Professor drew racist caricature of Black student, Utah suit says. Now school must pay

A Utah university must pay $45,000 after a Black student filed a lawsuit accusing a professor of racism.

A student in the Marriage and Family Therapy program at Utah State University sued the university in March after he said a professor drew a racist caricature and projected it on the board during class.

The lawsuit also says the university conducted an investigation that ended with the professor, who is also the director of the program, getting “slapped on the wrist.”

A spokeswoman for the university said in a statement that when the institution receives allegations of discrimination, it “strives to address and prevent the behavior and provide a fair and equitable process to resolve grievances.”

The professor was given a “written reprimand,” which was later overturned after a review by a faculty committee, the statement says. The university updated its procedures in February so appeals to the sanctioning process must now go through the school’s Office of Equity.

“(Utah State University) continuously improves its policies, procedures and practices to provide a fair and equitable process for all parties involved in a discrimination complaint,” the statement says.

But the lawsuit says the university “perpetuated a hostile environment of racial discrimination and harassment.”

In October 2018, the student became frustrated when he lost schoolwork due to a computer error, and he used profanities and pushed a rolling chair, the lawsuit says.

The director asked if the student’s outburst was him “going full Haitian,” the lawsuit says. The director asked the student to attend a meeting with himself and a professor. Both said the student posed a “violent” threat to his wife and others, according to the lawsuit.

The director also told him he needed to go to therapy to get his “anger under control” if he wanted to continue in the program, the lawsuit says.

On Jan. 20, 2020, the director drew a racist caricature on his computer and projected it on the board during class, the lawsuit says.

The student filed a report against the director with the university’s Office of Equity on March 20, 2020, the lawsuit says.

The director was issued a “written reprimand” on Jan. 14, 2022, but it was withdrawn from the director’s personnel file on May 5, 2022, the lawsuit says.

The university entered into a $45,000 settlement agreement with the student on June 30, according to documents provided by the university. The agreement requires the student to release the university from all liability and prevents him from making future claims against the university in relation to the incident.

Utah State University is in Logan, about 80 miles north of Salt Lake City.

This story was originally published July 17, 2023 at 2:55 PM with the headline "Professor drew racist caricature of Black student, Utah suit says. Now school must pay."