories led to a stressful work environment and a last-minute re-assignment.
“I love the University of Michigan and really hated to do this,” St. John said.
He is suing under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the state’s Whistleblower Protection Act, as well as for defamation, breach of contract and a violation of his due process rights.
Named in the suit are the U-M Board of Regents; Deborah Loewenberg Ball, dean of the school of education; Annemarie Palincsar, associate dean for the school of education; and Stephen DesJardins, the director of the U-M Center for the Study of Higher Ed and Postsecondary Education.
Ball is one of the nation’s leading math education experts and serves on the National Board for Education Sciences under President Barack Obama.
University officials declined to comment on the suit, which was filed June 4 at the US District Court, Eastern District of Michigan.
"The university does not discuss ongoing litigation,” U-M spokeswoman Kelly Cunningham said in an e-mail. “However, it is vigorously defending the named parties,"
St. John has been a tenured professor at U-M since 2005 and is the author or editor of 27 books on higher education policy. His research focuses on the interplay among public finance, educational policies and access in both K-12 and higher education.
The lawsuit notes numerous grant awards totaling over $3 million St. John helped to earn for U-M, as well as collaborations among other schools and colleges. His projects were often geared toward improving equity and diversity in urban and higher education.
According to U-M’s annual salary report, St. John has a 9-month appointment and was paid $153,000 in 2009.
According to the lawsuit, DesJardins tried to undermine St. John’s diversity initiatives, while Ball discouraged St. John from pursuing some of his initiatives while promoting her own.
This work environment caused stress and depression, according to the suit, and St. John was removed this spring from his winter semester teaching duties. He received less than one-day’s notice following a meeting with the dean to address his mental health, the lawsuit states.
St. John had no time to prepare his students, teaching assistants or staff about the modification to his contract, the suit states.
False statements about St. John’s teaching were distributed to U-M faculty, the lawsuit states, including that his teaching had deteriorated over time and that he had been incoherent in class. Contrarily, his reviews from graduate students he teaches were above average, the lawsuit states, and he expressed to administrators that teaching was his top priority, over research and writing.
Since being removed from teaching duties, St. John has gone on sabbatical to pursue research projects for U-M.
Juliana Keeping is a reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at julianakeeping@annarbor.com or 734-623-2528. Follow Juliana Keeping on Twitter
Comments
edstudent
Tue, Aug 10, 2010 : 3:23 p.m.
Seems to me that this article doesn't give any information to suggest that either party is right or wrong. Interested parties will have to wait until (or if) more information comes out about what went down between the professor and the administration.
Lady Audrey
Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 5:52 p.m.
It is always difficult to know "the truth" when the only side of the story we know is Professor St. John's. One should expect his claims to be large and vigorous; that is how our judicial system works. Unfortunately, we are unlikely to ever learn the truth because either (a) the case will get thrown out for some reason, or (b) the university will settle and it will be sealed. To me this is a sad case. If the professor was having emotional difficulties, one hopes he gets the help he needs and then can return to his duties. If he has been unfairly treated by the University, then one hopes the institution learns from the mistakes and strives to ensure no one else is victimized in this way and they reinstate the professor and his good name.
demistify
Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 9:36 a.m.
What we have learned so far is that there is a power struggle within the School of Education. One side decided to sue, and their lawyer proceeded to spin to the media. The lawyer for the other side chose "No comment". Apart from that, some of the usual suspects are using this blog to vent their sloganeering unrelated to the subject.
trespass
Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 3:34 a.m.
@Stephen Landes- 153k is on the high end of the scale for UM professors but this is an indication of the high regard the University has held Professor St. John until he disagreed with them.
Stephen Landes
Mon, Jul 5, 2010 : 6:19 p.m.
From what I have read of the Detroit Public School system no one should be claiming any accomplishments in that area. One person posting on this article presented a list of the professor's "accomplishments" and for that I am grateful (the report should be, too). However, listing "collaborations" as accomplishments without any indication of what meaningful value-added work was contributed calls into question the utility of the professor in attracting the cited funds to the University. What is not in question is the this professor is being paid $153k for a 9 month appointment: what is definitely being stressed here is the University budget. For my part in this collaboration I recommend we do without the professor and that the $153k be directed to a financial aid fund for deserving students to ease their stress.
yerbamate
Mon, Jul 5, 2010 : 5:52 p.m.
Professor St. John is brilliant scholar and a generous mentor. I hope this issue can be quickly and civilly resolved so that he can get back to the classroom and to his research activities.
mike from saline
Mon, Jul 5, 2010 : 5:40 p.m.
perhaps if we end up loosing Professor St.John, we could lure Cornel West away from Yale.
bedrog
Mon, Jul 5, 2010 : 3:53 p.m.
chuckl...re mine above,and to cite jos. welch to joe mccarthy in the 'army/mccarthy' hearings: "have you no shame, sir?" ( i know the answer...see the WASHTENAW JEWISH NEWS, esp the feb 2010 issue on a local extremist group who wouldnt know 'proper procedure' if it bit them in a place that might be moderated away)
ChuckL
Mon, Jul 5, 2010 : 3:03 p.m.
