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Friday, July 30, 2010
3rd Teacher Sues UNM in '07 Case
By Abigail R. Ortiz
Journal Staff Writer
A third teacher is suing the University of New Mexico in connection with a 2007 incident in which associate professor of creative writing Lisa Chavez posed with graduate students on several sadomasochistic and bondage websites.
The suit by Professor Diane Thiel contends a UNM administrator and other teachers made inappropriate remarks about pregnant women and otherwise retaliated against her after she criticized the way the university handled the Chavez incident. The suit also claims UNM denied Thiel promotion to full professor.
The lawsuit accuses then-English department chairman David Jones of telling other faculty that teachers should "stop breeding." Thiel was pregnant at the time. It also accuses Chavez of writing degrading comments in her personal blog about pregnancy and children.
Jones declined to comment.
Chavez, referred to as "Mistress Jade," posed in sexually suggestive photos on websites with at least one graduate student.
Thiel contended UNM failed to adequately investigate and deal with an outcry from faculty and students over the matter.
The investigation, performed by outside counsel in 2008, found the incident didn't violate any laws or university policies, UNM spokeswoman Susan McKinsey said.
"However, these lawsuits are really about the plaintiffs' disagreement with UNM's conclusion that a tenured faculty member should not be fired for off-campus conduct," McKinsey said.
The state's Human Rights Bureau reviewed the case and found probable cause that Thiel was subjected to sex discrimination and retaliation, along with a hostile work environment, bureau director Francie Cordova stated in a Jan. 14 letter.
Sharon Warner, former director of UNM's creative writing program, and her husband, Teddy, sued UNM in 2009, claiming administrators retaliated against them when Sharon Warner criticized the handling of the incident.
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