The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) faces a lawsuit for its racial hiring fees after a former professor said he was “illegally retaliated” for objecting his supposedly discriminatory practices.
Professor Stephen Kleinschmit was associated clinical professor in the Department of Public Policies, Management and Analysis (PPMA) of the UIC until his contract was terminated in August 2023.
According to a legal complaint filed in the Federal Court on Monday by the legal firm Liberty Justice Center, Kleinschmit was fired after criticizing the supposedly discriminatory and illegal nature of a new university recruitment program that focused on the race of the candidates, the genre and sexual orientation in your criteria to hire.
The lawsuit states that at the end of 2019, the teacher felt uncomfortable during meetings on the search for the candidate for the new program of “Bridge to the Faculty” (B2F) of the UIC. B2F is a recruitment program under the University’s Diversity Office, whose objective is to diversify the professors and “attract post -destitute postdoctoral academics with the objective of a direct transition to a position of Junior Faculty of Tenure after two years” Says UIC.
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Professor Kleinschmit filed a legal complaint against the University of Illinois Chicago, after he affirms that he was reprinted for criticizing the illegal hiring and promotion practices of the School. (Getty Images/Liberty Justice Center)
During these meetings, the fellow members of the Faculty “spent a prolonged period of time discussing the racial characteristics of the candidates and routinely regretted the composition of the race and the genre of the group of applicants,” says the complaint.
Kleinschmit came to believe that B2F, and other programs for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at the public university, were illegal according to the Federal Non -Discrimination Law.
Initially he hesitated to speak for fear of “being ostracted and retaliated” as a member of the Faculty without possession. Finally, he shared his concerns with other members of his department and university administrators, worrying that he could be involved in participating in what he believed were illegal activities by the University.
Kleinschmit’s conversations opposed the racial hiring practices of the university and political activism during that period of almost 4 years before being fired, “they were not well received,” adds the complaint.
The complaint names four other hiring programs based on the UIC breed to argue that there is a “generalized racial discrimination in labor practices” in the school that has “undermined” its academic integrity.
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The demand of the Justice Center of Liberty states that Professor Kleinschmit suffered substantial professional damage after being fired from the University of Illinois Chicago. (Istock)
UIC allegedly said that Kleinschmit’s contract was not renewed due to budget cuts.
The complaint says that five months after its termination, UIC announced that it was hiring for a non -lieutenant power faculty position with labor tasks that “overlap significantly” with the previous responsibilities of Kleinschmit. The work publication encouraged the “members of a recognized sub -present group” to run.
Liberty Justice Center says that Kleinschmit was an “exemplary” employee who was promoted early and received positive performance evaluations, bonds driven by merit and salary increases every year of his 6 -year employment at the University.
The professor says he was not notified of his imminent dismissal until June 2023, leaving him a little time for a successful appeal. The late notice also harmed its ability to find another job before the start of the academic school year, leaving it unemployed for a whole year, according to the complaint.
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Liberty Justice Center is accusing the UIC of racial discrimination and reprisals against Kleinschmit. He asks the court to order the university to stop his practices of racially discriminatory contracting and retention and seeks financial damage to the profits and benefits that Kleinschmit lost due to the “illegal” actions of the university.
“The University of Illinois Chicago was repeatedly dedicated to shameless acts of racial discrimination, then added illegal reprisals to the mixture to avoid responsibility for illegal behavior,” said Reilly Stephens, main advisor to the Liberty Justice Center. “These actions are unacceptable violations of the right to equal protection under the law, and we urge the court to stop him immediately.”
Kleinschmit, who is now an instructor of the Faculty of Public Policies of the Northwestern University, said: “They fired me for speaking against illegal behavior for the university. I am grateful to the Liberty Justice Center for taking a position against the institutional corruption and fight for my constitutional and legal rights. “
Illinois Chicago University said it does not comment on pending litigation.
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President Donald Trump, who is shown here on Friday, February 7, has instituted radical policies to eradicate Dei throughout the federal government since he assumed the position. (AP/Alex Brandon)
Demand is the last example of a public university that faces scrutiny for its race -based hiring practices after the University of Colorado Boulder was also criticized in recent weeks.
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In its first series of executive orders, president Donald Trump He launched a federal review of Dei’s teachings and practices in educational institutions that receive federal funds.
On January 21, Trump issued an order, “to end illegal discrimination and restore the opportunity based on merit”, which accuses Dei’s policies of violating civil rights protections.
The Order requires that the Attorney General and the Secretary of Education identify possible civil compliance investigations between higher education institutions with endowments greater than $ 1 billion and, consequently, develop action plans to “deter programs or principles of DEI that constitute discrimination or illegal preferences. “
The universities from all over the country closed their Dei offices last year when Republican legislators attacked these policies. The State University of Missouri and the University of West Virginia are the latest schools to close their Dei programs this year.
Aubie Spady of Fox News contributed to this report.