There seems to be an ongoing and callous disregard for following proper procedures in regard to work rules and civil rights issues by UofM administrators and DPS officers on the UofM campus. Past articles in the Michigan Daily, AnnArbor.com confirm this. For example, the NCAA investigation which UofM has admitted responsibility for includes rule violations not followed by the Athletic Department. A recent lawsuit by an alumni in regard to a violation of the Open Meetings Act was settled in favor of the plaintiff. The recent firing of an LEO instructor who also serves as a top official of the LEO is another example; the list goes on. Mary Sue Coleman has created and continues to foster a permissive culture of contempt for the rights of professors, instructors, students and members of the public when it comes to conflict of various types on the UofM campus. This story is simply another chapter in a long list of administrative abuses under Mary Sue Coleman's watch. This woman is either incompetent or corrupt or even both.
jon67
Mon, Jul 5, 2010 : 2:41 p.m.
Harsh words, ChuckL! Harsh words. So, this not really about the School of Education dean, the assistant dean, the department chair and the study center director all ganging up on St. John? This goes right to the top, to Mary Sue herself? Wow. The story is getting better and better. I've always found that, in most "he said", no, "she said", situations, the first thing to do is count heads(lawyers don't count).
trespass
Mon, Jul 5, 2010 : 1:47 p.m.
@Mike from Saline- According to the court filing Professor St. John Collaborated on the M-STEM academy for the College of Engineering (funded $200,000) Collaborated on the Women in Science and Engineering (funded $599,000) Collaborated on the Michigan Louis Stoke Alliance for Minority Participation (funded $699,000) Principle Investigator for a technical assistance grant to "College for Every Student" a non profit organization (funded $100,000) PI for "Projects Promoting Equity in Higher Education; Planning Grant" (funded $200,000) PI for "Projects Promoting Equity in HIgher Education: Capacity Building" (funded $400,000) Collaborated on writing the proposal for the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation" (funded $699,000) And there are other accomplishments listed since his hiring in 2004, so I think it is fair to say that he has made important contributions to the University and the State.
Jay Thomas
Mon, Jul 5, 2010 : 1:30 p.m.
He sounds like a loose cannon with an enormous sense of entitlement. Were there any grounds he couldn't think up to sue the university over? Looks like everything possible was covered. Luckily the U has a 1st rate depression center to help him with his depression...after he gets back from his paid sabbatical.
trespass
Mon, Jul 5, 2010 : 1:25 p.m.
@jon67- I am sorry if I guessed wrong about your being conservative but the point was not which political persuasion you are but rather that academic freedom has an important role to play in Universities. I don't think you understand how easy it is to ruin an academic career. It is not as easy as saying, move on. Your Chairman or Dean can make it nearly impossible to find another job, particularly if they make false allegations about your mental health. I have read the actual court filing, not just the news story, so when you say that the "stressfull environment" led to a federal lawsuit, I think you are misunderstanding the situation. It is not like a sexual harrassment lawsuit, alleging a hostile environment. The adverse employment action was when the Dean & Chairman suddenly removed him from the classroom in the middle of his courses and gave false reasons to his students. This embarrassed and discredited him and may have been a prelude to fireing him. These are actions that University policy prohibits without a hearing to show cause. The only reason that there is a lawsuit is because the University denied him the due process that he is entitled to under his contract. I am sure that you would agree that an employer should live up to their employment contract.
mike from saline
Mon, Jul 5, 2010 : 1:10 p.m.
trespass: Could you please give us a list of the "major contributions" professor St.John has made to the "University and State"? Frankly, I've never heard of him.
Khurum
Mon, Jul 5, 2010 : 1:08 p.m.
nate, how did you end up commenting here? You're way too reasonable to be commenting. As you pointed out the article reveals almost nothing about what really happened, thus the only way to comment is to just give opinions you already have--nothing to do with any real facts revealed in the article. That's how comments are done here. If you're going to be reasonable and wait to actually have facts before commenting, how's anyone to have entertainment reading the usual silliness. Still, it is nice to know some others are out there who realize it is silliness rather than thoughtful discourse we're usually reading.
jon67
Mon, Jul 5, 2010 : 12:45 p.m.
