Tampabay: USF professor sues over pay and duties

TAMPA -- The former dean of the University of South Florida business school is suing the university and its board of trustees for withholding raises and requiring him to teach additional classes.

James Pappas said the school hindered him from performing his full duties as the Lykes Chair, an endowed faculty position devoted to developing ties between USF and the business community.

In a lawsuit filed in Hillsborough Circuit Court on Friday, Pappas said that when the school offered him a contract in 1985, it was stated that he would teach one advanced level course per school year, receive a $100,000 salary and get annual raises.

Shortly after Pappas took the job, the university asked him to serve also as dean of the College of Business Administration. He "was most reluctant to serve as dean because it required him to focus his time and effort even more significantly on institution building at the sacrifice of his agenda for the Lykes Chair," the lawsuit said.

By 1994, Pappas was one of USF's best paid employees, earning $161,200. In 1995, he resigned as business dean and returned to the Lykes Chair. This marked the beginning of his problems with the USF administration, the lawsuit said. There have been disputes over raises, the lawsuit indicated, adding that Pappas "succumbed to intense pressure and taught two classes during the spring 2001 semester."

R.B. Friedlander, interim general counsel for USF, said Friday that Pappas "believes that we should adhere to his interpretation to this 1985 letter of offer, and we don't believe this interpretation is correct."

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