U-M Flint lawsuit
her work was well received.
“Notwithstanding her many successes, Johnson regularly experienced in her meetings and interactions with her supervisor (Christopher Giordano, vice chancellor of Student Affairs) that he avoided making eye contact, interrupted her and responded abruptly without providing the approval or feedback she needed, and generally failed to show her in his words and conduct the respect he afforded his other direct reports,” the lawsuit claims.
During the summer of 2019, Giordano and new U-M Flint Chancellor Debasish Dutta, who started that summer, worked on gathering a group of U-M Flint staffers to work on a diversity, equity and inclusion plan.
Johnson thought her role made her a key person on campus to address the issues. She wasn’t.
“Concerned by this obvious oversight, two faculty members who sit on the Board of the CGS met with Giordano in September of 2019, to request that Johnson be included in the UM-Flint DEI planning,” the suit says. “Giordano rebuffed these two faculty members’ concerns, claiming that he needed team players to participate in this work and that Johnson, in his words, was not a ‘team player.’
“In fact, these terms are coded language used by the University’s leaders, including Giordano and Dutta, to demonstrate contempt for women like Johnson who show unwelcomed persistence in their work and advocacy.”
At the same time, Johnson was pushing the university to increase its ability to help LGBQT students who were seeking counseling services. She told Giordano the school’s counseling services were discriminating against transgender students and not offering them services.
“Although Giordano pledged to ‘look into it,’ despite Johnson’s repeated follow-up requests, at no time did Giordano respond to Johnson’s credible concerns and suggested action steps,” the lawsuit alleges. “Instead, Giordano directed Johnson not to follow up on any concerns of inadequate mental health care on behalf of the LGBTQIA+ student body. Giordano threatened Johnson that if she persisted in pursuing her concerns about CAPS, he would consider it insubordination, which could instigate disciplinary charges.”
In October 2019, Johnson filed a formal complaint with the school’s human resources department alleging discrimination against students. On Dec. 2, Johnson and fellow Women’s Commission co-chair Emily Feurherm were summoned to an early morning meeting with Chancellor Dutta.
They thought they were going to give an update, Feurherm told the Free Press. Instead, they were told the commission was being disbanded. Later that day, Johnson was summoned to another meeting with Giordano, this time with human resources, where they “presented her with a document that required her to resign her employment and promise not to ever seek rehire by the University in exchange for a small payment,” the lawsuit says. “This document indicated that if Johnson refused to sign, she would face unspecified disciplinary charges that would result in her termination.”
On Jan. 14, Johnson was sent to a disciplinary hearing, where, despite letters of support from the former chancellor of U-M Flint, she was terminated.
The lawsuit did not specify the charges brought in the hearing.
Feurherm said Johnson was unfairly treated.
“I cannot tell you how vibrant the center was under her leadership,” she told the Free Press. “She was an incredible, vibrant person.”
Contact David Jesse: 313-222-8851 or djesse@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @reporterdavidj