FEDERAL JUDGE DISMISSES SOUTHEAST PROFESSOR'S LAWSUIT

A federal judge has dismissed Southeast Missouri State University professor Dean Monahan's lawsuit against the school.

Monahan, an English associate professor, asked Judge Thomas C. Mummert III to dismiss his lawsuit against the school's Board of Regents without prejudice. The legal move would allow Monahan to raise the same issues should he decide to take the school to court again.

But the judge, in dismissing the lawsuit last week, ruled that Monahan would have to pay $4,980 to the university if he files a new lawsuit over the same legal issues.

The amount includes $980 for mediation and deposition expenses and $4,000 for attorney fees incurred by the university in fighting the just-dismissed lawsuit.

Southeast had asked for $16,116 in attorney fees, but Mummert reduced the amount. The judge said in his ruling he has the authority to "reduce a request for fees that are excessive."

Monahan had charged that the university refused to promote him and denied him merit pay because of his opposition to curriculum changes. The school denied the allegations.

Diane Howard, the university's lawyer, welcomed the judge's ruling. "The university hopes that this is going to resolve the matter," she said.

The university wanted the case dismissed with prejudice, which would have barred Monahan from filing a new lawsuit over the same issues.

In the event of a voluntary dismissal, the school argued that Monahan should be required to pay $17,104 if he pursues further legal action based upon the original claims.

Monahan, who has taught at the university for 34 years, said Tuesday that he hasn't given up the fight. He said he is considering whether to file another lawsuit against his employer.

He charged in his 1998 lawsuit that the university around 1990 adopted an academic philosophy of multiculturalism. In the lawsuit, Monahan said multiculturalism emphasizes foreign ethnic and racial cultures while eliminating or putting less emphasis on studies that "might cause American students to be proud of their country or adopt a point of view that might be characterized as conservative."

Monahan said he repeatedly argued for the teaching of traditional American literature. His lawsuit claimed that the university refused to promote him to full professor and grant him merit pay increases in an effort to "stifle his political speech and actions."

He contended in the suit that his reputation had been damaged, and that his lost income and emotional distress totaled more than $25,000.

The university has said Monahan's curriculum views have had no bearing on his employment situation.

Monahan initially filed suit in Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court in April 1998. The university succeeded in getting the case moved to federal court in Cape Girardeau in October 1998.

Last December, Monahan said the school offered him a financial settlement if he would resign. He said he rejected the offer.

Monahan said he hopes the issues can be resolved without further legal action. "It would be good if we could avoid negative publicity," he said.