USF registrar denied restraining order

Not long after her first motion was denied, USF Registrar Angela DeBose re-filed a request for a temporary restraining order against the USF Board of Trustees, Academic Affairs and Vice Provost Paul Dosal. 

The second motion, filed on Friday to the Tampa division of United States District Court, was also denied.

According to DeBose’s second motion, she complained of “disparate treatment” and a “hostile work environment” to the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunity. This filing was in response to alleged misconduct of her immediate supervisor, Dosal.

The hostile behavior, she stated, has persisted since she filed her complaints and has resulted in “irreparable harm to her reputation, health, career, (and) self-worth.” 

Dosal, she claimed, subjected her to continued isolation or exclusion from meetings.

DeBose claimed such treatment was the result of “institutional racism,” which she also cited as the university’s failure to promote minority faculty in the USF system. 

She also cited the Civil Rights Act when referring to USF’s internal promoting practices. 

This racism, she claimed, is expressly demonstrated by Dosal. She further claimed he gave significant pay increases to white counterparts who were less qualified. DeBose claimed Dosal denied any opportunity to increase her compensation, reasoning she was one of the high-paid registrars in Florida.

DeBose’s request was ultimately denied, and neither she nor Dosal provided any further comment to The Oracle. 

While the U.S. District Court denied the second motion for a temporary restraining order, the court may decide whether to enforce a preliminary injunction once the defendants are served court papers. An injunction would restrict the university from firing DeBose.

But first the court must decide whether it is within their jurisdiction before
considering a motion for injunction.