The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirms a decision by Senior United States District Court Judge Harold Vietor entering summary judgment for Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC). The decision is Gilbert v. Des Moines Area Community College, No. 06-3021.
Former Provost of the DMACC Urban Campus in Des Moines, Fred Gilbert, contended that he was the victim of racial discrimination and retaliation. In his federal lawsuit, Gilbert alleged violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Iowa Civil Rights Act in connection with way the community college selected a new President.
Gilbert contended that he was not considered for the job of President of DMACC when the post became vacant in 2003 because of his race. Gilbert is black and because of his age. DMACC argued that Gilbert ranked eleventh among the candidates based upon a review of various criteria. Another African American candidate ranked sixth and a third was twelfth. Gilbert did not have previous experience as a community college president. The four candidates interviewed for the job did either were sitting or acting interim presidents of community colleges.
Gilbert also contended that DMACC retaliated against him for filing a civil rights complaint and a lawsuit. In 2004 as part of its investigation of the lawsuit filed by Gilbert, DMACC officials discovered that portions of the essay answers in his application to be president were word-for-word from two separate textbooks. Gilbert contended the plagiarism was the act of consultants he had retained. DMACC's Board of Directors terminated Gilbert as Provost of the Urban Campus. He was offered and accepted a job as a grants specialist, a lesser position.
The United States District Court in Des Moines entered summary judgment on Gilbert's claims, finding that he could not establish either discrimination or retaliation (Gilbert's claims were against the community college as well as five named individuals. The district court granted summary judgment for all defendants. Gilbert appealed only the ruling in favor of DMACC.). The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirms.
The Appeals Court holds that Gilbert failed to show that DMACC's reasons for failing to consider him for the job of President were mere pretext. Gilbert's arguments that an affirmative action review of the search committee's selection process was not performed is rejected, along with contentions that DMACC failed to follow its practice of interviewing qualified internal candidates, and that DMACC improperly relied upon presidential experience in evaluating candidates. The Court states, "Viewed in the light most favorable to Gilbert, the record shows Gilbert's qualifications, at best, were somewhat similar to those of the finalists, which is insufficient to rebut DMACC's legitimate reason for not selecting Gilbert. . . . Because Gilbert offered insufficient evidence to rebut DMACC's legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for not selecting Gilbert to interview for the position of DMACC president, summary judgment in DMACC's favor was proper on this claim."
The Appeals Court also rejects Gilbert's contentions of retaliation. The Court observes, " . . . [W]e agree with the district court that Gilbert's demotion clearly was an adverse employment action, which occurred after Gilbert filed the instant lawsuit, and a causal connection may exist between the two. However, Gilbert fails to meet his burden of rebutting DMACC's legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for demoting Gilbert based on the extensive plagiarism contained in Gilbert's application and Gilbert's acts of misrepresentation during the investigation." The Court goes on to state, "The reprehensibility of plagiarism in the field of higher education, particularly by one in a leadership position, erodes Gilbert's assertion that DMACC's actions were retaliatory in nature. DMACC has never wavered from its explanation for demoting Gilbert, which, as DMACC points out, militates against a finding of pretext."
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