Widener professor accuses dean of defamation

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WILMINGTON - A tenured professor fighting to keep his job at Widener University School of Law in Wilmington has sued the dean for allegedly making defamatory statements in an effort to fire the instructor.

Lawrence J. Connell, an associate professor at the school, has accused dean Linda L. Ammons of intentionally making false statements that characterize Connell as a racist and sexist in administrative proceedings to oust the professor.

Attorneys for Connell said the suit was filed Friday in Delaware Superior Court.

Speaking at a news conference, Connell said, "Ammons has destroyed my reputation because of my conservative, political and legal beliefs."

Connell, who is white argues that Ammons, an African American, is angry because Connell used her in violent, hypothetical scenarios during class lessons on criminal procedure.

Ammons was accused of making defamatory statements that included attributing racist and sexist remarks to Connell and at one time characterizing Connell as a threat to the physical safety of the campus community, according to the lawsuit.

Saying she has not seen the suit, Ammons said in a statement, "I have no intention of responding to his allegations in the news media."

In December, Connell, who has taught at the school for 26 years, was placed on administrative leave after several students accused him of "discrimination and/or harassment," according to a statement signed by Ammons.

Connell is accused of using hypothetical examples in which he "decided to shoot Dean Ammons and then blew her head off," according to student allegations students made to university officials and included in court documents.

Connell admitted using Ammons in hypothetical scenarios in which he is a perpetrator who attempts to shoot the dean, but denied that she was shot in the examples. He called such techniques part of a teacher's academic freedom. "Law professors have sworn under oath in writing to Ammons that my teaching method of poking fun at administrators, black and white, during classroom examples . . . is well accepted and used nationwide," he said.

Using "quirky hypotheticals," such as the one involving Ammons, "captures students' attention," he said, adding, "Class material can be depressing. It is a way to lighten the atmosphere and help them remember the principles being taught."

In another aspect of the incident, students reported that Connell referred to African-Americans as "black folk," used excessive profanity, and said "all criminals are poor and all poor are black folk."

Connell admitted that he used the term "black folks," according to court documents, but denied the other accusations.

University officials say that Connell has refused to participate in the college's initial informal investigation of the students' allegations and sought to fire him because that refusal violates his contract, according university documents included in the lawsuit. Connell declined to participate without an attorney to represent him, the documents say. School regulations say faculty members are entitled to counsel after the procedures reach the formal stages.

In March, a faculty panel at the law school recommended that the school withdraw its effort to fire Connell for failing to participate in it hearing. Ammons responded by putting the proceedings on hault. In the meantime the university will launch another investigation in response to complaints on Connell filed by students.