Former dorm dean sues U.

Former Community House ADR Diana Koros filed a defamation suit against Penn officials. Former Community House Assistant Dean in Residence Diana Koros filed a defamation suit last month against the University and a current and former Penn employee. Koros, 35, who served as the equivalent of a current house dean in the Quadrangle's Community House for four years and was very popular among students, was forced out last spring when the creation of the college house system changed the faculty positions in the dorms. Koros was the only one of seven assistant deans re-applying for their jobs not named as one of 25 finalists for the 12 slots. The suit, filed March 22 in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, alleges that Koros' contract was not renewed because of comments made by then-Academic Programs and Residence Life Director Chris Dennis, who sat on the committee that made the decision. The suit alleges that Dennis had a longstanding feud with Koros. Dennis accused her of a "lack of professionalism, intractability and lack of cooperativeness," according to the suit. "Mr. Dennis's statements were knowingly false and were motivated by a malicious desire to have Ms. Koros terminated from the University," the suit said. Dennis resigned from his position as the college house system's No. 2 official in November. Last night, he declined to comment on the suit other than to say that it was not the reason for his departure. He would not reveal his current job. Koros is also naming Engineering Professor David Pope, who chaired the selection committee, as a defendant. She claims that Pope made defamatory statements to The Daily Pennsylvanian last April, when he said that finalists were chosen based on their "ability and interest in advising" and "their interest and enthusiasm for the whole academic and in-house programs." Michael Salmanson, Koros' attorney, said Pope's comments damaged his client's reputation. "I think a reasonable reader would assume that he was contending that Diana was not competent in performing her job," Salmanson said. "Diana believes she was more than competent in performing her job." Pope yesterday declined to comment on the allegations. Koros, a single mother of two, is seeking at least $50,000 in damages because of her inability to secure employment within or outside of the University, the damage to her reputation and emotional harm. "Not only did I lose my job, but me and [my] kids lost where we live, lost our way of life, lost our community all in one fell swoop," Koros said in an interview yesterday. "It's been very hard for me and my two kids -- both emotionally and financially." Koros was hired by the University in 1988 as a teacher and research assistant. In 1994 she was appointed as an ADR and spent four years living in a Community House apartment. "Given the hard work and the dedication, and the love of what I did and how I did it, I was very surprised the way things turned out," Koros said. "I believed what we were doing in Community House was consistent with the goals of the evolving college house system." Koros claims in the lawsuit that Dennis spoke out against her during the selection process because of personal animosity. She cited one incident when Dennis refused to give her her paycheck and also said she earned his ire by complaining that her apartment had not been "baby-proofed." Salmanson said that the case will likely go to a jury trial in about nine months to a year. When the University announced its decision last April to terminate Koros' employment, many Community House members rushed to defend her. Several Community House students and residential advisors said that the decision to cut Koros was unfair and voiced their opposition to her termination with a series of ads placed in the DP protesting Koros' dismissal and the new college house system. Then, in July, Regional Science Professor Stephen Gale -- a vocal ally of Koros -- was replaced as Community House's faculty master. Gale had submitted his resignation to then-Interim Provost Michael Wachter after Koros was cut from the applicant pool but withdrew it the next day. University spokesperson Ken Wildes did not return repeated calls for comment yesterday.

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