Idaho State University’s longtime events director says age and religious discrimination — not budget cuts — cost him his job.
An attorney for George Casper filed a tort claim last week, a precursor to a possible civil lawsuit. And if this civil dispute isn’t settled, Casper is considering filing complaints with the Idaho Human Rights Commission and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
On Feb. 2, Idaho State officials told Casper his contract would not be renewed, ending his three decades at the university. Casper spent the last 26 years coordinating events at several Idaho State venues, including the ICCU Dome, known for years as Holt Arena. In the tort claim, Boise attorney Erika Birch notes Casper received “exemplary” performance reviews for his work juggling myriad campus events.
“Mr. Casper was caught totally off guard to learn that his illustrious career with ISU would end in a matter of months,” Birch wrote in the July 20 tort claim obtained by Idaho EdNews Monday through a public records request. “He was devastated.”
University officials said they eliminated Casper’s $181,727-a-year position in a sweeping budget restructuring that included 44 job cuts. Birch acknowledged the financial pressures facing Idaho State and sister institutions but added, “This budget issue does not shield ISU’s … decisions from scrutiny.”
Birch suggests other factors were at play in Casper’s ouster — including “favoritism.”
The restructuring placed Lowell Richards in charge of a merged department overseeing events and auxiliary services. Richards is “significantly younger” than Casper, Birch said. She added that Richards “is a member of the same church” as Idaho State President Robert Wagner and Vice President of Operations Brian Sagendorf, Casper’s former supervisor.
“The shared religious faith may be a mere coincidence,” Birch wrote, “except that there has been a pattern at ISU of those sharing the faith of their supervisors, and the head of the university, getting positions, promotions, and/or raises without the kind of merit-based decisionmaking that the Idaho State Board of Education expects.”
Idaho State declined comment on the tort claim Monday, citing pending litigation.
But earlier this year, Idaho State officials discussed their restructuring plans — and Casper’s job performance.
“George is an important part of our organization,” Sagendorf told Brad Bugger of the Idaho State Journal in February. “He has been a key leader.”
The restructuring, Sagendorf told the Journal, would bring “decentralized” event operations under one department that also oversees the student union building, campus housing and student activities and events.
“George has been invaluable,” Athletic Director Pauline Thiros told the Journal in February. “He’s really worked hard to ensure that our fans and our athletes have everything they need to be successful. … (His non-renewal) is kind of illustrative of the hard decisions our units on campus are having to make in light of the current budget situation.”
The state’s four-year schools, including Idaho State, sustained 4% budget cuts for the spending year that ended June 30. This year’s cuts totaled 5%.
Casper’s damages “cannot be calculated at this time,” Birch wrote.
“Mr. Casper would prefer to reach an amicable separation, and that requires compensating him for some of the economic and emotional harms and losses he has and will incur because of his firing,” she said.
Additional coverage from the Idaho State Journal, which wrote first about the tort claim Monday.
