Matthew Moeller, former assistant professor at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis, filed a suit Feb. 26 against the University system on the basis of violation of civil rights.
Moeller, who was accused of sexual assault by a student, went through an appeals process in which IU president Michael McRobbie decided to terminate Moeller’s contract with the University. Moeller said the Office of Equal Opportunity and the Faculty Review Board unlawfully dismissed his grievances, and it was detrimental to his reputation.
“I was prohibited from learning the identity of those who raised concerns or any specifics that would allow me to defend myself,” Moeller said in a press release. “I was told by Dr. Kirkland, the Director of the OEO, that telling me ‘the who, what, where, when’ is just never going to happen.”
Universities across the United States, along with the Office of Civil Rights, have been under scrutiny for their overreaching methods of processing sexual assault cases. Moeller said he was fired, despite the positive findings from the Faculty Board of Review, and the clear violations of his rights.
According to the Boys and Men in Education database, there are currently 110 existing due process lawsuits against higher education institutions across the U.S.
In 2011, the U.S. Department of Education released a statement that changed the way administrators determine whether a defendant is guilty or innocent of sexual assault.
These methods are independent of the criminal justice system’s sexual misconduct ruling procedures. If administrators feel the probability of a crime’s occurrence sits above 50 percent, they are able to find the party guilty.
Moeller said he was denied fair treatment from the University in this regard, both when he was initially given the information that he was accused of sexual assault and when he filed for his case to be reviewed through the Faculty Grievances Process.
The initial complaint of sexual assault, which said Moeller participated in inappropriate touching behavior, was sent October 2014, and McRobbie administered his final decision to fire him Feb. 3.
In November 2015, an IU Faculty Board of Review looked at Moeller’s case and concluded the University failed to honor his legal rights during the investigation, and the cause for dismissal should be reconsidered. According to a press release, they suggested Moeller resign on a neutral recommendation.
Moeller said in the release he refused to leave on this basis and proceeded to sue for defamation and negligence of his basic rights as an employee and a citizen.
“The process is governed by the Faculty Grievance Process,” Moeller’s lawyer John Mercer said. “Dr. Moeller maintains that the Faculty Grievances procedures were not followed.”
Mercer said the Faculty Grievances Process allows faculty to be paid until the conclusion of the process. However, he said Moeller did not receive any payments during this time.
The case is an active legal matter, and therefore the University doesn’t have any comment at this time, IU spokesperson Mark Land said.
“This would have been the thirtieth year of being alone in a room with 20+ female students with no incidents of unprofessional behavior,” Moeller said in a letter to the dean of the IU School of Dentistry.
