Lawsuit alleging Colorado State University retaliated against professor in front of grand jury

Update: Colorado State University wins retaliation lawsuit brought by former professor

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

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

If the jury finds against CSU, Boucher’s lawyers will seek $528,800 in damages, or $100 an hour and eight hours a day, for the 661 days she had to sit at home and think about “how much better it would be if she died.” defense attorney Sam Cannon told the jury.

Boucher suffered from anxiety and depression and at one point became suicidal, which she believed was caused by the stress of her CSU job. Her husband, Jaime Ruiz, also testified that there were days when she couldn’t get out of bed or care for her infant son.

Cannon told jurors that the verdict could not be based on their feelings or attachment to the CSU. “It is your responsibility not to let this influence your decision,” he told the jury, which included current CSU students, a former CSU professor and parents of CSU graduates.

The jury must return a unanimous verdict finding that it is “more likely than not” that retaliation occurred.

CSU lawyers said there was no doubt Boucher was anxious and depressed, but argued it was due to life problems, not work stress.

CSU “did nothing illegal” in its dealings with a former professor who now teaches at the University of Florida, lawyers say. The treatment of Boucher was consistent with procedures that portrayed her as a vindictive woman who “lashes out when she sees any criticism,” said Cara Morlan, an attorney with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, which represents CSU.

CSU attorneys described Boucher as a problematic employee who argued with other faculty and students, distorted 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 has secured tenure.

Boucher testified that after she accused another professor of sexual harassment, she received poor performance reviews, feared she would be denied employment, and was ultimately forced to resign due to a hostile work environment.

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

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

Universities across the country are suffering from a lack of women in computer science. Fourteen percent of CSU’s computer science faculty and graduate students are women, according to CSU.

Boucher’s lawyers also claimed that there were no graduate students in computer science at CSU between 2007 and 2014.

National #Timesup activists have provided some financial support for Boucher’s legal and public relations efforts, covering some of his travel and some legal expenses, said Katie Reinisch, spokeswoman for Boucher’s team.

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This article originally appeared on the Fort Collins Coloradoan: Jury Retaliation Lawsuit Against Colorado State University