CSU shells out $227,000 for sexual harassment lawsuit

CSU has agreed to pay $227,000 to Jon Clark, former associate

dean for the College of Business.

Clark filed a lawsuit against CSU and Daniel Costello, former

dean of the College of Business, in August 2001. Clark said he was

demoted from his position as associate dean in February 2001 after

he filed a report saying Costello had sexually harassed female

employees and used gender discrimination.

“The university allowed Dean Costello to remove me from my

position,” Clark said. “About a week after I turned in the report

he started narrowing my responsibilities considerably.”

Clark is currently a professor at CSU in the computer

information systems department. He served as the business associate

dean for nine years, from 1992-2001.

“Dan Costello removed me from that position in retaliation for

charges other people brought against him,” Clark said.

Clark was an equal opportunity coordinator for the College of

Business, and he received complaints against Costello from four

women in the college. Since then, three of these women have quit

and one has chosen an early retirement, Clark said.

“The reason I took the allegations forward is because there were

other women in our college that were being abused,” Clark said.

Costello could not be reached for comment.

The settlement does not assign blame, and CSU is not taking

responsibility for Clark’s demotion.

“We believe the university has acted appropriately at all

times,” said Laurence Pendleton, associate general counsel for CSU.

“We’ve decided to put this matter behind us and resolve the

case.”

Kristina James, attorney with Denver law firm McNamara &

Martinez, which represented Clark, disagreed.

“We thought (CSU) was wrong,” James said. “That’s why we filed

the lawsuit in the first place.”

This is not the first time legal action has been taken against

CSU with Costello involved.

In 1998, associate professor Myron Hulen sued CSU and Costello,

claiming that he too was unfairly removed from his post.

A jury ordered CSU and Costello to pay Hulen more than

$500,000.

CSU officials are hoping to move on from this case quickly.

“It was in the best interest of everyone else concerned that we

just settle it and move on,” said university spokesman Tom

Milligan. “We’re glad, as an institution, to have settled this case

and put this matter behind us.”

Clark said he would continue teaching at CSU indefinitely.

“I’m planning to stay for a while, but I haven’t decided,” Clark

said. “My career at CSU, as far as an administrator, is over. It’s

about power and authority and abuse of power.”