LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A former professor is suing the University of La Verne, alleging she was forced to resign in 2022 due to a backlash from the school's then-president after the plaintiff complained of disparate pay when compared to her male colleagues.
Kristan Venegas' Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit allegations include retaliation, harassment and discrimination. Venegas seeks $1 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages.
A ULV representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the suit brought Wednesday.
Venegas previously served as a professor of clinical education and a research associate in the Pullias Center for Higher Education in USC's Rossier School of Education. Venegas also has been recognized by USC as a Remarkable Woman of the Year and an Emerging Leader by the National Academic Advising Association.
Venegas worked for ULV as a professor and associate dean and became an associate provost in July 2021. The next month she complained to the administration that she was paid less than both the male associate deans and the prior male associate provost, according to the suit.
In response, then-ULV President Devorah Lieberman began retaliating against Venegas as her classes were taken away, her requests for equal pay were denied and she was micro-managed, the suit states. Venegas also was required to attend monthly meetings with Lieberman, began receiving poor performance reviews, was demoted and also the subject of false rumors by Lieberman that the plaintiff was suffering from mental health issues, the suit alleges.
Lieberman disparaged Venegas' work, tried to replace the plaintiff with two Caucasian males and intentionally mispronounced Venegas' last name, all of which prompted the plaintiff to file a complaint against Lieberman, the suit states.
Venegas was interviewed as part of an investigation against Lieberman in response to several employee complaints regarding the president's alleged bullying, toxic work culture, retaliation and unlawful discrimination, and Lieberman confronted the plaintiff about the probe in March 2022, the suit states.
"Plaintiff began experiencing isolation and additional retaliation by Dr. Lieberman's friends and supporters," the suit states.
Venegas' teaching duties were removed in May 2022, and two months later she requested a medical leave to deal with her workplace emotional distress, the suit states.
Venegas was removed as supervisor of the Randall Lewis Center for Well- Being and Research and in October told the ULV administration that she was "being forced to resign," the suit states. .
Lieberman retired the same month after 12 years as ULV president.