First, the amount of hubris it takes to make that claim is staggering. Second, the reason he wasn’t awarded an interview, according to a statement from College of Law Dean Joan Howarth, was because his teaching interests did not match the college’s hiring needs. So while Spaeth might be an extremely well-qualified individual, his areas of expertise don’t fit with what the university is looking for.

There is nothing worth filing a complaint over in that sentence.

For the positions Spaeth applied for, the university received applications from over 800 qualified candidates for only three teaching positions. Of those more than 800 candidates, the university only chose to interview 30. Simple math says this means 770 other qualified individuals find themselves in the same situation as Spaeth, yet he’s the only one filing complaints in federal court.

With that ratio of potential interviewees to those not interviewed, the thought that Spaeth can pin his inability to secure an interview on the hiring policy of the university is ludicrous.

Furthermore, Speath’s claim relies heavily on his own assumptions about MSU’s hiring criteria, based on the idea that because he thinks they are important, so must everyone else.

But as plenty of job applicants can attest, the skills employers find to be useful are highly subjective. It might even be said these categories are intentionally broad to give the university as much flexibility as it requires.

Although Spaeth might extend the complaint to other universities, that doesn’t add any credence to his case. As long as the other universities Speath applied to maintained the same standards as MSU (and there’s no reason to think otherwise), he has no case anywhere.

In this day and age, it’s a rough time to be job hunting, and it’s understandable to be frustrated while searching for employment. But allowing frustration to turn to a legal complaint that has very little ground to stand on isn’t necessary and reflects poorly on Spaeth. And what kind of message does it send to prospective employers that you filed complaints when you didn’t get hired? Especially if you haven’t been hired after more than 100 applications? The assumption that you are uniquely qualified and the demeanor that goes along with it could have something to do with not receiving many interviews.

The university should be safe from further complaints, and it’s somewhat comforting to see that the university hires not only according to candidates’ qualifications, but to how they fit with students and faculty.