Pfang v. Lamar Inst. of Tech.
| Docket Number | Civil Action 1:23-CV-93 |
| Decision Date | 05 August 2023 |
| Parties | RAYMOND PFANG, Plaintiff, v. LAMAR INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Texas |
Pending before the court is Defendant Lamar Institute of Technology's (“LIT”) Partial Motion to Dismiss filed pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) (#6). Plaintiff Raymond Pfang (“Pfang”) filed a response to LIT's motion (#12), and LIT filed a reply (#13). Having considered the motion, the submissions of the parties, the record, and the applicable law, the court is of the opinion that LIT's motion should be denied.
Pfang alleges he is of Chinese descent and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. He received his MBA from the University of Greenwich in London, England, and his Ph.D. in Management from the University of Surrey Business School in Guildford England. Before immigrating to the United States in 2011 Pfang was employed as the Director of Operations for Infocheck Ltd., UK, was the founding CEO of NES HealthCare UK, and later was the Program Director for the MA in Global Management, Senior Lecturer and Director, Regents Business Forum, all at Regent's University Business School in London, England. Once in the United States, and prior to his employment with LIT, Pfang was employed from 2013 through 2021 in administrative positions varying from Dean, Assistant Dean, and Assistant to the President, at Tarrant County College in Fort Worth, Texas, and Palo Alto College in San Antonio, Texas.
Plaintiff applied for the position of Associate Vice President of Education Support at LIT on October 29, 2021. The President of LIT at that time was Dr. Lonnie Howard (“Howard”). Howard, according to Pfang, emailed him the next day, informing him that he was “impressed with his cover letter and curriculum vitae.” On November 2, 2021, Howard flew to San Antonio, Texas, to interview Pfang. Pfang alleges that on that same day, Howard not only offered him the position of Associate Vice President of Education Support, but also offered him the additional post of Special Assistant to the President. Pfang accepted both positions, believing he would be a member of Howard's “Executive Team,” which would require him to work with Howard and other LIT Administrators.
Pfang contends that during his interview, Howard told him he would mentor Pfang to the position of president of a college or university, impressing upon Pfang that he had successfully mentored three other individuals to that position. Pfang received a written offer on November 15, 2021, which Pfang accepted. Pfang began his employment with LIT on December 1, 2021, but was terminated from his position by LIT Provost Angela Hill (“Hill”) on April 21, 2022.
According to Pfang, shortly after he began his employment with LIT, another Associate Vice President (“AVP”) unexpectedly resigned from her position as AVP for Workforce and Strategic Initiatives. Pfang alleges that Howard asked him to oversee the duties of the former AVP on a temporary basis until a replacement could be hired. Plaintiff states that he led the search and developed a short list of candidates for the open AVP position. Rather than hire a replacement to fill the vacant position, however, Howard, according to Pfang, terminated the search and decided not to fill the position. Pfang alleges specifically that Howard asked him to take over the position and he complied with the request. Including his responsibilities as AVP for Workforce and Strategic Initiatives, Pfang oversaw several departments including Marketing, Institutional Effectiveness, Assessment and Research, Grants, New Program Development, the LIT Foundation, professional truck driver training, and the staff associated with these departments. Plaintiff alleges he received no additional pay for assuming the new duties and, despite his request for additional assistance, he received none.
Howard also asked Pfang to “reorganize the administrative structure of the campus from top to bottom.” According to Pfang, over a period of weeks, he began talking with other Executive Team members and certain LIT staff, and ultimately provided Howard with his proposal, which included written explanations of the reason for realignment. Around this same time, Dr. Byron Prince (“Prince”), one of Pfang's direct reports as AVP of the Workforce Department, told Pfang that Howard had asked Prince to prepare a proposed reorganization chart of the Workforce Department, showing Prince as the AVP of the department. Pfang avers that he was surprised to learn this because he was the current AVP of the Workforce Department and Howard knew that, under Pfang's reorganization proposal, Pfang would remain as AVP of that department. According to Pfang, he ultimately remained as AVP of the Workforce Department and continued as Prince's supervisor. Pfang contends that this was the first instance in which Howard undermined his respect and authority in his position as Prince's supervisor. Pfang specifically alleges that both Howard and Prince are African American.
