The N.C. Court of Appeals has dismissed the case of a former UNC Chapel Hill professor who has been challenging his dismissal since 2018. Professor Richard Semelka’s latest legal action alleged that university officials violated the state Whistleblowers Act.
“[P]laintiff cannot establish a prime facie case of whistleblower retaliation as his discharge was the result of legitimate, non-retaliatory reasons related to his misrepresentations in seeking reimbursement for $30,000 in personal legal fees,” wrote Judge John Arrowood for the unanimous appellate panel. “Accordingly, plaintiff’s arguments to the contrary are overruled.”
Semelka was a tenured professor in the UNC medical school’s radiology department in January 2016, when he sent a letter to the chancellor “expressing various health and safety concerns.” The letter singled out his department chairman for criticism, according to Arrowood’s opinion. Semelka’s letter argued that the chairman retaliated against Semelka by not appointing him to lead a division within the department.
University officials responded to the letter but took no further action. Semelka hired a law...
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