Harassment complaint upheld

LINCOLN — The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled Friday that a Creighton University professor was justified in a complaint of sexual harassment by a fellow Spanish professor.

The case revolved, in part, around differing opinions on the translation and context of e-mail messages sent in 2001 by Roxana Recio, a tenured professor, to Michelle Evers, a newly hired, untenured professor.

Recio contended that the messages, sent in Spanish and Catalan — the official language of Andorra, a neighbor to Spain — had been misinterpreted and that they did not have sexual overtones.

A friend of Recio’s had said they could be “explained away by culture and effusiveness.”

But Evers, in a sexual harassment complaint filed with Creighton three years later, describing them as “obsessive” and “stalker-like.” She said that they contained “inappropriate advances … of a strong sexual nature” and that Recio ignored repeated requests to end the correspondence.

The Supreme Court agreed with the findings of a sexual harassment review committee at Creighton, which interviewed several witnesses from Hispanic cultures.

The committee found that the messages “at best” were so intense, obsessive and “ominous” to cause Evers “great distress.”

“ … I do want to be your friend, do you understand? I hope so, because if you don’t understand, you will end up hating me and I will have an attack,” read one message. “If I don’t see you in August as we were saying this morning ... UFFF! ... I think I would shoot myself in the head.”

Other messages stated Recio did not erase Evers’ voice messages because she loved hearing her voice.

“… You see me like some nice person who tortures you with e-mails and who you will work with … but for me it is different, Michelle, I feel so much for you… .” read one e-mail from Recio.

The Creighton committee recommended firing Recio. The Rev. John Schlegel, Creighton’s president, instead ordered Recio to receive psychological counseling and placed her on probation for about a year.

Recio filed state and federal lawsuits against Creighton and Evers and filed two discrimination claims with the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission. The commission rejected Recio’s claims, and the federal suit was dismissed in 2007.

The Supreme Court decision upheld a ruling by Douglas County District Judge Michael Coffey. The high court ruled that Recio could not sue her fellow professor for claims that were truthful.

Recio’s attorney, Kevin McCoy of Omaha, said that the case was “academic politics at its worst” and that Recio was seeking to clear her name.

The attorney said that Recio was out of the country and on sabbatical this year but wanted to keep teaching at Creighton.

Contact the writer:

402-473-9584, paul.hammel@owh.com