WILMINGTON, Del. — A Widener University law professor facing accusations of racism and sexism filed a defamation lawsuit against the school’s dean Friday, claiming he has been deemed a threat to the school and targeted for dismissal because of his teaching methods and his conservative political and legal views.
Lawrence Connell, a White, tenured professor, also alleges that Dean Linda Ammons, who is Black, is upset that he has used her in attention-grabbing hypothetical crime scenarios he uses in his criminal law classes.
“She set out to destroy him because of his conservative beliefs,” Connell’s attorney, Thomas Neuberger, said after filing the lawsuit in Sussex County Superior Court.
In a statement issued by a spokeswoman for the Wilmington law school, Ammons said she had not yet been served with the complaint but would not respond to Connell’s allegations in the media.
“However, if there is a lawsuit, it will be vigorously defended and I look forward to the truth coming out in a court of law,” Ammons said. “In the meantime, Widener Law will continue to follow university codes for handling the multiple complaints of students against Professor Connell.”
Connell said he had no choice but to sue Ammons because the loss of his job would cost him more than $1 million in medical benefits for his permanently disabled and institutionalized daughter.
“I take this step because there is no doubt that the hanging kangaroo court Ammons has created to try me will soon fire me based on her reckless and false charges that I am a racist, a sexist and a threat to the physical safety of the Widener student community,” he said.
