A University of La Verne law professor has been placed on unpaid administrative leave and could potentially lose her tenure and job for allegedly making a threat against a colleague.
University officials said they had to take action against law professor Diane Klein after she was overheard by several staff members Nov. 26 saying that she would “assassinate” assistant dean and law professor Jendayi Saada, with whom Klein had repeatedly clashed over curricular and administrative issues.
Klein, who has been a tenured faculty member at the university since 2009, says she used the word “assassinate” metaphorically, not as a threat. She said she made the statement to a colleague after a committee met in November to discuss whether to include in a report to the Board of Trustees causes for low bar exam pass rates for students, including unsatisfactory performance of the Center for Academic and Bar Readiness, under Saada’s leadership.
In that context, Klein said, she told another faculty member as they stood on the plaza outside the La Fetra College of Education: “Look, we need to decide whether we are willing to assassinate Jendayi — and if we are, I’m willing to do it.” Klein said by “we” she meant the committee. And by “assassinate Jendayi” she meant criticize the Center for Academic and Bar Readiness headed by Saada.
“My offer was to write the first draft of the section (critical of Saada) and not to engage in personal criminal violence towards anyone,” Klein said, adding that the committee eventually decided not to include that section in the report.
The university conducted an investigation after those who overheard Klein’s statements reported them to officials, said spokesman Rod Leveque. The findings of the investigation, which determined that Klein made serious threats to harm another university employee, led the university to place her on indefinite, unpaid administrative leave with the intent to terminate her tenure, he said. Klein has been disciplined on other occasions for “similar, inappropriate conduct,” Leveque said.
“We need to take all threats seriously and we won’t tolerate any threat or harassment that creates a hostile environment on our campus,” he said. “We are required to respond to this type of conduct.”
Saada said she was “shocked” when she heard about Klein’s statements in early December. Even though she has clashed with Klein in the past professionally, Saada said she never expected something like this.
“People don’t have to like each other or agree with each other professionally,” she said. “I expect that in the academic arena. That’s why I was shocked this came from a colleague. You just don’t expect your life threatened because of a professional disagreement.”
Further, Saada said, Klein made those statements in a public space within earshot of several colleagues.
“This is extremely serious because it’s coming from someone who understands what that word means,” Saada said. “So to make it in a public place, in a hallway after a meeting, where people heard it, is very scary, especially at a time when we have so many mass shootings in our country.”
Saada said her husband continues to worry about her safety and she has had several sleepless nights because of the stress and anxiety stemming from Klein’s statement. She said such behavior should not be tolerated anywhere.
Saada filed a complaint with the Ontario Police Department, the city where the university’s School of Law is located. Police are conducting a criminal investigation into the complaint and the case is being examined by the San Bernardino County District Attorney, said Sgt. Bill Russell.
Saada said she also filed a petition for a temporary restraining order against Klein last month in San Bernardino Superior Court, but withdrew it after her attorney was unable to make a court appearance because of his schedule. She did not file the petition again because she was comfortable with the university’s imposition of a “no-contact order” on Klein.
Klein said she has been “banished” from campus, shut off from her work email and has been prohibited from sending colleagues greetings for the holidays or on their birthdays, attending social events, or even clicking “like” on colleagues’ Facebook posts. Klein said the university’s move is retaliation for her outspokenness when it comes to the rights of tenured faculty members and administrative and curricular issues surrounding the law school’s threatened closure.
“I’ve been at times an outspoken critic of policies and institutional practices with which (Saada) disagrees, especially those that violate shared governance, academic freedom, and protections of tenure,” said Klein, who is also president of the university’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors.Leveque said the matter will go to the college’s personnel committee. Based on the evidence, the committee will make a recommendation to the college’s dean. From there, the dean will make a recommendation to the provost, who will then determine whether to fire Klein. If Klein wishes to appeal the provost’s decision, she may do so before the Board of Trustees, Leveque said.
Meanwhile, Klein filed an employment lawsuit against the university Feb. 12 alleging breach of contract and seeking compensation for lost wages and other damages. Leveque declined to comment on Klein’s lawsuit.
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February 23, 2020 at 07:24PM
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