Opinion ID: 2996136
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Federal Due Process Claims

Text: We are also convinced that the trial judge properly granted summary judgment in favor of the University on the claims brought by Trejo under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. As we noted ante at 1, Trejo alleges that the University violated his substantive due process rights when terminating him, in part, because of his expressive activity in Toronto. Although we explained in Part II.A that none of Trejo’s statements were protected as speech about matters of public concern, Trejo nonetheless argues that the University’s decision violated his substantive due process rights by imposing an “utterly unreasonable” or “arbitrary” restriction upon his right to speak on matters of private concern. “A restriction on a form of liberty not explicitly codified in the Bill of Rights or singled out by the courts for special protection under such rubrics as ‘right to privacy’ and ‘fundamental rights’ violates the due process clause only if [it is] utterly unreasonable—that is what ‘arbitrary’ means in this setting—and it is less likely to be found so if it is a regulation of public employees than if it is a regulation of private citizens.” Swank, 898 F.2d at 1252. We hold that it was proper for the University to terminate Trejo because of his conduct and comments during the academic conference in Toronto during October 1995, including but not limited to the off-color remarks to the graduate students at the restaurant/bar in Toronto, as well as his conduct before and after the conference which did not come to light until such time as the investigation was completed. Trejo’s conduct and statements in Toronto, when viewed in conjunction with the pattern of unprofessional conduct, poor judgment, and lack of trustworthiness demonstrated throughout his term of employment, had the effect of alienating professors and graduate students on the 16 No. 00-3341 Illinois campus and at other institutions across the nation. Professors at Stanford and Wichita State universities advised Shoben that the University’s ability to attract talented female graduate students might suffer if Trejo’s behavior became widely known among prospective applicants. Furthermore, several of the female graduate students within the department stated that they feared Trejo might retaliate against them for spurning his romantic advances, that they felt uncomfortable around him, and that they began avoiding him by refusing to walk past his laboratory as well as declining to enroll in his courses. It goes without saying that a university has an interest in fostering a collegial educational environment while doing everything within its power to maintain its reputation in the academic community both on campus and around the nation. Thus, we are convinced that it was eminently reasonable for the University to take action against Trejo under these circumstances. See Korf v. Ball St. Univ., 726 F.2d 1222 (7th Cir. 1984). “Common sense, reason and good judgment should have made him cognizant of the fact that his conduct could and would be cause for termination.” Id. at 1227. In reaching this conclusion, we reject Trejo’s claim that the University violated his civil rights when it partially relied upon Shoben’s recommendation as a basis for termination. Although Shoben held face-to-face meetings with Trejo on three separate occasions in an attempt to discuss the graduate students’ allegations, Trejo spends a significant portion of his brief arguing that Shoben conducted a one-sided investigation because he harbored personal grudges against Trejo and was committed to “leading the lynch mob” against him. (Pl. Br. at 19-23.) We disagree with Trejo’s contention and find this argument to be without merit, for even if we assume that Shoben was brimming over with animosity, we must not lose sight of the fact that Shoben’s reasoning and recommenNo. 00-3341 17 dation to terminate probationary employee Trejo was reviewed by two separate, independent faculty committees which conducted their own investigations of the charges and likewise came to the conclusion that Trejo’s misconduct warranted his removal from the faculty. The two administrators who were responsible for hiring Trejo as part of the University’s affirmative action plan (Dean of the College Jesse G. Delia and Provost Larry R. Faulkner) also exchanged e-mails and met personally with Trejo on a number of occasions while discussing his concerns about Shoben’s alleged biases but ultimately agreed that Trejo should be terminated because of the contents of the record before them concerning Plaintiff-Appellant Trejo’s gross misconduct exhibited during his three years as a non-tenured professor. The University’s investigation and hearings went well beyond what was required by the Constitution, and we reject Trejo’s argument that his substantive due process rights were violated. See Eiland v. Trinity Hosp., 150 F.3d 747, 752 (7th Cir. 1998); Willis v. Marion County Auditor’s Office, 118 F.3d 542, 54748 (7th Cir. 1997); see also Hamilton v. MCBOE, 122 F. Supp. 2d 1273, 1283-88 (M.D. Ala. 2000) (discussing elements of vicarious “cat’s paw” liability). We also disagree with Trejo’s contention that he was deprived of his rights to procedural due process. Trejo was a non-tenured probationary employee who was appointed to one-year contracts subject to annual review and renewal by the University. Trejo argues that the refusal to renew his appointment deprived him of property and liberty interests in pursuing work as a public educator. However, the law is eminently clear that nontenured professors within the University of Illinois system are probationary employees who lack any constitutionally protected property interest that would afford them rights to due process. See Weinstein v. University of Illinois, 811 F.2d 1091 (7th Cir. 1987); McElearney v. 18 No. 00-3341 University of Illinois, 612 F.2d 285 (7th Cir. 1979). Furthermore, an employee’s right to pursue his or her chosen occupation is infringed only if “the ‘circumstances of the discharge, at least if they were publicly stated, had the effect of blacklisting the employee from employment in comparable jobs.’ ” Townsend v. Vallas, 256 F.3d 661, 670 (7th Cir. 2001) (quoting Colazzi v. Walker, 812 F.2d 304, 307 (7th Cir. 1987)). The record is barren of evidence indicating that the University publicized the basis for terminating Trejo, much less blacklisted him. Indeed, after Trejo left his non-tenured position at Illinois, he returned to his native state of California and shortly thereafter accepted a supervisory position paying $81,000 a year with a research laboratory managed by a federal agency. This is an increase of $32,000 over his salary as an assistant professor. On the basis of the record before us, we conclude that Trejo’s procedural process claims are frivolous and that any harm that may come to him in the future as a result of his professional misconduct at the University of Illinois is solely of his own making.