Around February 15, 2022, Howard named Hill as LIT's Vice President of Instruction and Provost. Pfang specifically alleges that Hill is also African American and “had far less experience to serve in these positions” as compared to Pfang. After Hill's appointment, Howard informed Pfang that he would now report directly to Hill. Pfang states that all the other members of the President's Executive Team also began reporting directly to Hill, with the exception of Rudy Gonzales (“Gonzales”), who was the Vice-President of Finance and Operations. The other members of the President's Executive Team were Gonzales, Veronica Garcia (“Garcia”) as Associate Vice-President, Ken Mason (“Mason”), and Andrea Stephenson (“Stephenson”).[2]According to Pfang, both Gonzales and Garcia are Hispanic, while Mason and Stephenson are Caucasian.
Plaintiff alleges that Howard conducted an Executive Team meeting the next day. During the meeting, and in front of the other Executive Team members, Pfang asserts that Howard mentioned to him and Garcia that “if being at LIT did not fit into their career plans, he would be willing to make a call,” presumably to assist in finding them other jobs. According to Pfang, in what appeared to be a goodwill gesture, Howard also offered to waive the obligation for them to repay their relocation allowances. Pfang contends that he “had no idea” why Howard would make the comment and/or offer, particularly during an Executive Team meeting. The following morning, according to Pfang, he emailed Howard thanking him for the offer. Thereafter, Howard called and assured Pfang that he did not want him to leave his employment with LIT.
On or around February 15, 2022, Howard spoke at a convocation town-hall meeting of LIT's campus faculty and staff. During this meeting, and without prior consultation with Pfang, Howard announced that the position of Special Assistant to the President was vacant and open for anyone who was interested in applying. Plaintiff was “shocked and surprised” to learn this in a public forum as this was one of the original two positions for which he was hired and received an $8,000.00 stipend. Pfang construed this announcement by Howard to mean he was being removed from the position. After the meeting, Pfang emailed Howard and advised him that because he was no longer the Special Assistant to the President, he should no longer receive the stipend for the position. Pfang also spoke with Gonzales, the CFO, about surrendering the stipend. Gonzales informed Pfang that the President told him it was not necessary for Pfang to surrender the stipend. Howard ultimately never filled the position and continued to refer to Pfang as the Special Assistant to the President up to the time of Pfang's termination.
In line with his duties as AVP of Workforce and Strategic Initiatives, Pfang emailed Howard on December 7, 2021, with a list of possible classes and programs that would benefit LIT. Two of the recommendations were an aviation maintenance program and a private pilot's associates degree. Thereafter, Pfang emailed the City of Beaumont Regional Airport manager and proposed a meeting to discuss the possible development of these two programs.[3] Plaintiff copied Hill, his now direct supervisor, on the email to keep her apprised of his plans to meet regarding the development of these programs. Pfang received no response from Hill and scheduled the meeting for March 10, 2022, at the Beaumont Regional Airport. Pfang, along with Tiffany Williams-Parker (“Williams-Parker”), who is African American, attended the meeting for LIT.[4] On March 14, 2022, Pfang emailed Howard, Hill, and others describing the exploratory discussions he and Williams-Parker had at the March 10, 2022, meeting. Pfang mentioned that he would like to give the airport representatives a tour of the campus and arrange a meeting with Howard, Hill, and Gonzales during that time. Howard responded by email stating that he was not telling Pfang not to explore a new program but to make sure that the time investment with airport collaboration was worth the effort. Pfang responded via email stating he would speak to Hill and Williams-Parker about Howard's directive and agree to a way forward.
After speaking with Hill and Williams-Parker, Pfang emailed Howard on March 17, 2022, and asked if he would agree to meet with the Beaumont Regional Airport Manager and the Interim City Manager about the collaboration on their tour of the LIT campus. According to Pfang, Howard agreed to the meeting and also suggested that Pfang invite the permanent City Manager to “help pave the way for further strategic...
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