Photo: Getty Images
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The former marketing director for the Valencia- based California Institute of the Arts has dropped his lawsuit against the private art university in which he alleged he was fired in 2019 because of his age and that it occurred a week before he and others were scheduled to evaluate the performance of the university president.
Lawyers for plaintiff James Wolken filed court papers on Wednesday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Timothy Patrick Dillon seeking dismissal of their client's case "with prejudice," meaning it cannot be refiled. The court papers did not state if a settlement was reached or if Wolken was not pursuing the case for other reasons.
Wolken's suit was filed in September 2021, alleging wrongful termination, retaliation, age discrimination and a violation of the state Labor Code. Wolken, whose age is not given in the lawsuit, sought unspecified compensatory and punitive damages in the suit, which alleged that Ravi S. Rajan targeted older employees soon after he became the new CalArts president in the fall of 2017.
"Wolken's termination silenced him before he could express further concerns about the institution's treatment of older employees under Mr. Rajan's administration," the suit stated.
In their court papers, CalArts attorneys denied Wolken's allegations.
Wolken had more than 20 years experience in higher education when he was hired as CalArts' executive director of marketing and communications in September 2016, the suit states. But Wolken soon realized that his age would be held against him at CalArts, according to the suit.
After Rajan's appointment, the new president advised Wolken to "get rid" of CalArts alumni magazine editor Stuart Frolick "as quickly as possible," claiming he was "old and entrenched at CALARTS for far too long," the suit stated.
Wolken argued against firing Frolick and when Rajan continued to insist that he be terminated, the plaintiff shared his concerns about this conversation with several senior school leaders, the suit stated.
In February 2018, Rajan hired Chebon Marshall, a childhood friend from Oklahoma, as his new chief of staff, creating a new position at CalArts, the suit states. Marshall spent his career in Oklahoma state politics, but had no prior experience at a university, much less in the area of education, according to the suit.
Marshall became Wolken's direct supervisor in October 2018 and he referred to the plaintiff as "grandpa" in front of Rajan and a group of senior managers at a pre-Halloween show, poking fun at the cardigan sweater Wolken was wearing, the suit stated.
"Mr. Rajan and Mr. Marshall both laughed quite loudly, but were the only ones doing so," the suit stated.
Wolken protested the term "grandpa," but Marshall did not apologize and later referred to him as a "dinosaur" because of the plaintiff's lack of activity on his social media accounts, the suit states. Marshall also referred to another university staff member as "old school" and "behind the times," the suit stated.
Wolken's concerns about what he saw as a bias against longtime CalArts workers mirrored a sentiment he heard from his staff that Rajan was trying to eliminate older employees so he could replace them with younger ones, the suit states.
"There was even a common joke developing among the staff that if one is young and pretty, they will do well under in Mr. Rajan's administration," the suit stated.
Marshall gave Wolken his annual performance review in April 2019 for his performance in 2018 and despite being his supervisor for only three months during that year, he gave Wolken "the worst review he had ever received in over 20 years in higher education," the suit stated.
In June 2019, Rajan's cabinet had its summer retreat on campus and Rajan said he wanted to "get rid of all the deans. They're terrible. They're old-fashioned and behind the times. CalArts will be so much better without them," according to the suit.
Wolken told Marshall he was unhappy about Rajan's comments, but his concerns "again fell on deaf ears," the suit stated.
Wolken was fired Sept. 25, 2019, a week before the plaintiff and other members of the president's advisory group, the senior leadership team of the institute, were scheduled to provide feedback on Rajan's performance and leadership, the suit stated.
CalArts was incorporated in 1961. Walt Disney was one of its founders.