In this 2020 photo a person wears a mask on Franklin Street on the VCU campus.

A Virginia Commonwealth University professor is suing the university for discrimination, alleging she was demoted to a lower-paying position because she’s Black and was born in Kenya.

Muthoni Imungi, a professor in the School of Social Work, was removed from an administrative position to a job with a lower salary in 2020, according to the lawsuit, which was filed last month in federal court.

Imungi, who continues to work at VCU, is suing for financial loss, mental anguish and damage to her career and reputation. She is demanding at least $75,000.

In the summer of 2016, Imungi joined VCU’s School of Social Work as its director of field education. After she began changing the field education program, her employees became unhappy, the suit alleges. Some asked that they no longer report to her. Tim Davy, who was interim dean at the time, declined the employees’ requests.

VCU hired a permanent dean, Beth Angell, in the summer of 2018. She, too, received complaints about Imungi, but she was more open to the complaints, the lawsuit states. Angell, who was not named as a defendant, and a spokesperson for VCU declined requests for comment.

In the fall of 2019, Imungi reported she felt she was being treated differently than other employees. Angell suggested Imungi resign, the lawsuit states.

A few months later, a faculty member in the School of Social Work used a racial slur during class, according to the suit, and someone vandalized a banner in the department that read “Black history is American history.”

VCU investigated, and Imungi spoke out publicly at a meeting, saying she was the only Black person in the School of Social Work’s leadership and that she had not been treated the same as her white colleagues, the lawsuit asserts.

Angell thanked Imungi for her willingness to speak. “I am here to learn and try to do better,” Angell said, according to the suit. But in the weeks to come, Imungi says she was excluded from department meetings, including ones regarding diversity and inclusion.

In June 2020, Angell and an associate dean informed Imungi that she was being removed from the director of field education role because she “was not a good fit,” according to the suit. She was given a teaching position, which did not include a $10,000 annual administrative supplement she used to earn.

Angell and school leadership moved quickly to replace Imungi, the suit states, filling her position with a person of limited experience while other positions sat open. Imungi has a doctorate and 12 years’ leadership experience.

Imungi filed an appeal with VCU’s Equity and Access Services on the basis of race and national origin discrimination, according to the suit. But it asserts that Angell indicated she would not be available for an interview until months later and declined mediation offered by the university.

In February 2021, Imungi filed a charge of race and national origin discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate based on race, color or national origin.

Imungi, who remains a full-time professor in the School of Social Work, has requested a jury trial. Angell recently was named a dean at the University of Michigan.

VCU is represented by an outside lawyer, W. Ryan Waddell, who specializes in Title VII cases.

Eric Kolenich writes about higher education, health systems and more for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He joined the newspaper in 2009 and spent 11 years in the Sports section. (804) 649-6109

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

The request comes after the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting and what county leaders have called an increase in youth violence over the past school year. 

But UVA says it will stick with its 4.7% increase. 

Per the audit, an ineffective records management program can increase costs for equipment and personnel, leave essential records unprotected and decrease accountability of public funds.

Otelia Howard Hall used to be called Byrd Hall, named for Harry F. Byrd Sr., the leader of Massive Resistance to school desegregation.

A boom of new students from outside the U.S. into Henrico County Public Schools prompted an expansion of the school division’s summer program for English learners.

Authorities are investigating a series of bomb threats made Tuesday against several universities and colleges in Hampton Roads.

The Times-Dispatch obtained the report through a Freedom of Information Act request. The fire department would not hand over a copy of the investigation report last week.

A confrontation on West Broad Street began Thursday morning when a man hit a woman with a café chair, and she responded by firing a gun at the man.

A Richmond Public Schools spokesperson on Wednesday confirmed the district’s chief academic officer has submitted her resignation.

In this 2020 photo a person wears a mask on Franklin Street on the VCU campus.

Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.