U-M Flint sued over firing of executive

She says she was let go for advocating LGBTQIA+ needs

David Jesse

The former director of the University of Michigan-Flint’s Center for Gender and Sexuality has filed a federal lawsuit against the school, saying she was let go for advocating for better resources for LGBTQIA+ students, faculty and staff.

Heather Johnson, who is seeking reinstatement of her job, payment of lost wages and damages in the suit, was hired by the school, one of three campuses that make up the University of Michigan system, in July 2018 as the director of the Women’s Educational Center and the Ellen Bommarito LGBTQ Center.

She was hired, in part, to merge the two centers into the new Center for Gender and Sexuality. She also was a part of the school’s Women’s Commission.

The suit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

U-M Flint said it could not comment on personnel actions.

Johnson, a lesbian, was looking to come back to southeast Michigan, where her family and partner were living. She was looking for a job that merged student affairs work, policy development, curriculum work and other interests. The job at U-M Flint fit her interests and career accomplishments perfectly, she told the Free Press on Thursday.

In her first year on the job, she secured a grant of more than $100,000 for the center’s work and held a number of events on campus, working with both school and community organizations.

Everything seemed to be going well, and

Johnson

See U-M FLINT LAWSUIT, Page 6A