Ousted president wants job back, says he was discriminated against
The long-running fight between Hocking College officials and former president Ron Erickson isn’t over.
Erickson, who was fired in June 2011, rehired that September and then resigned amid conflict in 2014, has sued the school and its board president, alleging gender discrimination and illegal retaliation for complaints.
The lawsuit, which names the college and Board of Trustees President Andy Stone as defendants, was filed last Friday in U.S. District Court in Columbus.
Erickson is asking the court to order Hocking College to restore him as president and to make the defendants pay at least $25,000 per claim for multiple claims of damages, plus at least $25,000 in punitive damages.
According to the lawsuit, conflict developed between Erickson and other college officials in July 2014 because the vice-president of finance, Gina Fetty, and Trustee Mike Brooks began “to demean the character and performance” of Provost Carl Bridges, who had been hired two years prior. It also says Bridges faced hostile treatment from Vice President Myriah Davis.
Erickson says that Fetty referred to him and Bridges as “girly men” and accused them of having an affair. The suit says that Bridges filed formal complaints with the college, saying Davis and Fetty lied to trustees about his performance and character and that they harassed him because of his race and sexuality.
Erickson’s suit says Bridges is black and the others are white. It says that Erickson is heterosexual but does not state Bridges’ sexual orientation.
Erickson fired Fetty on Sept 22, 2014. Two days later, an attorney for the Board of Trustees told Erickson that the board wanted him to resign. He says he didn’t want to, but was forced to resign. After his resignation, Davis was appointed interim president. He reinstated Fetty to her position and Bridges resigned.
The suit says the board retaliated against Erickson for objecting to sexual harassment by others against Bridges. Regarding the gender-discrimination complaint, the suit says, “Hocking College treated Erickson differently due to its perception that Erickson did not conform to the male gender, or how a heterosexual male should act.”
Erickson’s attorneys with the Cleveland-based Spitz Law Firm would not comment on the suit.
Hocking issued a statement saying, “Hocking College is experiencing a renaissance under the current administration. Rather than lingering on allegations from a past administration, we are focusing on the great things that are happening right now.”
The statement said the college eliminated a budget deficit from 2014 and increased the proportion of minority students from 12 percent in 2014 to 21 percent in 2017. It also said that the retention rate — the percentage of students who return after their first year — has increased “exponentially” since then, but a spokesman could not provide figures.