New Lawsuit Says Warner Pacific College Wouldn't Hire Potential Professor Because He's Jewish

A new employment discrimination lawsuit accuses Warner Pacific College of refusing to hire an applicant for a teaching position because he's Jewish.

The lawsuit, filed Dec. 11 by Noel M. King in Multnomah County Circuit Court, alleges that administrators at the evangelical college in Southeast Portland stated in writing that he was being rejected because he is not a "Christ follower."

King's lawsuit, filed by lawyers Christopher Graves and Dana Sullivan, says that when he applied to be adjunct professor of psychology last year, everything went fine. In his application, King said he had 13 years of teaching experience and had also worked extensively in the mental health field.

He also noted in response to a question about his religious beliefs that he is "of the Hebrew faith."

The lawsuit says King was on track to be hired—until his application landed on the desk of Warner Pacific president Andrea Cook.

Here's what the lawsuit says happened after the head of the hiring committee, Dr. Michael Jerpbak, forwarded King's application to Cook:

The lawsuit, first reported this morning by the Associated Press, says that Jerpbak informed King on Aug. 24, 2014, that he would not be hired because of his faith.

Asked for comment on the lawsuit, Dale Seipp, Warner Pacific's vice president of enrollment and marketing, provided the following statement:

On its website, Warner Pacific says it is "dedicated to providing students from diverse backgrounds an education that prepares them to engage actively in a constantly changing world."

The college affilated with Church of God, based in Anderson, Ind.

And like many institutions, Warner Pacific, which serves 1,200 students at its campus in on the south slope of Mount Tabor, says that diversity is central to its mission:

"The Office of Diversity, rooted in the mission and core themes of Warner Pacific College, provides the resources and programs necessary for developing and supporting a richly diverse campus community."

King is seeking $268,000 in economic and non-economic damages.

Updated at 5:15 pm:

Michael Jerpbak, the Warner Pacific associate professor who led the hiring committee that wanted to hire Noel King, today filed a lawsuit against the college in Multnomah County Court.

Jerpbak, who is co-chair of Warner Pacific's social sciences department and manages the adult degree program, alleges in his lawsuit that he warned college officials that their hiring practices in the case of King and another, unnamed applicant, were "unlawful."

Jerpbak says college officials retaliated against him earlier this year, by failing to respond in timely fashion to his application for a promotion to full professorship and ultimately denying him the promotion.

In his lawsuit, which like King's, was filed by lawyers Christopher Graves and Dana Sullivan, Jerpbak says college officials told him in a letter they were unhappy with his lack of leadership in the hiring process.

Jerpbak is seeking damages of $550,000.

Warner Pacific did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the second lawsuit.

Willamette Week