As reported in the February 6 issue of The Equinox, former president Col. Mark Anarumo of Norwich University in Northfield, Vt., resigned in January 2024 after alleged Title IX violations.
The Equinox obtained documents regarding the case via a Freedom of Information Act request. Kennedy v. Norwich University is a complaint filed in April 2024 by Elizabeth Kennedy, former vice president of development and alumni relations. According to the complaint from Washington County Superior Court in Montpelier, Vt., Kennedy alleged both Anarumo and Dave Whaley, vice president of development and alumni relations from 2013 – 2020, violated Title IX. On Nov. 21, 2024, a notice of dismissal with prejudice was filed by Kennedy and approved by Judge Timothy Tomasi. The case was settled in deliberation and charges were dropped.
Kennedy alleged in the filing, “Norwich University [is] responsible for subjecting Plaintiff Elizabeth Kennedy to a hostile work environment, retaliation, and sex-based discrimination. Ms. Kennedy repeatedly blew the whistle on her former boss, former Norwich President Mark Anarumo, for his years of misconduct and creation of sex-based discriminatory employment conditions. Norwich retaliated against her for standing up for herself by, among other things, demoting her and slashing her pay. In addition, it subjected her to disparate adverse treatment based on sex.”
Whaley
In the complaint, Kennedy alleges during her time working under Whaley that, “he routinely made sexist and offensive comments reflecting his biased views about women in the workplace. In particular, his comments revealed his perception of the inherent inability of women to function and compete in the workplace on a par with men.”
Whaley is alleged in the complaint to view “[women’s responsibilities] in the home” as making it difficult for them to perform in their jobs. He is also alleged to have told Kennedy in 2019, when she informed him of her second pregnancy, that it [the pregnancy] could negatively affect her chances of promotion.
After Kennedy’s promotion from assistant vice president to vice president of development and alumni relations, according to the complaint, she alleged that Whaley shared similar opinions on the promotions of a female assistant vice president of development and alumni relations and a department staff member as not being “good candidates” because of their having “young children.” She also alleged Whaley had recommended another female assistant vice president be “phased out” because of her non-stereotypical physical appearance.
Anarumo
Kennedy’s complaint states that Anarumo shared similar inappropriate views and commentary as Whaley while working with other women, including Kennedy.
Anarumo is alleged to have told Kennedy, while making hand gestures referencing her physical appearance, to buy tailored clothing that “flatter[s] her body type” and suggested she dye her hair so as to make it “look less grey.”
According to the complaint, these behaviors were reported to other administrators, including Whaley, Dean of Faculty and Provost Karen Gaines and Chief of Staff Danielle Pelzarski at the time on more than one occasion.
Pelzarski stated she witnessed an interaction between Gaines and Anarumo where they “laughed about the comments … at Ms. Kennedy’s expense.”
Kennedy’s complaint states she spent a lot of time traveling with Anarumo for alumni and fundraising events, and he allegedly made comments that increased her discomfort during these trips.
Kennedy recounted one conversation Anarumo had with her while riding in a car, regarding not wanting to marry his girlfriend because she wants him to get a vasectomy. Similarly, while on an alumni trip to Georgia, the complaint alleges Anarumo told some young alumni that he had a sexual relationship with Meghan Markle.
Kennedy’s complaint states that on multiple occasions Anarumo was inebriated at events and Kennedy received complaints from people at the events. Additionally, he allegedly enabled underage drinking, including his son, other alumni and a female student.
According to Kennedy’s complaint, she reported these instances of inappropriate behavior, and many more, to administrators,but to her knowledge they were not resolved. Anarumo allegedly confronted her and called her “a snake in the grass” regarding her reporting.
Count VI – Discrimination Based on Sex
In the complaint, Kennedy described Gaines as an “Anarumo loyalist,” alluding to the culture he had built among employees and Gaines’ lack of action regarding Anarumo’s conduct. Kennedy then described this culture as leading to slanted reprimand from Gaines as she took over the role of interim president.
After Anarumo’s resignation in January 2024, Gaines asked Kennedy to review the notice letter that was to be emailed to alumni notifying them of the situation. In her complaint, Kennedy alleged that she told Gaines that letter “lacked transparency” and would be poorly received yet did not get a response from Gaines. According to the complaint, Kennedy instead received a “Letter of Reprimand” from Gaines shortly after Kennedy requested guidance from the board of trustees on how to handle the alumni notification letter.
According to the complaint, following Kennedy’s receipt of her first and only letter of reprimand, on that same day, she was relieved of her position. She alleged that Gaines was pressuring her to take a severance package.
Both Norwich University’s counsel and Kennedy’s counsel negotiated that she would maintain her current title and compensation level. However, according to the complaint, six days after the concerns were negotiated through counsel, Norwich was “demoting Ms. Kennedy from her role as Vice President to a more limited fundraising position and cutting her salary by nearly a third annually.”
Following this demotion, Whaley and Gaines were then accused of having “beg[u]n to methodically tarnish Ms. Kennedy’s professional reputation by spreading false and negative information about her to alumni and donors,” according to the complaint. Kennedy confronted Whaley regarding this “misinformation,” yet he ignored her requests to stop.
After repeated disregard for Kennedy’s requests to stop the “misinformation,” her “ever-growing emotional and physical distress and her working conditions had become so intolerable that she needed to seek medical help in a more structured and long-term way than her previous therapy sessions had offered,” according to the complaint.
It was added in the complaint that “on information and belief, Mr. Whaley still did nothing to investigate the hostile work and retaliation concerns Ms. Kennedy raised most recently.”
In Kennedy’s complaint, Norwich University was accused of:
Count I – Hostile Work Environment Based on Sex (Prior to July 1, 2023)
Count II – Hostile Work Environment Based on Sex (Prior to July 1, 2023)
Count III – Hostile Work Environment Based on Sex (After July 1, 2023)
Count IV – Hostile Work Environment Based on Sex (After July 1, 2023)
Count V – Unlawful Retaliation (For Reporting Hostile Work Environment and Other Misconduct)
Count VI – Discrimination Based on Sex
Count VII – Breach of Implied Contract
Count VIII – Promissory Estoppel
Count IX – Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
Kennedy’s counsel was contacted via phone call and email for comment on the terms of the settlement and has not responded.
Marc Kolb, director of campus and athletic communications, was emailed multiple times for commentary regarding Norwich University’s position in the settlement. Kolb stated that the case was settled and did not respond to follow-up questions.
Timothy Fitzpatrick can be contacted at
tfitzpatrick@kscequinox.com
