Doug Wilder Files Fed. Lawsuit Against VCU President

By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

RICHMOND

  On Aug. 1, former Virginia Governor Doug Wilder filed a federal lawsuit against the president of Virginia Commonwealth University and named other defendants, following a public personnel dispute in which Wilder had pushed to fire an employee he accused of threatening him.

Wilder accuses Virginia Commonwealth University President Michael Rao and VCU’s Chief Audit and Compliance Executive Suzanne Milton of launching “baseless investigations of his conduct in retaliation for his protected speech and public criticism” of the university’s leadership. In March, the VCU investigation began against Wilder, age 94, who heads VCU’s School of Government, which is named after him. He is a distinguished faculty member.

Along with Rao the lawsuit names as defendants, university counsel Jacob Belueformer, VCU employee Jim Burke, who sent a series of texts critical of Wilder’s ties to Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.

Wilder, a Democrat and the nation’s first elected Black governor, did not endorse Youngkin but criticized Democratic nominee Terry McAuliffe and served on Youngkin’s transition team. The lawsuit also lists Provost Fotis Sotiropoulos and university counsel Jacob Belue as defendants, according to the Associated Press.

Burke, who was the director of the Performance Management Group within the Wilder school, eventually resigned and retired from VCU, the lawsuit says. Burke previously told the Times-Dispatch in an interview that he thought his messages were ranting but not threatening. Wilder was informed that an outside law firm had been hired to investigate and the school was negotiating a settlement with Burke, according to the lawsuit, which seeks $5 million in compensation, according to the Associated Press.

The lawsuit says Wilder is seeking a jury trial. Rao (VCU President) and Milton (VCU’s Chief Audit and Compliance Executive) face four charges: First Amendment retaliation, denial of procedural due process, defamation and retaliation under Title VI and VII.

Wilder is asking for a formal judgment, as well as both compensatory and punitive damages “in an amount to be determined,” according to court documents. He also wants a judge to order VCU to “retract any defamatory findings and restore [his] standing.”

The federal lawsuit alleges that the school’s leadership has damaged the “political influence” and “historical achievement” of Wilder, who works at the university as a professor in the School of Government and Public Affairs named for him.

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A “pattern of racism, discrimination, and retaliation at VCU” associated with Wilder’s tenure there “will become evident as the trial of this matter matures,” the lawsuit states.

“President Rao’s actions have not only undermined my ability to engage with the very institution that bears my name, but reflect abuse of his position and a disregard for academic freedom and respect,” Wilder’s lawsuit noted.

“In addition to the investigation, President Michael Rao has actively maligned my character to members of the VCU Board of Visitors, to high-ranking VCU officials and others,” Wilder wrote in a declaration attached to the lawsuit.

Wilder accuses Rao of telling these people not to interact with him in a “calculated” attempt to both isolate and undermine him. A spokesperson for VCU declined to comment.