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SOU prof�s complaint discussed By Sara Murphy ASHLAND � A Southern Oregon University faculty committee met Monday to hear business professor Suad Cox�s complaint that she was put on paid leave and "demoted" last spring without just cause. Cox, 59, alleges she was treated unfairly by university officials during the school year after she reported being assaulted twice � first in November and again in May � by a male coworker. Cox argued before the hearing committee that she was placed on leave and then "demoted" from director to coordinator of the Hotel, Restaurant and Resort Management program without explanation. Cox said she also received a biased evaluation as a result of the conflicts with her coworker. She filed a grievance last month with the Faculty Senate asking that all derogatory material be removed from her personnel file and that she be reinstated as director of the HRRM program. Cox, who has been at SOU for four years, is eligible for tenure this school year. The hearing committee, a panel of five faculty members, is expected to make its decision by the end of the month. Cox was placed on administrative leave May 17, a week after telling police she had been assaulted on campus by Dennis Slattery, a coworker who was an instructor in the HRRM program. Slattery, who was also placed on leave, was not cited or charged in the alleged assault. At her hearing Monday, Cox said being placed on leave was unexpected, punitive and hurt her reputation. "What have I done to be disciplined like this?" she asked. Interim President Sara Hopkins-Powell � who was provost at the time � testified that she placed both faculty members on leave because she wasn�t able to establish facts of the dispute, attempts to limit contact between the teachers failed and she needed to protect students and other faculty from becoming involved. "We had several days of escalating events," Hopkins-Powell said. "It was the one way we felt we could provide a cooling-off period." When Cox returned to work in June, she received a letter from Hopkins-Powell instructing her that she is "coordinator" of the HRRM program and to cease using the title "director." Cox viewed the act as a demotion. She said she took the position because of its management duties and had used the director title for the past four years. John Laughlin, dean of the school of business, said the move wasn�t a demotion � her duties and pay won�t change � and that Cox always had been a coordinator, the title used by other program heads within the school. Laughlin said he permitted Cox to call herself director after she expressed concern that the term "coordinator" would confuse hospitality industry professionals. As problems emerged in the department last year, Laughlin said, he became concerned that the title implied more power than Cox�s position held and asked Hopkins-Powell to clarify the matter to Cox. "This was simply my withdrawing a favor because it became clear it wasn�t working," Laughlin said. But Cox said she did have supervisory duties, including hiring and budgetary decisions. Laughlin said she made recommendations to him and that he makes recommendations to the president. "We all made decisions at different levels," Cox said. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA