Former ONU professor alleges firing was retaliation

ADA — A former Ohio Northern University professor alleges the school is discriminating against white men through diversity initiatives.

The allegations come from a lawsuit filed by Scott Gerber, who was terminated from his position as a tenured professor at Ohio Northern’s Pettit College of Law in 2023.

The lawsuit, filed in Hardin County Common Pleas Court, alleges Ohio Northern defamed Gerber and retaliated against the former professor for expressing unpopular opinions and raising concerns about alleged illegal hiring practices.

America First Legal, a Washington, D.C.-area law firm known for its litigation against diversity, equity and inclusion programs, is representing Gerber in the case.

Ohio Northern hired Gerber, a self-professed libertarian and expert on U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in 2001. He secured tenure in 2007.

Gerber’s “heterodox views,” including newspaper articles Gerber authored criticizing DEI initiatives in higher education, reportedly put him at odds with the politics of academia and Ohio Northern, the lawsuit says.

School security escorted Gerber from his classroom last April to meet with Dean Charles Rose III, who reportedly told Gerber to resign or face termination proceedings, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges university officials defamed Gerber in a statement released to news media about the incident, which portrayed him as a security threat, and conducted “sham” termination proceedings “with a predetermined outcome.”

The school terminated Gerber and rejected his appeal last fall.

“Everyone understands the purpose of tenure is to protect academic freedom,” Gerber’s attorney, Nicholas Barry, said in a news release in January. “The culture war has invaded every American institution. Now even right-leaning tenured professors are on the chopping block for standing up to the hive mind.

“ONU failed to give Dr. Gerber a fair hearing and violated the terms of his tenure contract because he objected,” Barry said. “We must insist on the rule of law. It cannot continue to be rules for thee but not for me.”

Gerber repeatedly raised concerns about the role of race and gender in hiring decisions at the law school before his termination.

In one alleged incident, none of the six finalists for a job at the law school were white men, which the lawsuit describes as “a statistically improbable coincidence in the absence of discrimination.”

Gerber’s attorneys cite the university’s report and recommendations on diversity, equity and inclusion as well as communications with the American Bar Association, which outline efforts to recruit diverse faculty at the law school, as evidence Ohio Northern takes race and gender into account in hiring decisions.

A spokesperson for Ohio Northern declined to comment on the pending litigation, which is set to enter mediation this month, but previous court filings from the university deny Gerber’s allegations.

The school started investigating allegations Gerber engaged in a pattern of bullying, abusive and discriminatory behavior, according to a court filing seeking to remove several defendants from the case.

Ohio Northern’s attorneys wrote in a motion for summary judgement that Gerber’s “behavior has disrupted the recruiting and retention of law school faculty,” including one professor who resigned shortly after securing tenure because of Gerber’s repeated accusations of hiring discrimination.

Gerber previously sued Ohio Northern in 2013, which he voluntarily dismissed and refiled in 2014.

“The astounding frequency and protracted duration of complaints suggest that [Gerber] purposefully kept some variant of grievance alive at all times, so as to always be poised to claim retaliation,” the university’s attorneys wrote.

The case is now in mediation and is set to proceed to trial next spring if the parties do not reach an agreement.