Vol. 128, No. 2
Thursday, June 14, 2018
OPINION
SPORTS
A&C
RELIGION SHOULDN’T EXCUSE DISCRIMINATION
MEDVED IS ON THE SHORT TRACK TO SUCCESS
CSU CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF THE PIPE ORGAN
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Lawsuit filed against CSU A former Colorado State University assistant professor filed a lawsuit against the University, claiming that she faced retaliation and was forced to resign from her position after reporting the incident. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ASHLEY POTTS COLLEGIAN
Former professor claims sexual harassment report affected tenure By Haley Candelario & Natalia Sperry @CSU_Collegian
A former Colorado State University assistant professor filed a lawsuit against the University, claiming she faced retaliation and was forced to resign from her position after reporting another professor sexually harassed her. In the lawsuit, Christina Boucher, who started working for CSU in fall 2012 as a tenuretrack assistant professor, claims computer science professor Asa Ben-Hur would stare at her chest and backside in a sexual manner. After reporting the harassment to Computer Science Department Chair Darrell Whitley and Dean
of the College of Natural Sciences Janice Nerger, Boucher said her ability to receive tenure at the University was attacked. According to court documents, Whitley told Ben-Hur about Boucher’s complaint, which led to Boucher not being invited to meetings by Ben-Hur, even when meetings concerned Boucher’s research or graduate student advisees. She was also removed from a student’s thesis committee by Ben-Hur. In the lawsuit, Boucher said a March 2015 email she received from Nerger indicated her sexual harrasment complaint could affect her annual evaluations from Whitley.
“Because you have come to see me about the climate in the department and I know things with (Ben-Hur) have been disruptive, these two things may well come up in your discussions with (Whitley),” wrote Nerger in the email, according to court documents. “I think having another pair of ears in the room could be useful.” The lawsuit alleges Boucher received two positive performance reviews from Whitley in March 2013 and March 2014 before reporting she was sexually harassed by Ben-Hur to Whitley and Nerger. In his March 2015 evaluation, Whitley rated Boucher below
expectations in two out of three categories and meets/below expectations overall, which had the potential to negatively impact Boucher’s likelihood to receive tenure, according to court documents. In an email to The Collegian, CSU Director of Public Affairs and Communications Mike Hooker wrote that CSU disputes Boucher’s claims, though it cannot comment on pending litigation in detail. “While CSU takes allegations of sexual harassment seriously, CSU strongly disputes Dr. Boucher’s claims and is actively defending against them,” wrote Hooker. “Also, there has been no action taken against any
employee based on Dr. Boucher’s allegations because the University has determined that none is warranted. We look forward to the opportunity to present the other side of the case in a court of law.” Tenure committee meetings allegedly impacted by retaliation During an April 3, 2015 meeting, the tenure and promotions committee was about to recommend Boucher for tenure track, but Ben-Hur, who sat on the committee, argued against her and claimed she treated him hatefully, according to court documents. On April 10, 2015, Whitley presented his negative evaluation see LAWSUIT on page 3 >>