Former UNM professor Cynthia Lopez filed suit against UNM and three employees of the medical school last week claiming that she was harassed, discredited and retaliated against for "doing her job."
Lopez is a medical professional who has been working within UNM's academic community for the past five years. She has earned the degree of doctor of public health from Harvard University and first came to UNM because she was impressed with UNM's public health master's program, one of the few in the Southwest.
She applied to UNM and to the University of Arizona but eventually selected UNM after receiving acceptance notifications from both schools. Lopez said that she was the University's top recruit that year.
But now, the former professor said, after having her reputation destroyed and her teaching career ruined, she is suing UNM.
"It's the only option left to me," Lopez said.
Cheating scandal
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In December 2000, while grading her classes' final exams, Lopez said that she discovered six of her 18 students had "identical" responses on their independent essays in her health care systems course.
She said that it was obvious the students had rearranged paragraphs to create the appearance of individuality among the six exams. The responses, Lopez added, even included "spelling errors that were duplicated."
Lopez proceeded to fail the six students and bring the matter to the attention of her supervisor, Nina Wallerstein, director of the public health master's program.
Wallerstein has been named as a defendant in the lawsuit
Lopez said Wallerstein first suggested the matter be overlooked, but after she refused to do so, Wallerstein told Lopez to go ahead and grade the exams as if they had been completed individually.
"I guess the message Dr. Wallerstein is sending is that you can graduate from this program if you cheat," Lopez said.
But, one student who had been caught cheating on the exam was allowed to substitute a required program course taught by Lopez for another course, without Lopez's consent. This substitution, Lopez said, violated a standard set by the Master of Public Health Curriculum Committee for the 2000-01 class. It also allowed the student to graduate before a final decision could be reached regarding his grade appeal.
That student, Lopez said, is now working in a high-level M.D. position in Washington D.C.
Seven-year accreditation
The cheating scandal occurred at a very sensitive time for UNM's medical school. At that time the school was being reviewed by the Council on the Education for Public Health for accreditation.
Accreditation is similar to a seal of approval for an educational institute's various programs. It can help recruit and retain top-notch faculty and students, attract large grants and help establish or destroy a programs' reputation.
The team that reviewed the program had several options for awarding accreditation, including its highest option, a seven-year accreditation.
Lopez said Wallerstein was adamant about receiving the seven-year accreditation.
During the accreditation process, the team was visiting with faculty and staff to determine where the program stood on several issues.
Lopez alleges that Wallerstein prevented her from personally meeting with the accreditation team during visits to the UNM Hospital.
"Dr. Wallerstein had very high control over who would meet the accreditation team," Lopez said.
Lopez eventually wrote a letter, dated Aug. 31, 2001, detailing her complaints about the core course substitution policy abuse, as well as Wallerstein's attempt to pass academically dishonest students, to the accreditation team.
Although team members received Lopez's letter and conducted a meeting to discuss the matter with Wallerstein, the group agreed to extend a seven-year accreditation approval to the program.
Retaliation, dismissal
Two days after refusing to pass the students she caught cheating while her program was being reviewed for accreditation, Lopez said Wallerstein revoked her commitment to pay Lopez back salary she had earned.
Also, Lopez said Wallerstein and Howard Waitzkin, professor of family and community medicine, harassed and intimidated her through a number of actions no other faculty member within the program had to endure.
Waitzkin has also been named as a defendant in the suit.
After the Oct. 30 accreditation meeting when Lopez's letter was discussed, Wallerstein and Arthur Kaufman, chairman of the Department of Family and Community Medicine, met with Lopez to notify her that her employment contract would not be renewed.
Lopez said that she was basically fired for doing her job.
"It was my duty and responsibility to notify the committee," she said.
Kaufman has also been named as a defendant in the suit.
Court proceedings
Lopez's lawyer, Michael Armstrong, said that the University has 30 days to respond to the complaint and offer a notice of appearance. Following that, the next stage will be a discovery process where each side will be allowed to question parties involved and collect further information.
After that, Armstrong said, depositions will begin.
He added that cases such as this can last anywhere between one and three years.
To prove their case, Armstrong said he will rely on the chronological order of events to establish that University officials retaliated against Lopez after she reported misconduct to appropriate individuals.
What she wants
Obviously, Lopez said, she can never have her old position back.
She added that her professional reputation has been permanently damaged because she will have to tell future employers she was fired from her last position, and that she was forced to sue the university that had terminated her contract.
"I want to clear my name," she said. "Reputation really accounts for a lot in academia - they basically shot down my career."
She also wants to right a wrong. Lopez said students who earn degrees from programs that dole them out to students who cheat are ultimately cheated out of their educational experience.
Lopez's lawsuit does not list a specific dollar amount because she wants a jury of her peers to determine how much the defendants in the suit should pay her.
"This has to stop now. The public has to know what's going on. The taxpayers have to know what's going on," Lopez said.
Wallerstein could not be reached for comment.
UNM officials, as well as Kaufman, Wallerstein and Waitzkin declined to comment, but Waitzkin said he would be meeting with University Counsel Friday to discuss his role in the lawsuit.
