The wrongful discharge trial against Ohio State completed its third day yesterday, with testimony from the plaintiff’s former associates.
Timothy Knowles, former vice provost for the Office of Minority Affairs, filed the complaint against OSU in March 2001 after he was fired in July 2000. In a statement, Knowles claimed he received a positive annual review and a 4 percent salary increase for the second year of his five-year contract one month before former provost Ed Ray demanded his resignation.
Ray, who left OSU in September 2003 to become the president of Oregon State University, is scheduled to testify today at the Ohio Court of Claims, said Knowles’ attorney, Rocky Coe.
Ray’s name was included on a list that read as a who’s who of OSU administrators, subpoenaed by Knowles’ attorneys in February 2002. According to court documents, subpoenas were also issued by the Ohio Court of Claims for former president William “Brit” Kirwan, current Minority Affairs vice provost Mac Stewart, associate vice president of human resources Larry Lewellen and assistant vice president of Student Affairs Barbara Rich.
Yesterday’s testimony featured Knowles’ former executive assistant, Betty Ellis, who called Knowles’ office demeanor “mean” and “berating.” Ellis described the minority affairs executive council meetings under Knowles as tense.
“No one spoke in those meetings unless they were spoken to,” Ellis said. “They didn’t touch the food that was open to them. It was very controlled.”
The core of Ellis’ testimony surrounded on the job performances of OMA associates Rose Wilson Hill and Maurice Shipley. In Ellis’ cross-examination, Knowles’ counsel charged that Ellis, who was hired six months prior to Knowles’ discharge, did not have proper knowledge of office history to judge if Knowles’ “mean” behavior was an effort to address poor job performance.
The witness for prosecution, Laurie Johnson, was hired under Knowles as the OMA Business Manager in February 2000 after the position was originally filled by Wilson Hill. Johnson said Knowles acted professionally throughout her tenure, and that Maurice Shipley tried to sway her against Knowles.
Johnson said she was approached by Lewellen in June 2000, a short time after Ellis testified she complained to Lewellen about Knowles’ demeanor, and was asked if she had any “concerns” about Knowles. Johnson testified that later, after Ed Ray notified her of Knowles’ termination, Ray assured her that everyone’s jobs were secure. Shortly after this meeting with Ray, Johnson said Lewellen told her to look for another job.
“I knew too much information,” she said. “That’s why they wanted to remove me.”
In a statement, university spokeswoman Liz Cook said OSU acted appropriately and lawfully when it determined that Timothy Knowles should be terminated from his position in 2000.
“We are confident that when the Court of Claims hears all of the facts related to the university’s decision, it will agree,” Cook said.
Johnson and Ellis continue to work within the university – Johnson as director of operations for the department of pathology and Ellis as systems specialist in the College of Agriculture. Knowles is employed at Central State University.
