Lawsuit alleging Colorado State University retaliated against professor heads to jury

Update: Colorado State University wins retaliation lawsuit brought by ex-prof

This story is from August 2018.

A retaliation lawsuit against CSU, brought by a former professor, is in the hands of a jury.

After seven days of testimony, the two-woman, four-man jury got the case Tuesday afternoon. It will be up to them to decide whether Colorado State University retaliated against computer science professor Christina Boucher after she accused a fellow professor of sexual harassment.

If the jury rules against CSU, Boucher's lawyers have asked for $528,800 in damages, or $100 an hour, eight hours a day, for the 661 days she had to sit home and think about "how much better it would be if she were dead," attorney Sam Cannon told jurors.

Boucher suffered from anxiety and depression — at one point becoming suicidal — that she says was caused by workplace stress at CSU. Her husband, Jaime Ruiz, also testified there were days she couldn't get out of bed or take care of their young son.

Cannon told jurors the verdict could not be based on their feelings or affection for CSU. "It is your responsibility to not to let that creep into your decision," he told the jury, which included a current CSU student, a former CSU professor and parents of CSU graduates.

The jury must come back with a unanimous verdict that "it is more likely than not" that retaliation occurred.

CSU's attorneys said there was no doubt Boucher was anxious and depressed but argued it was caused by life issues rather than work stress.

CSU "did nothing illegal" in its dealings with the former professor, who now teaches at the University of Florida, attorneys said. It followed procedures in dealing with Boucher, who was depicted as a vindictive woman who "lashes out when she perceives any criticism," said Cara Morlan, an attorney with the Colorado Attorney General's Office, which is representing CSU.

CSU's attorneys described Boucher as a problem employee who sparred with other faculty and graduate students, twisted the truth when it suited her and left CSU on her own terms when she got a job at the University of Florida, where she is on a tenure track.

Boucher testified that after she accused a fellow professor of sexual harassment, she received subpar performance evaluations, feared she would be denied tenure and was eventually forced to resign because of the hostile work environment.

CSU has denied any wrongdoing and has stood by professor Asa Ben Hur, the CSU professor at the center of the sexual harassment complaint; Dean Janice Nerger of the Department of Natural Resources and department Chairman Darrell Whitley, who supervised Boucher.

Boucher's attorneys, Cannon and Gordon Hadfield of Cannon Hadfield Stieben and Doutt in Fort Collins, told the jury Boucher was pushed to her emotional limits by a CSU administration unwilling or unable to deal with the alleged harassment and a department culture unwelcoming to women.

Universities nationally suffer from lack of women in computer sciences. Fourteen percent of CSU's faculty and graduate students in computer science are women, according to CSU.

Boucher's attorneys also claimed CSU did not have any female doctoral candidates in computer science graduate from 2007 to 2014.

National #Timesup activists have provided some financial support to Boucher's legal and public relations efforts, paying for some of Boucher's travel and for some legal expenses, said Katie Reinisch, a spokeswoman for Boucher's team.

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This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Lawsuit alleging Colorado State University retaliated against professor heads to jury