Settlement Agreement Reached -- Thanks for Your Support!

Statement by St. Thomas University:

On August 28, 2024, in response to a request from a journalist at the ABA Journal, we provided a copy of a letter that we sent to Professor Lauren Gilbert, which set forth St. Thomas University’s grounds for dismissal of Professor Lauren Gilbert to that journalist. A story was then published in the ABA Journal which had the potential to create false impressions about Professor Gilbert and harm her reputation. Specifically, the article referenced a statement by the University in the letter that Professor Gilbert had an “inappropriate relationship” with a student. The University now recognizes that this language could have been construed as suggesting that Professor Gilbert had a relationship with a student that was outside the bounds of a professional professor/student relationship, such as a dating or an intimate relationship. This was not what was meant by the term “inappropriate relationship” and the University does not have any evidence that Professor Gilbert engaged in any dating, intimate relationship, or sexual conduct with a student in any form. To the extent that readers of the ABA Journal story drew any such conclusions, we regret any confusion or false impression caused by the use of this phrase.

Separately, the ABA Journal story also mentioned statements within the letter that referenced an agreement that Professor Gilbert would not return to campus while personnel matters were pending, and included a comment from a University spokesperson that “tenure is not a shield for inappropriate conduct that endangers the community and/or our students.” This statement in the letter was a general statement and was not meant to apply specifically to Professor Gilbert. The University now recognizes that this statement, and other comments in the article, may have the potential to create the impression that Professor Gilbert was restricted from campus because she was deemed to be a danger to students or community members. The University wishes to clarify that Professor Gilbert herself was not considered to be a physical danger to anyone, but because the University had previously found that she had not followed a University policy on reporting potential threats, the University preferred that she not return to campus. However, Professor Gilbert voluntarily agreed to temporarily refrain from visiting the campus as part of settlement negotiations. We deeply regret any confusion or incorrect impression, and any harm to Professor Gilbert’s reputation that the release of the letter may have caused.

We are pleased to report that the settlement negotiations were successful and that Professor Gilbert and STU have agreed to amicably part ways.