The widow of William Knight, Miami University's former assistant provost for institutional research who died by suicide two years ago, is suing the university, its board of trustees and several current and former high-ranking officials for wrongful death, according to documents filed in Butler County Common Pleas Court.
Former Provost Jason Osborne, Lindsay Carpenter, vice president for budget and analytics, and Ruth Groom, associate vice president for academic personnel, "engaged in a malicious pattern of harassment, bullying, and gaslighting," lawyers for Adriene Knight wrote in a complaint filed Thursday.
The lawsuit also states the three officials conspired to "destroy (Knight's) reputation, position with Miami University, and ability to work and earn income."
Messages to Osborne, Carpenter, Groom and a university spokesperson were not returned as of Saturday afternoon. Attorney information for the defendants named in the suit was not available as of the publication of this report.
The wrongful death suit surrounds accusations of Osborne's mishandling of a data project assigned to Knight, alleged reprisals by senior administration officials and claims that Knight's mental and physical health were noticeably declining as he dealt with the fallout.
In January 2021, Osborne assigned the project to Knight, the lawsuit states, adding that it involved "an antiquated statistical method" that had been used by Osborne at his previous institutions, and which he instructed Knight to follow.
The next month, Knight submitted a draft statistical report to Osborne, requesting that he review the report to ensure it was in a usable format, the complaint says. Knight informed Osborne the report was incomplete and that it shouldn't be shared with anyone, according to the document.
Osborne, who resigned as provost in April of last year, circulated the draft among university administrators and college deans, receiving some negative comments about the accuracy of the report's data and the methods used, according to the lawsuit.
"Mortified by this turn of events, Osborne set out to destroy (Knight)," the complaint reads, adding the former provost put Knight's entire department under review, of which Carpenter was in charge.
The lawsuit also claims Osborne and Carpenter conspired to "create a paper trail of lies" about Knight, which included emailed statements regarding Knight's work, his cooperation with the review and his staff's work.
The derision of Knight's ethics and diligence was a "death knell" to his career, the complaint says, adding that during the period of the alleged harassment, Knight's co-workers noticed he'd lost weight and had become increasingly despondent and depressed.
According to the lawsuit, Groom, a human resources representative responsible for addressing complaints from Knight and others within his department, related complaints about Osborne and Carpenter back to the officials, leading to further reprisals.
Knight was notified that he'd be required to attend an April 7, 2021 meeting with Osborne, Carpenter and other senior administration officials to "address 'personnel issues,'" the complaint says, adding Knight was confident he would be fired at that meeting.
The lawsuit says Knight would've likely been unable to find a job at another university were he terminated from Miami University, given the highly competitive market of higher education.
Early in the morning on the day Knight was scheduled to meet with university officials, he died from an overdose of over-the-counter medications, the complaint states. In a final letter, Knight wrote "I am so sorry. I am sorry I just wasn't strong enough this time."
In the letter, according to the lawsuit, Knight mentions his concerns about the upcoming meeting, saying "they finally broke me."
The lawsuit claims that in the weeks following his death, Osborne, Carpenter and Groom began the process of ousting staff members who worked under Knight.
In court filings, lawyers for Knight's family claim Miami University's most senior administration failed to adhere to its policy prohibiting harassment and discrimination.
In addition to the wrongful death claim, Knight's family is also suing for intentional infliction of emotional distress, vicarious liability, conspiracy and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
Anyone struggling with suicidal thoughts can call or text the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, or 800-273-8255 any time day or night, or chatonline athttps://988lifeline.org/chat/.
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