The University Of Montana Is Facing A Discrimination Lawsuit And One Of The Plaintiffs Is The Anti-Carlino Landlord, Barbara Koostra

by Travis Mateer

The University of Montana is once again in the spotlight due to allegations of sex-based discrimination. For a University that has experienced one of the worst enrollment implosions of any public university in the nation over the past decade, this latest scandal just adds more fuel to the never-ending enrollment conflagration.

Here is what’s being alleged:

Describing a “good ol’ boys” mentality, four female plaintiffs — one current and three former employees of the University of Montana — allege the flagship created a “discriminatory and hostile educational environment,” and that UM President Seth Bodnar allowed a “retaliatory culture” against women, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Missoula.

“University of Montana-Missoula (UM) has long fostered and encouraged a culture, and the resulting actions, that ‘on the basis of sex’ denied female employees the benefits of their long dedication to UM’s educational programs,” the lawsuit said. “UM did not create a glass ceiling for these women’s careers. UM created a brick wall for these women’s careers.”

The plaintiffs are former vice president of enrollment management and strategic communications Catherine “Cathy” Cole; former director of the Montana Museum of Art and Culture Barbara Koostra; current tenured associate professor Mary-Ann Sontag Bowman; and former Dean of Students Rhondie Voorhees. The lawsuit said the plaintiffs suspect other women have similar experiences and reserve the right to amend the complaint to include class allegations.

I bolded the name of Barbara Koostra because I want to remind RD readers of what I discovered about this privileged landlord who suddenly and without warning terminated the month-to-month lease of City Council candidate Daniel Carlino.

When Barbara Koostra used her privileged position as a landlord to make a council candidate temporarily homeless, no one in the media (other than me) reported on it.

But now that THE KOOSTRA is joining forces with other women to litigate their alleged discrimination at the hands of THE BODNAR, who supposedly prefers to surround himself with fit hotties, there will be LOTS of headlines.

And some of them will be featured on this humble blog, so stay tuned.

About Travis Mateer

I'm an artist and citizen journalist living and writing in Montana. You can contact me here: willskink at yahoo dot com
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1 Response to The University Of Montana Is Facing A Discrimination Lawsuit And One Of The Plaintiffs Is The Anti-Carlino Landlord, Barbara Koostra

  1. Greg Strandberg says:

    Wow, the Dem-double-standard rearing its ugly head again?!? What a surprise! Koostra is a typical bully – harrassed by someone higher than herself, then she turns around and bullies someone lower than her. What a piece of work.

    Perhaps we’re returning to the times when UM presidents didn’t last too long. Dennison was the exception to the norm, with his 20 years from 1990 to 2010. Most only last a few years:

    Engstrom: 6 years, 2010-16
    Verch Koch: 5 years, 1986-90
    Bucklew: 5 years, 1981-86
    Bowers: 7 years, 1974-81
    Pantzer: 8 years, 1966-74

    Besides that we had Sheila Stearns for one year from ‘17-18 and now Bodner has been serving for about 4 years.

    Is his time up? Well, if we can’t get rid of Cuomo in New York, I think Bodner will be pretty safe here. At the most, this lawsuit will result in a settlement, with undisclosed amounts and both sides barred from talking about it. After that, the liberal media will quietly sweep it under the rug, and we’ll never mention it again.

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