In the Circuit Court of Pulaski County, Arkansas Civil Division
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ELECTRONICALLY FILED Pulaski County Circuit Court Terri Hollingsworth, Circuit/County Clerk 2021-Jul-14 23:17:48 60CV-21-4295 C06D16 : 46 Pages IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF PULASKI COUNTY, ARKANSAS CIVIL DIVISION Dr. Brian K. Mitchell Plaintiff v. Case No. ____________________ University of Arkansas at Little Rock Defendants Dr. Christina Drale, Chancellor in her personal capacity Dr. Velmer Burton, Provost in his personal capacity Dr. Sarah Beth Estes, Dean of College of Arts and Sciences in her personal capacity Dr. Jess Porter, Chair, History Department in his personal capacity Dr. Belinda Blevins-Knabe, IRB Director in her personal capacity Dr. Krista Lewis, Hearing Committee Chair in her personal capacity UALR Institutional Review Board, Board of Trustees COMPLAINT Introduction This is a cause of action for relief from employment discrimination under Title VII on the basis of race and national origin; employment discrimination under ADEA on the basis of age; employment discrimination under § 1981; harassment and retaliation under Title VII and § 1981; the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution, pursuant to § 1983; and employment discrimination under the Arkansas Civil Rights Act. Despite his accomplishments, as the only Black professor in the History Department, Dr. Mitchell has experienced a nearly continuous pattern of discriminatory interference with achieving access to fair terms, conditions, and opportunities for advancement while a full-time professor at UALR. His on-going employment is overshadowed and adversely impacted by multiple improperly motivated administrative actions. He is also subject to on-going harassment and retaliation by the parties named as defendants herein, through their roles at UALR. Page 1 of 46 Complaint Mitchell v. UALR et al Parties 1. The Plaintiff, Dr. Brian Mitchell (“Dr. Mitchell”) is a natural person who resided in Pulaski County, Arkansas during the times relevant to this cause of action. Dr. Mitchell is a Black American, and at all times relevant to this cause of action, he was over the age of forty. 2. Separate Defendant University of Arkansas at Little Rock (“UALR”) is a public entity located in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is a corporate body with the power to sue and be sued. Ozarks Unlimited Res. Coop. Inc. v. Daniels, 333 Ark 214, 969 S.W.2d 169 (1998). 3. Separate Defendant Dr. Christina Drale is a natural person and currently serves as Chancellor at UALR. At all times relevant herein, she was employed as a senior administrator at UALR. She is named in her personal capacity. 4. Separate Defendant Dr. Velmer Burton is a natural person and currently serves as Provost at UALR. At all times relevant herein, he was employed as a senior administrator at UALR. He is named in his personal capacity. 5. Separate Defendant Dr. Sarah Beth Estes is a natural person and currently serves as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at UALR. At all times relevant herein, she was employed as a senior administrator at UALR. She is named in her personal capacity. 6. Separate Defendant Dr. Jess Porter is a natural person and currently serves as Chair of the History Department at UALR. At all times relevant herein, he was employed as a senior administrator at UALR. He is named in his personal capacity. 7. Separate Defendant Dr. Belinda Blevins-Knabe is a natural person and currently serves as IRB Director at UALR. At all times relevant herein, she was employed as a senior administrator at UALR. She is named in her personal capacity. 8. Separate Defendant Dr. Krista Lewis is a natural person and previously served as Grievance Hearing Committee Chair at UALR. At all times relevant herein, she was employed as a senior administrator at UALR. She is named in her personal capacity. 9. Separate Defendant UALR Institutional Review Board/IRB Board of Trustees is a public entity located in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is a corporate body with the power to sue and be sued. Ozarks Unlimited Res. Coop. Inc. v. Daniels, 333 Ark 214, 969 S.W.2d 169 (1998). Jurisdiction 10. This Court has personal jurisdiction over Defendants Drale, Burton, Estes, Porter, Blevins, and Lewis and UALR because at all times relevant to this cause of action, each of the foregoing had continuous and systemic contacts with the State of Arkansas that are sufficient to Page 2 of 46 Complaint Mitchell v. UALR et al justify the State’s exercise of judicial power with respect to any and all claims Dr. Mitchell may have against each of them. Int’l Shoe Co. v. Washington, 316 U.S. 310, 317 (1945). Venue 11. Venue is properly located in this Court pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §16-55-213. The Factual Basis for Dr. Mitchell’s Claims A. Background 12. Dr. Mitchell earned Bachelors and Masters of Arts degrees in History, a Masters of Science degree in Urban Studies, and a Ph.D in Urban Studies with a concentration in Public History, at the University of New Orleans. 