Former UI provost now center of Texas lawsuit

Montse Fuentes, then the provost of the College of Iowa, addresses the gang Aug. 16, 2019, in the course of the College of Iowa Carver School of Drugs Class of 2023 White Coat Ceremony at Hancher Auditorium in Iowa Metropolis. (David Harmantas/Freelance for The Gazette)

IOWA CITY — A former College of Iowa provost who resigned with out public clarification after only one 12 months — hinting on her manner out she needed to serve a campus aligned along with her variety, fairness and inclusion values — is being accused in a lawsuit of taking that mission too far in her new job.

Montserrat Fuentes — in accordance with the federal lawsuit filed Feb, 28 in Austin, Texas — “misled the college group and most people into believing that she had stood as much as white racism and demonstrated her dedication to ‘social justice’ by terminating a excessive profile white coach whom she falsely led the group to imagine had engaged in acts of discrimination.”

Fuentes, who began as UI provost in June 2019, signed a settlement with the Iowa Board of Regents in July 2020, reassigning her to “particular assistant to the president” by means of June 30, 2021. She declined to reply The Gazette’s questions on what prompted her resignation and settlement, which allowed her to proceed incomes a $439,000 provost-level wage for a 12 months.

In her seek for a brand new job whereas nonetheless employed at UI, Fuentes in October 2020 — as a finalist to turn into senior vp and provost at Kent State College — was requested throughout a public discussion board why she needed to depart the UI.

“I’m on the lookout for the chance to have full alignment with my core values — my dedication to variety, fairness, and inclusion,” Fuentes advised the Kent State group.

Fuentes didn’t get the Kent State job however later was unveiled because the president of St. Edward’s College in Austin, which touted her, a local of Spain, as its first Hispanic president.

‘Take away Coach Penders’

Simply over a month into her tenure there, Fuentes discovered herself going through the difficulty of discrimination allegations in opposition to the varsity’s longtime baseball coach, Rob Penders. Former participant Jacques Palmer — for whom St. Edward’s had declined to hunt one other 12 months of eligibility — made the criticism in opposition to Penders.

In accordance with the lawsuit, Penders used a racist epithet in entrance of the staff; he advised Black athletes to take away their head coverings; and was insensitive to the experiences of Black folks by sharing his circle of relatives’s racist historical past.

The varsity employed an exterior investigator to look into the accusations, and the investigator exonerated Penders of discrimination or wrongdoing, in accordance with the lawsuit.

Penders had truly rejected a “stroll up music” for Palmer’s at-bats that included racist and misogynistic lyrics; had advised all gamers their clothes couldn’t protrude from their physique or alter their baseball uniform throughout video games; and had talked about his circle of relatives throughout a frank dialogue following George Floyd’s homicide in 2020, the data present.

In sum, in accordance with the lawsuit, the exterior investigator concluded Palmer’s allegations in opposition to Penders have been “with out advantage,” and Fuentes agreed.

After the investigation, in accordance with the lawsuit, Fuentes emailed Penders saying, “I’m so excited concerning the vibrant way forward for our baseball staff underneath your management!”

However Palmer launched a web-based petition and TikTok marketing campaign in search of Penders’ termination. As a substitute of revealing extra particulars concerning the allegations and findings, the go well with asserts, St. Edward’s barred Penders from defending himself and Fuentes issued a press release confirming an investigation had occurred.

“Following the investigation, the college has taken actions, and there have been penalties that are in step with the college’s mission and insurance policies,” Fuentes stated within the assertion.

“Fuentes’s dishonest and self-aggrandizing response solely fueled the activism,” in accordance with the lawsuit in opposition to the college, filed by Penders. “College students and school, misled by Fuentes and at the hours of darkness about even probably the most primary info underlying the generalized allegations within the ‘Take away Coach Penders’ petition, escalated their calls to fireside Penders.”

Using that wave of shock, in accordance with the lawsuit, one other former participant who had give up the staff in the midst of a recreation three years earlier emerged with new allegations of discrimination. A separate investigation once more exonerated Penders.

“Fuentes was once more met with an opportunity to inform the reality,” in accordance with Penders’ lawsuit. “But once more, Fuentes determined to mislead college students, college and the group. Fuentes fired Penders and issued a public assertion once more concealing that Penders had been exonerated and once more falsely glorifying herself as somebody combating for ‘social justice.’”

Penders, 48, stays unemployed, in accordance with his lawyer, Tom Nesbitt, of Austin. He’s suing the college for race discrimination, noting, “However for his race, Penders wouldn’t have been terminated.”

‘Implausible and speculative’

Fuentes didn’t reply to The Gazette’s request for remark.

The college this month filed a movement asking the courtroom to dismiss the lawsuit, asserting it’s “fully devoid of factual allegations that would assist his race discrimination declare.”

“In accordance with Plaintiff, (St. Edward’s College) launched into a marketing campaign to oust him as SEU’s baseball coach for one motive alone: Penders is white,” the movement said. “Penders’ total lawsuit hinges on the implausible and speculative concept that the time period ‘social justice’ equates to ‘racism in opposition to white folks.’”

St. Edward’s, in its movement, asserts investigations into Penders’ conduct “didn’t exonerate him of all impropriety” — though it doesn’t go into element on that assertion. And even when it did exonerate him, in accordance with the movement, Penders’ allegations don’t “recommend that he was terminated due to his race.”

In response to questions from The Gazette, Penders’ lawyer Nesbitt accused the college of twisting his consumer’s argument.

“That could be a whole distortion of our declare, and St. Edward’s is aware of it,” he stated.

Feedback: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com