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A former Bloomsburg University dean will be awarded $3.9 million after a jury found that he was fired in retaliation for helping an administrative assistant report that she had been sexually harassed by the university’s president, according to The Citizens’ Voice.
In a lawsuit filed in 2018, Jeffrey Krug, then dean of Bloomsburg’s business school, alleged that after he reported the administrative assistant’s claims to the Title IX office, the institution’s then-president, Bashar Hanna, began a campaign of retaliation against him. The suit alleges that Hanna denied reimbursement requests for Krug’s travel expenses and started a rumor that Krug was having an affair. The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education also launched an investigation into Krug, ultimately resulting in his firing.
Attorneys for the defense argued that Krug was fired not as retaliation but for failing to properly follow university policies and relevant laws.
The jury sided with Krug. His payout includes $1 million in back pay and $775,000 in front pay, as well as $1.5 million for pain and suffering, $450,000 in punitive damages against Hanna, and $200,000 in punitive damages against another defendant, James Krause, who was Bloomsburg’s senior vice president for academic affairs.
In 2022, Bloomsburg University and two other Pennsylvania universities were combined to form the Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania, of which Hanna is now president.
