The former chancellor of Ivy Tech’s South Bend-Elkhart campus alleges that her race and gender played a role in her firing.
In a lawsuit filed in July in U.S. District Court, Tia Robinson-Cooper says she was fired in March 2024 after accumulating several “ethics points” in connection with her professional conduct. But she says those claims were unfounded, and Caucasian individuals who engaged in worse conduct were allowed to keep their jobs.
The lawsuit also alleges that Robinson-Cooper was paid less than white men doing the same work.
Specifically, the lawsuit says Robinson-Cooper wasn’t allowed to drive a college-owned vehicle home after a late meeting, so she could drive it to a meeting in Indianapolis the following morning, while a male chancellor was “permitted to use a college vehicle for personal travel over an extended distance.” Robinson-Cooper also believes former Ivy Tech President Sue Ellspermann expected her to keep working full-time, during her recovery from a planned knee surgery.
Robinson-Cooper says the concerns raised by Ivy Tech prevented her from getting jobs at other colleges. Now, she’s asking for back pay and damages for the emotional toll of her firing, among other relief.
