One Year Ago Today (September 4, 2022)…A former professor at Whittier College has been granted permission to proceed with most of her claims that she was wrongfully terminated prior to the 2017-18 school year. The termination allegedly occurred after she spoke out in support of students who reported being sexually harassed by a senior professor in her department. The ruling by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Teresa A. Beaudet states that there are significant issues to be resolved in Teresa Delfin’s lawsuit, including wrongful termination, retaliation, and failure to prevent retaliation and harassment. However, the judge dismissed Delfin’s claims of defamation, sexual harassment, and hostile work environment.
In response to the lawsuit, lawyers representing Whittier College argued that Delfin’s termination was unrelated to the eventual resignation of the accused professor, David Iyam. They claimed that the college had initiated an investigation against Iyam before Delfin became involved and that his resignation was the result of this investigation, not Delfin’s actions.
Although a committee of Delfin’s peers recommended against renewing her contract as a lecturer, citing valid reasons, the judge considered various factors presented by Delfin’s attorneys. These factors included a female student’s decision to come forward in February 2016, informing Delfin that she had been sexually assaulted and harassed by Iyam. The student had also filed a Title IX complaint on the same day. Based on this evidence, the judge concluded that Delfin had presented enough evidence to establish a potential link between her protected activity and the non-renewal of her contract.
Delfin, a former lecturer in Whittier College’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology, alleged that she was terminated because she advocated for students who had allegedly been victimized by Iyam, a faculty member described in the lawsuit as a “widely-known sexual predator.”
Delfin claimed that she first became aware of Iyam’s sexual harassment behavior in May 2013 during a luncheon attended by faculty and students. According to her, she heard Iyam make an inappropriate comment about a student and immediately asked him to stop. However, he continued, and other faculty members allegedly ignored the situation. Delfin reported the incident to the head of her department, who was also part of Whittier College’s Title IX Committee at the time.
Additionally, Delfin alleged that she received reports from other students about Iyam’s sexual harassing comments, including one student who claimed that Iyam rearranged the classroom seating to favor female students wearing short skirts.
The lawsuit stated that despite Delfin’s complaint, no action was taken to address Iyam’s misconduct. A Title IX investigation commenced, resulting in Iyam being placed on administrative leave for the fall semester of 2013. However, the suit argues that despite the college’s knowledge of Iyam’s alleged misconduct, he was promoted to full professor.
In February 2016, a student revealed to Delfin that she had experienced sexual harassment, assault, and battery by Iyam throughout the fall semester of 2015 and into the spring semester of 2016. This led to another Title IX complaint and investigation. Delfin contacted the Title IX Investigator and requested that Iyam be removed from campus.
The following day, the college dean placed Iyam on administrative leave, and Iyam resigned in May 2016. The lawsuit alleges that in a series of retaliatory actions, the dean decided to terminate Delfin in March 2017, effective for the 2017-18 school year. Additionally, the suit claims that the dean created an appeal policy that prevented Delfin from appealing her termination, and that the school conducted a “sham” investigation into her complaint filed with human resources in violation of college policies.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
