Miltenberg: “Former PA Student Sues Quinnipiac for Discrimination Against Her Mental Disabilities and Ukrainian Nationality,” The Quinnipiac Chronicle

A former Quinnipiac University student accuses in a lawsuit that the university failed her clinical rotation, ultimately dismissing her, due to her need for mental disability accommodations and prejudices against her Ukrainian background, worsening her personal and mental conditions.  In a lawsuit filed on March 18, Alexandra Faulkner, a former physician assistant student, alleges that the university violated the American Disability Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, claiming Quinnipiac’s “hostile and discriminatory environment” led to a more severe mental distress. Faulkner maintains in the lawsuit that multiple Quinnipiac top administrators — including President Judy Olian, Provost Debra Liebowitz, then-Chief Diversity Officer Don Sawyer, then-Provost Mark Thompson, then-Dean of School of Health Sciences William Kohlhepp and current Dean Janelle Chiasera — mishandled her allegations. Associate Vice President for Public Relations John Morgan said the university does not comment on pending litigation. Andrew Miltenberg, Faulkner’s lawyer, said he hopes to hold Quinnipiac accountable and protect other students from experiencing the same type of treatment through this lawsuit. “Since arriving in this country from Ukraine, Ms. Faulkner has worked hard to better herself, live the American Dream and dedicate herself to caring for others,” Miltenberg wrote in an email to The Chronicle. “The University’s actions in using her national origin as a basis to attack her professional and academic performance, and choosing to ignore her mental health disability have caused Ms. Faulkner significant damages.”  Faulkner, who was diagnosed with depression and anxiety before she emigrated from Ukraine in 2004, was suspended for five months in 2019 after she failed the clinical rotation that the lawsuit claimed happened in a biased manner.

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