BUZZ
A Michigan State University professor has reached an agreement with two trustees who are accused of coordinating an attack on him, following his criticism of one of them.
Michigan Live reported the settlement’s details were not available, but it followed a “voluntary facilitative mediation session” with a federal district court.
The undisclosed settlement ends Professor Jack Lipton’s lawsuit against Dennis Denno and Rema Vassar, stemming from a 2023 incident.
In October 2023, Lipton, then the chair of the faculty senate, presented a letter at a board meeting, criticizing Vassar’s mixing of business with her official role, The Fix previously reported.
According to the lawsuit, Vassar (pictured, right) also accepted gifts from a university donor, including traveling on a private jet. She also appeared in an ad endorsing a former trustee’s private wealth management business.
Vassar, anticipating a large turnout at the meeting due to allegations against her, organized her sorority sisters to attend. Her supporters “jeered” at anyone who spoke out against her during the meeting, according to Lipton’s lawsuit.
“The chaos brought and disrespect shown by her supporters could have been stopped by a single statement from Chair Vassar, yet she elected to let the mob rule the room,” Lipton (pictured, left) told The Detroit News the next day. This statement, according to Denno, was racist. Denno coordinated with an unnamed student, according to The State News, to contact a reporter and say “Lipton= Racist.”
“The other thing you can do to help us, at least for me, is attack Jack Lipton, the Chair of the Faculty Senate,” Denno told a student, according to a law firm hired by the school to investigate the situation. “I mean this guy called you a mob … call him out, call him a racist.”
Opponents of Lipton also filed baseless complaints with the university and the Higher Learning Commission.
“Vassar stepped down as chair in March 2024, following the release of the [law firm] report,” MLive.com reported. “Vassar and Denno were stripped of their committee appointments and barred from participating in board activities not strictly required of them as elected officials.”
A judge dismissed Lipton’s lawsuit against the other trustees because they did not play a direct role in the targeting. However, Judge Hala Jarbou ruled this summer that the neuroscience scholar could proceed with his lawsuit because an executive search firm told him the controversy would hurt his employment prospects as he sought other jobs.
