Section A · Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Friday, February 25, 2000
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Professor's ethnicity questioned
University opens issue in discrimination suit
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
By Jim O'Malley
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The University's attorney questioned whether Ray Pierotti was a Native American during cross-examination yesterday.
The trial of employment discrimination claims by Pierotti, an associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and his wife, Cynthia Annett, a former assistant professor in the same department, against the University was in its second week when associate general counsel Rose Marino began raising questions about Pierotti's status as a Native American.
Marino opened the issue by questioning Pierotti on a letter he wrote asking about employment at the University in which he said, "I qualify as a Native American for purposes of affirmative action."
Marino pointed out that Pierotti was not an enrolled member of any tribe and said there were no documents showing he was a Native American.
Pierotti testified that he was one-fourth Comaniche, through his grandmother.
Daniel Wildcat, professor of American Indian Studies at Haskell Indian Nations University, said he had known Pierotti since he first came to Lawrence in 1992.
"I find this line of questioning is insulting," he said. "I know who I am. I identify myself as a Native American. That is the way I think of myself."
"Ray's always identified himself as a Native American," Wildcat said. "There's no question in my mind about his identity whatsoever."
Wildcat wasn't at the trial, but he said he wasn't surprised that the University would attack Pierotti's native heritage.
He said Pierotti always had shown a commitment to helping Native-American students.
"Ray told me he expected that," Wildcat said. "The University is really desperate in trying to attack Dr. Pierotti on these grounds."
Annett and Pierotti rested their case yesterday with the conclusion of Pierotti's testimony.
John O'Brien, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, testified for Annett and Pierotti Wednesday. He was their department chairman until 1996, when
"Ray's always identified himself as a Native American. There's no question in my mind about his identity whatsoever."
Daniel Wildcat
Haskell Indian Nations University professor
Thomas Taylor replaced him
The tenure fight has left hard feelings in the department. Pierotti testified that he no longer would meet with Taylor by himself.
O'Brien said he had been a strong advocate for Annett from the start. He testified that her research qualified her for tenure and that male colleagues, including himself, with the same number of publications routinely had been granted tenure. O'Brien said he continued to support Annett through her application for tenure.
Annett said the trial had been exhausting. She said she was glad to get the academic misconduct charges Taylor had filed against her out in the open. The charges had been kept secret, she said, but rumor and innuendo about them had been circulating.
Yesterday, Marino said she could not comment on ongoing litigation.
Professor neglecting class, students say
Continued from page 1A
He also has canceled some of his Photojournalism I classes, said a student enrolled in the class. A student in Cuenca's Visual Communications course said that the class had never been canceled but that Cuenca discussed the trial during every class session.
Cuenca's Advanced Photojournalism class members serve as staff photographers for the Kansan, so they could not comment on the situation.
All of these classes meet one day a week.
Ted Frederickson, professor of journalism and chairman of the news and information sequence, sent Cuenca an e-mail urging him to find replacement instructors if he was going to miss classes.
"One part of my job as news chair is to make sure that students get the instruction they paid for," Frederickson said in the e-mail, which Cuenca then sent to at least 20 of his students.
Frederickson has been deposed by Cuenca's lawyer as part of Cuenca's pending discrimination lawsuit against the University.
Cuenca canceled last Friday's design class and assigned his students to attend the trial instead.
The male design student said he had heard five students attended the trial last Friday.
In an e-mail to his class listserv,
Cuenca wrote that he canceled today's class because he planned to attend the trial.
The attendance policy in these classes, as it appears on Cuenca's Web site, www.seekpeace.com, states:
"Your attendance in this class and the lab sessions will be as consequential as if this was your job and your disrespect for professional conduct could reflect on your final grade. ... Abusive lack of attendance could result in a substantial reduction of the grade you earn in class."
"You'd think that he would abide by his own policy," said another female student in the design class.
However, Melissa Davis, Wichita senior and a student in the design class, said Cuenca talked about the lawsuit only because students asked about it.
"He doesn't bring it up," she said. "People in the class do." Sam Mellinger, Lawrence senior, was in one of Cuenca's classes last semester.
"He didn't say much about it until the end of the semester." Mellinger said. "You could tell he was really upset about not getting tenure."
Christopher West, Chicago sophomore and member of
As a plaintiff in the ongoing lawsuit, Pierotti said that his classes had met every time and that the course objectives were being met.
"He didn't say much about it until the end of the semester. You could tell he was really upset about not getting tenure."
Sam Mellinger
Lawrence Senior
"He's missed this week, but we've had guest speakers instead," West said.
Pirottori's Principles of Environmental Studies class, said the class had never been canceled.
West said that he was unaware of the trial and that Pierotti hadn't mentioned the lawsuit in class.
The University's Handbook for Faculty and Other Unclassified Staff states that professors can move a class location or meeting time for sound academic reasons, but some students said they didn't think Cuenca had a sound academic reason.
"Having us attend a trial is pointless," said the male student in the design class. "I understand its importance if this were a reporting class, but it's not."
Cuenca wrote in an e-mail that the purpose of having students attend the trial was to get them to think about how to visually
describe the courtroom because cameras weren't allowed inside.
Jimmy Gentry, dean of journalism, would not say if he was aware of the situation or if students had complained about Cuenca's performance this semester.
"I'm being sued by Professor Cuenca, and I'm not going to comment on it," Gentry said.
The design class is required for the news/editorial and magazine sequences in the School of Journalism, and that contributes to some students' irritation.
"We need the class; we don't have any other options," the male student said. "I don't doubt he's a good teacher, but if he keeps this stuff up, he shouldn't have been hired back anyway."
He said the lawsuit probably shouldn't be discussed in class because it was unprofessional.
"I don't bring my problems with my relationships to class and waste time talking about them," he said. "He shouldn't do it either. This stuff is none of our business."
One section in Cuenca's design class syllabus addresses professionalism.
"I am assuming that you will respect this institution, the money you are spending, your time and my time enough to make a serious effort to succeed in the class," the syllabus says. "Succeeding in the class means being there."
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