A group of former Thompson Rivers University employees has started a fundraiser to cover legal fees after being sued for defamation by a senior administrator.
According to the fundraiser, the seven former employees and one current employee were all complainants in a lengthy investigation into allegations of misconduct against Matt Milovick, vice-president of finance and administration, and Larry Phillips, associate vice-president of people and culture.
In mid-January, the report into the allegations was released.
The investigation found that out of 55 allegations made from eight complainants only 10 were substantiated.
Of those 55 allegations, 22 were made against one of the men and another 33 against the other.
All 22 of the allegations against one of the senior administrators were not substantiated.
On Feb. 8, Milovick filed a lawsuit in BC Supreme Court against the eight complainants, alleging defamatory statements.
“We were all complainants in a TRU investigation of alleged workplace misconduct. We participated in the investigation in good faith, and in the hopes of creating a better university,” says Amanda Ellison, former associate director of Human Resources at TRU.
“After the investigation concluded in January, a defamation suit was filed against us by one of the respondents. We deny all of the allegations in this suit.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, $13,288 has been raised for legal fees.
The eight defendants include:
Amanda Ellison
Charis Kamphuis, associate professor, Faculty of Law, TRU
Deanna Brkovich, former talent acquisition consultant, Human Resources, TRU
Jim Gudjonson, former director sustainability, TRU
Laura Cooke, former manager engagement and learning, Human Resources, TRU
Lucille Gnanasihamany, former associate VP, marketing and communications, TRU
Meaghan Hagerty, former sexualized violence prevention and response manager, TRU
Stacey Jyrkkanen, former associate director, safety and emergency management, TRU
Eleven unnamed defendants are also included in the lawsuit.
The defendants have until the end of the month to respond to Milovick’s claim and none of these allegations have been proven in court.
