Professor Miguel Lopez who instructed within the Liberal Studies unit was placed on administrative leave Feb. 20. according to a statement issued to students from Patty Whang, the chair of the Liberal Studies major at California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB).
According to students, another professor was brought in to finish the Liberal Studies 380 class “Teaching for Social Change” for Lopez.
The university wouldn’t confirm to The Lutrinae that Lopez was put on leave or why he would have been put on leave citing employee privacy rights as required by state and federal laws.
Earlier this year, a survey was taken from among CSUMB students who have taken classes from Lopez. A total of 39 responses were collected, not including the experience of the students who started the survey.
The data collected from it was used to construct a PowerPoint presentation that consisted of 32 pages which went into detail about alleged gender bias, language exclusion, racial bias and unprofessional disclosure of ADA information. That information was presented to the Dean and Title IX officials on Oct. 14. Title IX is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs and activities.
Since then, the Title IX coordinator has left the university. Raquel Bonialla has stepped in as the interim Title IX officer. She so far has had no communication with the students who reported discrimination. Email messages to Lopez from The Lutrinae have not been returned.