Graybill & Hazlewood proudly announces the resolution of another case against Newman University. In this case, we represented Dr. Sue Gardner, a former longtime professor in Newman University’s School of Social Work. Newman fired Dr. Gardner in 2017 for bogus reasons.

Don’t take our word for it, though. Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith – the law firm that represents Newman University in several pending lawsuits – called the reasons for Dr. Gardner’s termination “fabricated and falsified."

Through the discovery process in Dr. Gardner's lawsuit, we confirmed that Newman's Provost, Kim McDowall Long, had in fact distorted the truth and fabricated bases for Dr. Gardner's termination. McDowall Long was also responsible for the illegal termination of Dr. Cindy Louthan in 2018 that resulted in a verdict of $800,000+.

In the fall of 2020, the parties reached a settlement providing substantial monetary recovery to Dr. Gardner and making a public retraction of Dr. Gardner’s termination. The following statement appears in Newman University’s Fall 2020 alumni magazine:

Newman University is pleased to announce the resolution of its dispute with Sue Gardner, Ph.D., former director of the School of Social Work. Newman has reconsidered Dr. Gardner’s separation from employment in 2017, and, upon further consideration, accepts Dr. Gardner’s retirement. She leaves Newman University in good standing and we wish her the best.

As of the date of this blog post, Dr. Kim McDowall Long remains employed as Provost at Newman University.

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