Fired UCSD Dean Alleges Ouster Plot, Sues for $6 Million

In a lawsuit that reads like a steamy television soap opera, a fired UC San Diego administrator is seeking $6 million in damages for an alleged “conspiracy” to oust her “under a cloud of disgrace and humiliation.”

Beverly Varga, who was relieved of her position as dean of student affairs at UCSD’s Third College in October, 1986, claims that her superiors schemed to fire her and “discredit (her) credibility and reputation” because she embarrassed the university by clearing a student activist of charges brought against him by UCSD police.

Varga also alleges that her immediate supervisor, Third College Provost Faustina Solis, harassed her and conspired to fire her after Varga confronted Solis about allegations that Solis made homosexual advances to and “sexually harassed female members of her staff and female students.”

As part of the plot--which Varga alleges included Chancellor Richard Atkinson and Joseph Watson, vice chancellor for undergraduate affairs, and unidentified others--Solis recruited the help of Varga’s assistant, Eric Koenig, by promising to help him get Varga’s job once she was fired, the suit claims.

“In my opinion, what happened to Beverly Varga is a travesty,” said Varga’s attorney, Susan Mosich. “This is a woman who did a tremendous amount of good for that university. Her good (deeds were) not appreciated. She was disposed of for political reasons. She certainly did not deserve the shame, disgrace and humiliation that was inflicted on her by the way this was handled from start to finish.”

Charges ‘a Terrible Blow’

University spokeswoman Win Cox said that no UCSD official would comment on the suit because none has been served with legal papers. Patricia Hansen, Solis’ staff assistant, said that Solis would not comment.

Hansen said: “It’s a terrible blow to her and to all of us that someone would make such ridiculous statements.”

Koenig could not be reached for comment.

The lawsuit seeks $5 million in punitive damages and $1 million in general damages for Varga’s “wrongful termination” and emotional and physical distress inflicted on her by the firing, Mosich said. Varga, 52, is not seeking to be reinstated because she has become “totally disabled” by physical and emotional problems that stem from the stress of the firing, Mosich said.

The suit also claims that UCSD in July, 1986, switched the terms of Varga’s employment without her consent, changing her contract to one that allows her to be fired at the whim of her employer.

Defendants Named in Suit

The suit names UCSD regents, Solis, Atkinson, Watson and Koenig as defendants along with two clerical employees in Varga’s department and a UCSD student and his father who wrote letters attacking Varga.

Varga’s ouster from the minority-oriented Third College last year was controversial, causing alumni students loyal to her to demand her reinstatement and establish a legal defense fund for her.

Other students offered conflicting descriptions of the former dean’s demeanor and administration at the time. One praised leadership training programs she initiated, but cited her “aggressive” management style and said that “personality conflicts” between Varga and students and staffers were not uncommon.

UCSD officials have steadfastly refused to discuss the firing on the grounds that it is a personnel matter governed by privacy considerations. Solis’ notice that she intended to fire Varga, which was obtained by The Times last year, cited Varga’s “erratic, unprofessional, argumentative and demeaning manner toward (the) staff and students.”

Varga also has not commented, allowing Mosich to speak for her.

Charges Led to Protests

Mosich believes that Varga’s downfall can be traced to her decision, as an independent hearing officer, to clear student activist Russell Andalcio of charges brought against him by UCSD police, and her report to an investigating faculty committee that UCSD mishandled the situation.

The charges against Andalcio led to protests by some students and faculty and ultimately led to a faculty report critical of the way campus police and administrators handled the matter.

The charges stemmed from a Jan. 23, 1986, scuffle between an anti-apartheid demonstrator and a supporter of the South African government immediately after a speech at UCSD by Nobel laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu. When police took the anti-apartheid demonstrator into custody, a crowd of protesters surrounded them, chanting, “Let him go!” Some pushing and shoving ensued before police released the demonstrator.

Andalcio was accused of attempting to free the demonstrator by force. As dean of students in Third College, Varga conducted the inquiry and cleared Andalcio, finding “insufficient evidence to support the allegations.”

‘Actions Designed to Harass’

In her lawsuit, filed Oct. 19 in San Diego Superior Court, Varga alleges that Watson subsequently told her that she had violated “the Number 1 unwritten rule of the university: Never make the university look bad at any cost.” She claims that the regents, Atkinson, Watson and unidentified others then “undertook actions and conduct designed to embarrass and harass . . . Varga privately and in front of her peers, colleagues, staff members and students.”

The suit maintains that Varga had already provoked Solis’ ire when, in late 1984 or early 1985, she spoke to Solis about rumors that Solis was “openly involved in a lesbian relationship with a member of her staff,” that Solis had “sexually harassed” female staff members and students, and that one student was “seriously contemplating a sexual harassment suit” against Solis.

Varga’s court papers claim that Solis “responded with outrage” and “implied that . . . Varga would pay ‘a heavy price’ for attempting to discuss these matters” with Solis.

Before that conflict, “Varga was a big supporter of Faustina’s and, in fact, was instrumental” in persuading Third College to promote Solis from acting provost to full-time provost, Mosich said.

Varga also is suing former UCSD student Steven Cooper and his father, Gary, for letters critical of Varga that they wrote to Solis and Atkinson. The letters accused Varga of badgering and criticizing Steven Cooper, who was chairman of Third College’s Student Council, and for making an anti-Semitic remark about him. Mosich denied both charges.