Towson University professor files wrongful termination lawsuit

By Sarah Sternhagen, Editor-in-Chief

A former Towson University professor alleged in a lawsuit late September that he was wrongfully fired after he reported what he said were conflicts of interest in a faculty hiring process.

Brian Gorman, who was a tenured professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice, sued Towson and several of its administrators and professors over his whistleblowing. Gorman reported a possible conflict of interest in January 2021 for the hiring process of a tenure-track faculty position,. In April at the final meeting to select a candidate for the job, one professor confessed to having a professional relationship with one of the candidates.

Gorman also submitted three other whistleblowing complaints from Nov. 2020 to Feb of 2021, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleged that after Gorman reported the conflict of interest, he wasn’t allowed to help evaluate a colleague seeking tenure, which he said in the lawsuit he was entitled to do as tenured faculty. He also alleged he was denied a merit-based salary increase after he exposed the conflict of interest.

Gorman was ultimately fired after other professors deemed his work performance “unsatisfactory” during a review, according to the lawsuit. Tenured faculty must undergo a review every five years to make sure they’re meeting standards in their teaching and research. But some of the professors who Gorman had reported for conflicts of interest evaluated him, he alleged.

“Professor Gorman expressed his concern that the review was not accurate, retaliatory, and that they were trying to terminate him over his prior whistleblowing activity,” the lawsuit said.

Gorman alleged that after the poor review in February 2022 he was not put on a professional remediation plan, which he said is Towson’s policy.

In September of 2022, then-university President Kim Schatzel sent Gorman a letter saying he was terminated as of October for “willful neglect” of duties, according to the lawsuit.

“Towson University’s conduct in terminating Professor Gorman was deliberate, malicious, willful, and intentionally calculated to inflict harm upon Professor Gorman,” the lawsuit said.

Gorman sued the university for wrongful termination, breach of contract and negligent supervision.

Gorman’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment by publication.

Towson officials in September declined to comment on the pending litigation.