ILLINOIS - The University of Illinois Board of Trustees

19781 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 81
On motion of Mr. Forsyth, authority was given as recommended by
the following vote: Aye, Mr. Forsyth, Mr. Hahn, Mr. Howard, Mr. Lenz:
Mr. Livingston, Mr. Neal, Mrs. Rader, Mrs. Shepherd, Mr. Velasquez:
no, none; absent, Governor Thompson.
Complaint issued by Illinois Fair Employment Practices Commission
(Clayton Gray, Jr., Complainant), Urbana
(39) The Illinois Fair Employment Practices Commission has issued a complaint
against the University (Charge No. 1978TN0028) in connection with a charge of
racial discrimination made by Clayton Gray. Jr., a former assistant professor in the
Department of Germanic Languases and Literatures at the Urbana-Champaign
campus. It is charged that the University denied Gray tenure and promotion be-
cause of his race and retaliation for his “opposition to practices forbidden by said
(Fair Employment Practices) Act.”
The commission is seeking an order requiring the University to reinstate the
complainant and grant him tenure and promotion to the position of associate pro-
fessor at a rate of pay comparablp to what he would be receiving but for the al-
leged unfair employment practices. In addition, the order sought would require the
University to pay a sum equal to his loss of wages. to restore all henefits and senior-
ity status, to clear its personnel records of all references to the termination as well
as the filing of the charges and the disposition thereof, and to cease and desist from
discriminating on the basis of race in the application of terms and ccnditions of
employment.
Pursuant to previous delegations by the Board of Trustees. the university coun-
sel has been given interim authorization to take such steps as 3re necessary or appro-
priate, including the employment of special counsel, to protect the interests of the
University in this matter. The university counsel has recommended that such autho-
rization be ratified, approved and confirmed in all respects.
I concur.
The student advisory vote was: Aye, Miss Kooper, Mr. Sobotka, Mr.
Watson; no, none.
On motion of Mr. Forsyth, authority was given as recommended by
the following vote : Aye, Mr. Forsyth, Mr. Hahn, Mr. Howard, Mr. Lenz,
Mr. Livingston, Mr. Neal, Mrs. Rader, Mrs. Shepherd, Mr. Velasquez;
no, none; absent, Governor Thompson.
litigation initiated by James N. McElearney
(40) A complaint has been filed in the United States District Court for the North-
ern District of Illinois (Case KO. 78C 3184) by James N. hfcElearney. a former
assistant professor of chemistry at the Chicago Circle campus. In addition to the
University, the defendants include President Corbally and Chancellor Rjddle.
The complaint asserts that jurisdiction of the court is invoked to redress depri-
vation by the defendants of plaintiff‘s civil and constitutional rights under the con-
stitution and laws of the United States. The relief sought includes: (1) damages in
the amount of $14,000 plus costs in compensation for pain, suffering, and mental
stress caused by the conduct of the defendants; (2) exemplary damages in the
amount of $40,000; and (3) an injunction requirins reemployment of the plaintiff
at the position of tenured assistant professor of chemistry.
The complaint alleges that the head of the Department of Chemistry made
misrepresentations concerning the plaintiff‘s probationary and tenure status, that
the University did not follow its own procedural and substantive rules in ctrnnec-