Former Weatherford College employee accuses president of sexual harassment in lawsuit

A former employee of Weatherford College alleges in a lawsuit she filed against the school that she was the victim of sexual harassment and retaliation by the president of the college, Tod Allen Farmer.

A spokesperson for Weatherford College, the college’s attorney and Farmer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Weatherford College is a public community college in Parker County with about 10,000 students.

Shelley Gipson worked as the college’s external relations officer from September 2020 to July 2021, according to her lawsuit. Gipson alleges in the suit that she was a victim of sexual harassment and a hostile work environment from day one, when Farmer told her she would be perfect for the job in part because she was not married or dating anybody.

After she began work, according to the lawsuit, Farmer made inappropriate comments and unwanted advances and told Gipson about problems he was having with his wife. He told her on numerous occasions that his wife was angry with him for hiring Gipson and that he found her attractive, the suit alleges.

Farmer told Gipson they could not take photographs together or be seen together in front of the college’s financial aid office because his wife’s friend worked there, according to the suit. Once, he told Gipson he wanted her office to be close to his so he “could hear her giggles,” the lawsuit states.

These comments continued until at one point, Gipson said in the lawsuit, Farmer asked her if their relationship would ever be anything but professional and said he wanted a personal relationship with her. After she rejected him and told him they would never have anything but a professional relationship, Gipson alleges, she was punished by being bounced around to different college departments without any training.

Gipson eventually filed complaints against Farmer with the college’s Title IX office and human resources, according to the lawsuit. Both promised investigations, she said in the suit, but she doesn’t think college officials conducted an investigation. Eventually, Gipson said, the retaliation grew to a point she felt she needed to resign.

Gipson is demanding back pay, front pay, legal fees, punitive damages and any other monetary awards for which she legally qualifies, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Aug. 22 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Fort Worth.

In response, the college filed a motion seeking to dismiss some of the claims, which a judge denied, ruling that the case will continue.

According to the Dallas Voice, female faculty and staff members are planning a #MeToo protest on Thursday outside the college’s Marjorie Black Alkek Fine Arts Center, where Farmer will host his annual Presidential Luncheon.

The college told the Dallas Voice in a statement that “Weatherford College has not and will not restrict or discourage any expression of First Amendment rights on our campuses. Students and individuals of any race, gender, religious affiliation or sexual orientation are welcome here.”