- Rochelle Hoffman, 36, says she was forced to resign as interim director of campus Multicultural Student Services
- She claims that staff and students have repeatedly stated that they “didn’t want white people overseeing spaces that were meant to serve students of color.”
- Hoffman is seeking compensation for lost wages and damages
A woman has filed a lawsuit against the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire, claiming she was kicked out of her job as head of the school’s diversity office because she is white.
Rochelle Hoffman, 36, says she was forced to resign as interim director of the campus’ Multicultural Student Services office shortly after her promotion due to racial discrimination.
In a civil lawsuit seen by DailyMail.com, Hoffman claims that students told the school’s former vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion and student affairs, Olga Diaz, that a white woman was not suitable for the role.
Students and faculty have repeatedly stated that they “do not want white people to supervise spaces intended for students of color,” according to the complaint.
One of the students cited in the lawsuit allegedly asked during an open forum, “Do you personally feel that white staff can do as effective a job as a person of color, in a space for people of color?”
Rochelle Hoffman, 36, says she was forced to resign from her role at the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire’s diversity office due to racial discrimination
Hoffman claims students told former Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Student Affairs Olga Diaz (pictured) that a white woman was not suitable for the role
Another student quotes, “We don’t want white people in the MSS office… Our heritage months are not for the campus, they are just for us.”
The complaint reads: “At the Open House forums, students wanted Diaz to promise that she would hire people of color to work at MSS. There was an absolute feeling that every position previously held by a person of color should be filled by a person of color, preferably a person with the same profile to maintain the affinity-based mode.
“The affinity model in use at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire was based on the idea that in order to be properly served, a student had to be assigned a coordinator of the same ethnic background and that a white person could not do that. adequately support a student of color.”
Hoffman claims she felt forced to resign last year after just eight months on the job due to staff hostility, despite her performance reviews saying she exceeded expectations.
The lawsuit states, “It was solely Hoffman’s identity as white that was at issue; The criticism was about her race and skin color, not her qualifications.”
According to the filing, in his role, Hoffman “created and managed programming for students of color and for low-income and first-generation students” and “taught classes and created new classes to improve college retention, grade point averages and graduation rates for improve these groups. .
The lawsuit names the university’s Board of Regents, UW-Eau Claire Chancellor Jim Schmidt (left) and Assistant Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Teresa O’Halloran (right).
Hoffman is seeking compensation for lost wages and for “mental injury, emotional distress, loss of reputation, career damage, and attorneys’ fees and costs.”
She previously worked for six years in the school’s Blugold Beginnings office, which served “underrepresented, low-income and first-generation students.” The agency merged with the Multicultural Affairs Bureau last year.
Since the lawsuit was filed, Hoffman’s role was reassigned to a senior academic advising coordinator for the university, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The filed lawsuit was first reported by Wisconsin Public Radio and names the university’s Board of Regents, UW-Eau Claire Chancellor Jim Schmidt, and Assistant Chancellor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Teresa O’Halloran.
UW-Eau Claire said in a statement: “As is the case with all pending litigation, UW-Eau Claire will not be making a statement or comment on the lawsuit. UW-Eau Claire does not discriminate on the basis of race in employment decisions.”