"You sound like you are probably a conservative...." Alas, you read me wrong! It pains me to be called a conservative, particularly given my life-long loathing for all things Republican. Academic freedom? Absolutely! All for it. Argue away. When I read, however, that academic disagreements over teaching theories led to a "stressful work environment" and hence, the filing of a federal lawsuit, I want to puke. The further suggestion that this is somehow an ADA issue (a law with a 20 year history of absolutely absurd litigation) is even wackier to me, from the facts I read. Life can be stressful, especially work. It usually is in my private world experience. Want real stress? Lose that stressful job. Though it's not my world, I have some familiarity with the life (and squabbles) of academia and the very idea that things are so high stress over at the School of Ed makes me hoot. I confess, I no longer have any tolerance for the endless chatter, theories and jargon of academics on the subjects of urban schools, diversity and minority student education. As someone else said, this just sounds like a garden variety tuff battle, but now we have a federal lawsuit. Talk of "grievance hearings" always makes me think of the UAW and its stifling, union work rules, so beloved of the rank and file. Public employees, even esteemed professors(for whom I have the highest respect), can sometimes sound just like Teamsters. From my private employment world perspective, after all the arguments are exhausted, ultimately, the boss decides and you have to live with it. If that's just not acceptable to you, move on.
nate
Mon, Jul 5, 2010 : 12:33 p.m.
Hasn't anyone noticed that we have absolutely no idea what happened? Ms. Keeping failed to fish out any useful information beyond whatever vague accusations are found in the professor's complaint. I personally would hold off criticism of the professor or the administration until some actual facts are established.
bedrog
Mon, Jul 5, 2010 : 12:21 p.m.
chuckl.. re you on "proper procedures"... maybe you could do that bullhorn thing you do in front of mary sue's office
trespass
Mon, Jul 5, 2010 : 11:10 a.m.
@jon67- Academic freedom is an entitlement that we give professors in order to protect the education of students. If professors are not free then the University administration dictates what students are taught. In this case it is the freedom to fight for his vision over that of the Dean regarding education of inner city students. You sound like you are probably a conservative, so what if next time the professor is espousing a conservative point of view and is releived of his teaching position by the Dean because of it. Won't you fight for his right to teach conservative views?
Ryan Munson
Mon, Jul 5, 2010 : 10:14 a.m.
A very good read for those interested in the subject of rebuilding urban education... http://www.amazon.com/Radical-Possibilities-Education-Movement-Critical/dp/0415950996
jon67
Mon, Jul 5, 2010 : 9:19 a.m.
"Important insight into policy issues" coming out of the School of School? Please. I don't think so. The function of the School of Education is to offer up ever more variations on the theme of why the abject failure of public education in Detroit is the result of everything and everyone, except the local population.
spj
Mon, Jul 5, 2010 : 9:04 a.m.
@Jon, are you under the illusion that this would be legal in the private sector? If the allegations are true (and I have no idea if they are) it would be a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which covers both the private and the public sector. It's not about entitlement, it's about fairness and non-discrimination.
jon67
Mon, Jul 5, 2010 : 8:33 a.m.
"a grievance hearing".........the language and thought process of the whiny, petulant, union/public employee, all in a snit because they didn't get their way. Almost child-like in its innocence and sense of entitlement. Anyone who thinks like this should have an IMMEDIATE job transfer to the private sector work force, where most people struggle and work, for a some real world re-education.
ChuckL
Mon, Jul 5, 2010 : 8:22 a.m.
Where is Mary Sue Coleman in all of this? Ruining top talent like this over a petty dispute is disgusting; the public is left twiddling its thumbs while important insight into policy issues are left wanting. What is so hard about following proper grievance procedure? Those procedures have been developed over time and are designed to protect the public, administrators and instructors/professors in the best way possible. Maybe we will get lucky and UofM football fans will blame Mary Sue for leaving Rich Rod in place for too long and force her out. It would be appropriate for the UofM Public Safety Department to read her the trespass notice on her way out!
trespass
Mon, Jul 5, 2010 : 6:32 a.m.
This will be another quarter million dollars of taxpayer money that will go to a local lawfirm to defend UM administrators who refuse to follow fair grievance procedures. In a previous settlement with a UM professor, the Administration promised that it would not remove a professor from the classroom without giving them a grievance hearing (Regents bylaw 5.09). This lawsuit would not have been necessary if the Administration had followed fair grievance procedures before they sought to damage and discredit a tenured professor at UM, who had made major contributions to the University and the state.
trespass
Mon, Jul 5, 2010 : 6:22 a.m.
Professor St. John has been very successful and a favorite of the Administration regarding improving educational opportunities for Detroit Public School students and minority students at UM. According to his suit, a divide developed between two factions about how to approach diversity and improving the achievment gap for minority students at UM. The faction led by Senior Vice Provost Lester Monts and Professor St. John began to compete with a faction lead by Dean Ball and Professor DesJardin for resorces and grants (a classic turf battle). The UM has been criticized by the Higher Learning Commission and others for its poor performance regarding diversity. If there is a battle over two different approaches to improve the performance of Detroit schools and minority student performance at UM, then I would like to hear the issues as a story in AnnArbor.com. The UM spokeperson may claim they can't talk about a lawsuit but they certainly should be able to talk about this issue.