13. When he joined the full-time faculty at UALR in 2015, Dr. Mitchell had over a decade of higher-education teaching experience and a successful professional career as a researcher and investigator in the non-profit and public sectors. He taught as an adjunct professor at UALR from Spring 2006 to Spring 2015. 14. In Summer 2015, Dr. Mitchell started working for UALR as full-time, tenure-track, Assistant Professor in the History Department. The History Department is housed within the College of Arts and Sciences (“CALS”). Dr. Mitchell’s duties generally include teaching, research, and service, with undergraduate to advanced graduate level courses. 15. Dr. Mitchell has an employment contract with UALR. He is not an at-will employee, which means that he is entitled to procedural due process with regard to his employment with UALR. Cleveland Bd. of Educ. v. Loudermill, 470 U.S. 532, 542-543 (1985); Matthews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319, 349 (1976); Bd. of Regents of State Colls. v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 576- 577 (1972). 16. Throughout his employment at UALR, Dr. Mitchell has served with consistent excellence and distinction. He has amply fulfilled his duties and earned broad respect for his high-quality work and collegiate relationships. He has never been subject to any discipline, except for the incidents of harassment and retaliation described herein. He is firmly established as a national leader in his area of expertise, particularly United States History, African-American History, Urban History, and Public History. 17. Despite these accomplishments, as the only Black professor in the History Department, Dr. Mitchell has experienced a nearly continuous pattern of discriminatory interference with achieving access to fair terms, conditions, and opportunities for advancement while a full-time professor at UALR. These egregious, on-going acts of interference began with his initial hiring negotiations, continued with unfair and improper evaluations, escalated when he reported Page 3 of 46 Complaint Mitchell v. UALR et al discrimination concerns, and finally culminated with harassment and retaliation through official grievance and IRB oversight procedures. The effects of these adverse actions and hostile environment continue to burden Dr. Mitchell professionally and personally in ways that his similarly situated colleagues do not experience. 18. Senior administrators refused to investigate and remedy Dr. Mitchell’s repeated requests for appropriate actions. On multiple occasions, they have wrongfully and maliciously interfered with Dr. Mitchell’s due process and equal protection rights, both through destruction of and failure to create and maintain statutorily required public employment records. 19. In spring 2021, Dr. Mitchell was awarded tenure, effective July 1, 2021. This cause of action is brought for relief from harm that has already occurred and continues to occur, as described in detailed sections below. His on-going employment is overshadowed and adversely impacted by multiple improperly motivated administrative actions. He is also subject to on-going harassment and retaliation by the parties named as defendants herein, both individually and through their roles at UALR. 20. On May 31, 2019, Dr. Mitchell filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). (Exhibit 1) 21. On April 15, 2021, Dr. Mitchell received a notice of suit rights from the EEOC, and this cause of action is being filed within ninety days of his receipt of that notice. (Exhibit 2) B. Compensation, Harassment 22. In fall 2017, Dr. Mitchell became aware of serious pay discrepancies in his department, and was told by his colleagues that it was related to his race. 23. He made various inquiries and learned that he was the lowest-paid full-time faculty member there. When he was hired in 2015, he was told that he was receiving the maximum that all new faculty were paid. He was told his compensation was non-negotiable. However, he later learned that a younger white counterpart with substantially less professional qualifications, and an ivy-league degree, was hired at the same time with a higher base starting salary. 24. Since 2015, UALR’s History Department has hired several full-time professors who were all white, younger, less experienced, less otherwise professionally established and qualified, and demonstrably less involved in service to the community and the University. UALR hired them with higher starting salaries and gave them additional financial research incentives that were never offered to Dr. Mitchell. 25. He sought to address the discrepancies internally through repeated, polite, yet persistent requests in person and via email to his supervisory chair and administrators, named defendants herein. Eventually, he was told that the University would raise his pay to the department floor, Page 4 of 46 Complaint Mitchell v. UALR et al and issue a one-time back-pay check.