A University of 黑料吃瓜网 professor accused of misusing school funds is firing back at school administrators, saying she was defamed by an internal investigation into her travel expenses.
UConn police last month charged Sherry Zane, a professor of women's, gender and sexuality studies, with larceny for allegedly using university money and grant funds to pay for personal trips.
According to court records, Zane took her children to Disney World and visited Chicago, Northern Ireland and Portugal on trips she said were taken for scholarly research.
But Zane produced "little to no documented work product" from those travels, police said, writing in an arrest warrant affidavit there is probable cause to believe she "created false business justifications to go on personal trips.鈥�
Zane remains on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the school's internal probe.
UConn professor blasts a 'kangaroo court'
The arrest stemmed from a lengthy investigation conducted by UConn鈥檚 compliance office. In a lawsuit filed Friday, Zane blasted that process, calling it a 鈥渒angaroo court鈥� meant to deprive her of wages she rightfully earned by doing unpaid work, such as teaching summer courses.
According to the suit, the school placed compensation for that work in a restricted account, which was set aside for Zane鈥檚 research, and largely funded her travel.
Michael Thad Allen, Zane鈥檚 lawyer, said UConn鈥檚 compliance investigation lacked due process, and ignored exculpatory evidence, including testimony from fellow faculty members who vouch for Zane鈥檚 work.
鈥淚t's presented by the investigator as if nothing my client did was actual scholarly activity,鈥� Allen said, 鈥渨hich is completely false.鈥�
The suit names as defendants UConn and several school officials, including President Radenka Maric; the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; and the school鈥檚 director of university compliance, who authored the report on Zane鈥檚 work trips.
Zane seeks to recoup more than $80,000, which the suit describes as 鈥渟equestered wages鈥� she earned by performing work without compensation. It seeks additional damages for defamation, and asks a judge to order UConn to reinstate Zane to her position.
UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz declined to answer questions about the lawsuit, saying the school 鈥渄oes not comment on pending litigation, especially during the course of ongoing personnel action with the claimant.鈥�
Allegations of Disney trips and overseas excursions
Zane was professor in residence and director of Women鈥檚, Gender, and Sexuality Studies in UConn鈥檚 Department of Social and Critical Inquiry, a non-tenure track position that Allen, her lawyer, described as akin to being an adjunct.
According to the university compliance report, Zane鈥檚 travel expenses include three Disney trips. A travel request described the purpose of one such trip as visiting the Central Florida State Archives.
Zane later confirmed that she did not go to the archives, investigators say.
Instead, Zane allegedly told investigators she visited the park to look at the experience of Disney and how it sanitizes American history. She said she would use that observation to figure out what students know about Disney and their experiences from when they were young.
University investigators allege Zane later told them 鈥溾�� it鈥檚 not uncommon for people to say they are going to go do one thing and then end up going to do another.鈥�
While at Magic Kingdom, Zane said she stood in lines for rides, talked to people, watched people interact with their children and did a 鈥渕ental mapping鈥� of how the park is laid out, according to the compliance report.
The university says Zane also used school money on a trip to Northern Ireland in November of 2023. Zane got married there, but claimed the entire trip was work-related, according to the compliance report.
She told university staff that she was married at 9:30 in the morning at city hall in Belfast, and that it only took 20 minutes, the report states.
'Multiple trips for personal reasons'
University investigators say Zane produced only scant evidence of what work she did on the trips, and some of that work appeared to have been written up after the trips were finished. They described how in some cases Zane allegedly could not remember details about meetings she claimed to have had, like who she met with or what was discussed.
鈥淒r. Zane went on multiple trips for personal reasons where she planned or created work after the fact in an effort to justify the expenses to the University,鈥� the compliance report reads. 鈥淒r. Zane took vacations with her children, including three trips to Disney World, while expensing the trips in whole or in part to the University under the pretense of doing 鈥榬esearch.鈥欌��
School officials say many of the trips took place when Zane was supposed to be teaching classes. They say as an in-residence faculty member, her main job at the school was teaching, not conducting research.
But Zane disputes that claim, writing in her lawsuit that money used to fund her travel came from a restricted account, which was specifically created to fund her research.
Under the school's collective bargaining agreement with the American Association of University Professors, Zane was barred from getting paid for substantial amounts of extra work she performed, according to the suit. Zane claims the school requires faculty to do such work without compensation because it tightly controls how much professors can earn in a 12-month period.
In an email, a UConn spokesperson confirmed faculty can waive compensation and receive funds in a research account for doing work 鈥渄ifferent from or in addition to their regular appointment.鈥� Such accounts can be used for approved academic and research endeavors, in accordance with the university's policies and procedures.
The school鈥檚 compliance report shows more than $38,500 of Zane鈥檚 school-funded travel was paid from her individual research account, which bears her name.
As Zane remains on paid administrative leave, a group of UConn professors are voicing alarm at the school's process.
In a March 5 petition sent to UConn's president, 15 faculty members expressed "deep concern" about the "seemingly unchecked power of the compliance office." The investigation shows "gross misunderstandings of research," which is the purview of both tenured and non-tenured faculty, according to the group.
"Dr. Zane鈥檚 continued engagement with her scholarship greatly improves her excellence in her teaching," the petition reads. "Her generosity as a scholar and teacher contributed to her sharing her research as a guest presenter in numerous classes over the years."
Editor's note: This article was updated to clarify that funds held in research accounts must be used in accordance with UConn's policies and procedures.
