A former Jackson State University Faculty Senate president is suing the institution, its president and the statewide public university system board, alleging wrongful termination.

Dawn McLin, who was a tenured associate professor in the psychology department, filed the lawsuit Jan. 10 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. Mississippi Today previously reported on the case.

McLin says an associate provost sought “revenge” against her after McLin “communicated a vote of no confidence” in the administrator. The suit says this administrator was removed from her post in July 2023, but then Alfred Rankins Jr.—the state’s higher education commissioner, appointed by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning—quickly directed her reinstatement.

Then, McLin alleges, the associate provost “sought further retribution” through Jackson State’s president, Marcus L. Thompson, who had personal ties with the administrator. “Dr. Thompson directed a sham investigation into Dr. McLin to find pretextual reasons to terminate her,” the suit says.

“JSU gave Dr. McLin only 10 days to prepare for a hearing on September 20, 2024 (and even then, Dr. McLin lacked access to her JSU email account and intranet resources, which impaired her ability to support her defense),” the suit says. “JSU also gave Dr. McLin only three days to produce her witness and exhibit list. On the other hand, JSU never produced an exhibit or witness list to Dr. McLin.”

McLin also alleged that the university declined to provide her other documents needed for her defense, including her personnel file, and prohibited her lawyer from speaking or cross-examining anyone at her termination hearing. She’s seeking damages for loss of salary and other alleged harm. The university didn’t provide any comment to Inside Higher Ed.