Defamation lawsuit between former St. Norbert College administrator and student dismissed
GREEN BAY – A defamation lawsuit between a St. Norbert College administrator and former student was dismissed last week.
Court records do not include a reason for the lawsuit's dismissal, only that attorneys for both parties agreed to it.
In 2022, the Rev. Jay Fostner, the college's former vice president for mission and student affairs, sued Margaret Uselman, accusing the former student, who graduated from St. Norbert in 2017, of making false and defamatory statements about Fostner regarding his handling of sexual assault reports on campus.
The lawsuit cited statements Uselman made in a widely shared Facebook post from September 2018, as well as in interviews with local media networks, including the Press-Gazette, in 2020.
The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, meaning the case cannot be brought back to court.
In a statement, Uselman's attorney said "the parties have agreed not to comment on the resolution of the case or the underlying facts" except to note the following:
"Ms. Uselman has never stated that Rev. Fostner covered up specific instances of sexual assault at St. Norbert College. Moreover, after reviewing evidence in the above-referenced case, Ms. Uselman is not aware of any evidence suggesting Rev. Fostner covered up specific adjudications at St. Norbert College. Although Ms. Uselman has made comments in the past about specific conduct she believes Rev. Fostner engaged in, she has no reason to believe that he covered up specific allegations of sexual assault or conducted Title IX invesigations on adjudications at St. Norbert College."
A trial had been scheduled for Sept. 16-19 in Brown County Circuit Court.
What happened?
In April 2018, more than 100 students signed a letter to university president Brian Bruess asking for more effective Title IX policies and procedures, specifically in regard to sexual assault on campus.
That fall, a second letter, which Uselman helped write and was signed by around 300 students and alumni, asked the college to investigate Fostner, who they claimed had mishandled sexual assault complaints. Uselman also made a Facebook post alleging instances of Fostner acting dismissive of students raising concerns about the university's response to sexual assault allegations.
In response, St. Norbert College hired a third-party investigator to look into the allegations.
In January 2019, college administrators announced that the third-party review of its handling of sexual assault cases found the college's Title IX policies and programs were strong, but personality conflicts between people and departments at the university needed to be addressed and the role of staff in relation to Title IX needed to be clarified. The full report was not publicly released.
Brian Bruess, St. Norbert president at the time, told media the investigation did not call for the termination of any university staff.
In May 2019, Fostner announced he would take a yearlong sabbatical. His lawsuit complaint states this was "a common practice in the Norbertine Order and for faculty at SNC" and that Fostner had said he intended to return to St. Norbert staff after his sabbatical.
But in January 2020, before Fostner returned from sabbatical, St. Norbert College announced it was restructuring its administration, eliminating Fostner's position.
In the lawsuit, Fostner claims Uselman's statements and resulting media coverage resulted in damage to his reputation, psychological and emotional harm, and lost employment opportunities.
Contact Kelli Arseneau at 920-213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @ArseneauKelli.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Defamation lawsuit between ex-St. Norbert official, student dismissed
