Michigan State University and its vice president in charge of fundraising, Kim Tobin, are denying a former employee’s allegations that she was fired in retaliation for reporting instances of sexual harassment.
In a response to the original complaint filed Tuesday, MSU and Tobin rejected that claim, instead arguing that Tobin’s decision to fire former employee Alison Gaudreau in January 2025 was based solely on performance concerns.
MSU and Tobin deny that Gaudreau “was reprimanded for protected activity or that any adverse employment action was taken for retaliatory reasons,” the filing states. It later wrote that Gaudreau was fired “for legitimate, non-discriminatory and non-retaliatory business purposes.”
Gaudreau filed the suit against the university and Tobin in her professional and personal capacity in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan in February. She alleges that she was reprimanded and ultimately terminated by Tobin after she informed the university about instances of sexual harassment by another employee — something Gaudreau claims she was required to do as a supervisor.
Gaudreau alleged that Tobin took issue with her submitting the report because she was concerned that a report of sexual harassment from within University Advancement, MSU’s fundraising department which Tobin leads, would reflect poorly on the department's leadership. MSU and Tobin denied that claim in the Tuesday filing.
The university maintains that Tobin communicated her dissatisfaction with Gaudreau’s performance at work ahead of the firing and that the termination was constant with at-will employee policies that meant Gaudreau could quit or be fired without justification.
MSU also asserts that this suit falls under governmental immunity, which shields government employees from liability while working in their official duties.
Gaudreau’s attorney, Sarah Howard, declined to comment on the filing. MSU Spokesperson Amber McCann also declined to comment, noting that the university “does not comment on litigation.”
While the MSU filing agrees with some of the chronological details of Gaudreau’s complaint, it denies most of her claims, including some that point to disharmony within University Advancement. A State News report last year focused on internal concerns over what some advancement staffers perceived as Tobin’s “authoritarian” leadership style.
The filing denied that Tobin “played favorites among staff, allowed for poorly defined job duties, failed to resolve conflicts or ‘immediately and indiscriminately’ changed course” on advancement initiatives. It also denied that Tobin has a pattern of retaliating against direct reports, engaging in “cronyism” and protecting employees she feels are “blindly loyal,” which Gaudreau had alleged was the case.
