Judge tosses lawsuit against Columbia by biz journalism professor

A judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed earlier this year by business journalism professor Sylvia Nasar against Columbia University that claims she was underpaid, reports Joe Pompeo of Capital New York.

Pompeo writes, “Nasar first accused Columbia in a January court summons of misdirecting funds she claimed should have been part of her compensation package, which was tied to a 1998 Knight Foundation endowment that created her position as the first James S. and John L. Knight Professor of Business Journalism. She also serves as  co-director of the journalism school’s M.A. program in business journalism.

“In March, Nasar sued Columbia for $923,000, claiming the university had ‘illegally misappropriated and captured for its own purposes’ portions of the $1.5 million Knight Endowment, which was intended as a supplement to Nasar’s Columbia-funded salary. Nasar, who is a tenured professor, also accused Columbia officials of intimidation.

“But in a ruling filed on Oct. 17, New York State Supreme Court Judge Manuel J. Mendez dismissed Nasar’s complaint, ruling that ‘Nasar has never had a personal entitlement to receive the Knight Endowment.’

“Nasar did not immediately have a comment Monday afternoon — she was about to step into a class when reached by Capital and asked to call us back.

“Nasar’s attorney, Mark Lawless, declined to comment on the decision but said an appeal is being considered.”

Read more here.