A nuclear medicine physician at the University of Iowa in Iowa City involved in a public dispute with the chair of his department has been suspended, and he faces a January 28 deadline to reach a settlement that would require him to leave the university.
Malik Juweid, MD, has accused department chair Laurie Fajardo, MD, of making racially disparaging statements about him and other physicians in the department and has filed complaints with both university and state authorities. Juweid has also spoken with a number of news outlets about his campaign to have Fajardo unseated as department chief.
Juweid suffered two setbacks in mid-January, however. On January 12, the university put him on paid administrative leave for what it said was his "harassing" and "disruptive" behavior as he pursued his claims. Then, on January 13, a university inquiry rejected his charges of discrimination, stating that Fajardo's alleged actions were not "persistent and pervasive" enough to consider them a violation of the school's policies on discrimination and retaliation.
The university has now turned the tables by launching an investigation of Juweid; he has also been reported to the university's threat assessment team and is required to have a police escort to visit his office, Juweid told AuntMinnie.com. The university has also given him a deadline of 5 p.m. on January 28 to reach a settlement that would include his resignation.
Juweid, however, says he won't go without having another job lined up.
"I'm not going to resign without having a job. I want an independent investigation," Juweid said, adding that he believes university investigators were biased in favor of Fajardo.
Juweid has also filed a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, but that initiative could take as long as 18 months to resolve, he said. He hopes to receive a "right to sue" letter from the commission that would enable him to file a lawsuit against the university, charging it with retaliation.
As the settlement deadline looms, Juweid believes that an acceptable resolution to the impasse would be for him to accept a visiting professor post with another university that would be paid for by the University of Iowa. He believes that any attempt by the university to fire him outright would be complicated because he's a tenured professor.
"I would be the first [University of Iowa physician] ever to be terminated without conviction of crime," Juweid said.
University of Iowa spokesperson Tom Moore declined to comment on the case, other than to confirm that Juweid was still employed by the university.
By Brian Casey
AuntMinnie.com staff writer
January 28, 2011
Related Reading
Faculty dispute at University of Iowa goes public, January 3, 2011
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