Former Saint Louis University undergraduate admissions director Shani Lenore, who was fired on July 8, filed racial discrimination charges against the school two weeks ago. Shani had been an employee of SLU for three years.

    In the charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Aug. 12, Lenore claims that her supervisor made comments to her that she “perceived as exhibiting a racial bias against African-Americans.”

    A University-issued statement said, “Saint Louis University did not discriminate against Ms. Lenore. We are confident that the University will be vindicated in any future legal proceedings.”

    Lenore said that she had received positive evaluations of her work until John Baworowsky was hired as Vice President of Enrollment and Academic Services in September 2004.

    In an article published on Aug. 15 in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Lenore recalled her April review meeting with Baworowsky, when she received a “poor” evaluation. According to Lenore, Baworowsky told her that she “wasn’t communicating enough and that he felt excluded by some of the processes in the admissions office,” the article reads.

    Lenore objected to the evaluation and met with Provost Joseph Weixlmann, Ph.D., to communicate that she felt that it was “unfair and inaccurate,” as reported in the EEOC charges. The evaluation was never changed.

    Lenore also recounted a July 6 meeting with Baworowsky and Provost Joseph Weixlmann, Ph.D., in the Post-Dispatch article. In this meeting, her supervisors, who are white, said to Lenore that she “wasn’t a good fit,” and asked that she resign, Lenore told the Post-Dispatch. Weixlmann explained to Lenore, she recalls in the article, that she “had done an excellent job,” but that “sometimes people don’t click.”

    Lenore told her supervisors that she needed time to decide. On July 8, Baworowsky terminated her employment, according to the EEOC charges. Kalith Smith, a white male, was named the interim director of undergraduate admission on July 11.

    The charges state that Lenore was on target to reach the enrollment goal for 2005, and that there had been no decline in her job performance. The charges also report that other “similarly situated” white employees reporting to Baworowsky have not met their goals, but were not fired.

    Both Weixlmann and Baworowsky said that University policy prevents them from commenting on personnel matters.

    Weixlmann did, however, offer a comment on the Post-Dispatch article.

    “The brief statement attributed to me in the Post-Dispatch does not accurately represent the substance of what I conveyed to Ms. Lenore when we met either in the spring, to discuss her annual performance review, or when she, VP Baworowsky and I met prior to her resignation,” he said.

    Staff corrective counseling policy indicates that employees can be terminated for a variety of infractions, outlining a process of warnings and subsequent corrective actions that the supervisor can undertake with the employee. The policy is available online at www.slu.edu/services/HR/policies_correct.html.

    Application of the policy differs based on the employee’s level, however: “Directors and other Senior Administrators are not subject to this policy because by virtue of their level and position in the organization, higher expectations than those defined in the policy apply to those positions,” according to the handbook.

    Lenore said that she felt “blindsided” when she was asked for her resignation, because met or exceeded all enrollment and revenue goals during each of the three years that she was an employee of SLU.

    The main goal set for the admissions office during the past year was to reach a freshman enrollment of 1,550, Lenore said. As of July 22, SLU expected 1,562 freshmen—12 students over their goal, 116 more than last year’s incoming class of 1,446 students, and SLU’s largest incoming class ever.

    Lenore indicated that she met this enrollment goal while also maintaining the quality and diversity of admitted students. This year brings more freshmen from out of state—65 percent—than previous years. SAT and ACT averages for the incoming freshmen have also increased: this year’s freshmen averaged 1208 on the SAT, up 24 points from last year, and 26.3 on the ACT, up .2 points.

    Senior Will Heran, president of the Student Ambassadors, has worked with the Student Ambassadors in the office of admission since December 2002. Heran was looking forward to working with Lenore more closely in his new position as an Admission Representative this fall.

    “I thought Shani was a great director. Every time I saw her, she had a smile on her face, and always had a positive outlook, no matter how stressful the situation,” Heran said.

    Despite the disappointment she feels, Lenore said that she still holds the quality of a SLU education in high regard.

    “I wouldn’t market a product I didn’t believe in,” Lenore said. “I still believe that students who come to SLU…will continue to grow as individuals.”