A former professor at Colorado Mesa University is suing the Grand Junction institution, claiming that her firing was a result of workplace discrimination.
Ana Berrizbeitia filed the civil suit April 15, with the 18-page complaint alleging that she was fired from CMU after years of working in a department that held her to a different standard than that of her white colleagues. Berrizbeitia is Latina/Hispanic.
“(Berrizbeitia) was told to adjust the way she talked, her facial expressions and even the way she was sitting in the classroom,” the complaint notes in pointing to one example of the alleged double standard.
The suit says Berrizbeitia felt she was being asked “to code switch to make white people more comfortable.”
Officials with Colorado Mesa University could not be reached for comment.
In another example, the complaint claims that Berrizbeitia was chastised for being too hard on students. The lawsuit claims that Berrizbeitia was “chastised for giving constructive feedback and ‘humiliating’ students” after she corrected a student during a senior capstone presentation.
The complaint contrasts that anecdote with a story in which a white colleague in the math department was said to have been implying that struggling students pursue a career with a prominent hamburger provider over one in mathematics.
“However, a white Caucasian professor in the math department stapled McDonald’s applications to failing exams and was given a slap on the wrist,” the lawsuit reads.
Berrizbeitia said she was additionally scolded by her department head for using a color printer and bringing her child to work.
In the complaint’s telling, Berrizbeitia was terminated in August 2024 from her tenure track position for erroneous reasons meant “to mask the underlying discriminatory actions by (CMU).” Berrizbeitia claims she was told her firing had to do with interactions with students who wrote negative reviews, improperly disclosing student records; inappropriate text exchanges with a transitioning student and comments about a student contracting COVID-19.
Berrizbeitia’s claim denies wrongdoing on the records or confrontation with students and that the COVID-19 comments were never made. It also notes that the text messages with the student had nothing to do with gender identity and that the student’s “gender transition did not begin until a year after Dr. Berrizbeitia was no longer in communication with the student.”
The lawsuit, which was filed by attorneys from the Westminster-based Robinson & Henry, P.C. calls for unspecified monetary damages including backpay, benefits and financial losses as well as damages related to emotional distress, loss of reputation and humiliation.
