Former provost sues NMSU. Here's why
LAS CRUCES – Top New Mexico State University administrators fashioned unpopular policies then used the former provost as a scapegoat after she began investigating allegations of racist and sexist pay disparities, according to accusations made in a recently filed lawsuit.
Filed last December, the lawsuit alleged former provost Carol Parker was the driving force behind an investigation into faculty allegations of pay discrimination and places the ousted administrator as the victim of reprisal by her male superiors.
The narrative claims that Chancellor Dan Arvizu directed Parker not to investigate the alleged pay discrimination and then directed Parker to implement unpopular policies that would put her at odds with the faculty.
If substantiated by a judge, the lawsuit would likely entitle Parker to hundreds of thousands of dollars from her former employer.
"(Parker) believed that her male superiors were attempting to use her as a scapegoat and were complicit in the unjust blame placed on (Parker) by faculty," the lawsuit reads.
Ultimately, NMSU fired Parker after faculty said they had no confidence in her as administrator.
Parker is requesting damages for pain and suffering, mental and emotional anguish and humiliation. She's also demanding money, including double back pay with interest, lost benefits, lost promotional opportunities, and punitive damages.
The lawsuit filings do not specify how much Parker and her lawyers believe she's entitled to.
Parker alleged in the filing that NMSU discriminated against her based on her gender, retaliated against her for bringing up uncomfortable issues, and breached her employment contract.
Parker was placed on leave in November 2021
On Nov. 9, 2021, NMSU placed Parker on paid leave, effectively ending her employment with NMSU. NMSU officially ended her job in January 2022.
Parker's lawsuit also stated her firing was the culmination of weeks of retaliation and pushback over her desire to investigate allegations of pay discrimination.
"Ms. Parker communicated that she believed, based on the widespread faculty complaints, that it was likely such gender and racial pay gaps unlawfully existed as a pattern and practice at NMSU," the lawsuit stated.
Parker alleged she told then-President John Floros, Arvizu and the NMSU Board of Regents she intended to work with the university's Human Resources Department to study the problem.
By that point, Parker had been the Provost of NMSU since 2019. Before that, she did a stint as a vice provost at the University of New Mexico.
Before NMSU fired her, Parker was paid about $300,000 annually and oversaw all the university's deans. At the time, Parker worked alongside a large administrative team. In addition to the provost, NMSU had a chancellor, a president, a vice-chancellor, and six associate or vice provosts. The administrative team collected large yearly paychecks – something the faculty senate noted.
In November of 2021, the faculty senate voted through two resolutions damning the performance of Floros and Parker. Both resolutions said the administrators participated in a bloated leadership circle and refused to listen to faculty concerns.
Specifically, administrators sought to merge the College of Education, the College of Health and Social Services, and the Department of Sociology into a new college.
Faculty cringed at the proposal. They said the merger had sparse details and wanted more information before agreeing. So, in April 2021, the faculty senate rejected the proposal. But Parker and the other administrators pushed the merger through anyway.
In the lawsuit, Parker said Arvizu and Floros told her to push the merger forward despite the consequence of losing the confidence of the faculty. After the vote of no confidence, Parker said Arvizu "demanded she stay silent" and not respond to the faculty in any way.
At that point, Parker began to feel like Arvizu and Floros were making her the scapegoat for an unpopular policy, according to the lawsuit. Before she could initiate a complaint, the filing alleged Arvizu placed her on leave.
Still, the lawsuit indicated that Parker was to meet with the school's Office of Equal Opportunity, which investigates claims of discrimination among university staff and students.
But the day before Parker was to be interviewed, NMSU terminated her employment, thus ending the investigator's jurisdiction over her allegations.
NMSU has not filed a response to the allegations as of the publication of this article. When asked for comment by the Sun-News, an NMSU spokesperson said the university does not comment on pending litigation.
Justin Garcia is a public safety reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can be reached by email at JEGarcia@lcsun-news.com or on Twitter at @Just516garc.