Two former Liberty University Title IX officials have sued the evangelical school, alleging racial discrimination, retaliation, and systemic failures at the heart of its compliance operations.

The latest lawsuit, filed August 12, comes from Erika Woolfolk, a Liberty graduate and long-time employee who says she was the only black woman in the office from 2018 until her firing in June 2024.

Her 39-page complaint, filed in federal district court, accuses the school and then-senior vice president Ashley Reich of treating her differently from white colleagues. Allegations accuse Reich of passing Woolfolk over for promotions, saddling her with unmanageable caseloads, and ultimately firing her after she cooperated with federal investigators.

“This case arises from Liberty University’s discrimination against Ms. Woolfolk, a Black woman who served as a Civil Rights Investigator . . . from July 2018 until her wrongful termination in June 2024,” the complaint states.

The second lawsuit involves Peter Brake, also a Liberty alumnus and retired U.S. Army Judge Advocate. Brake was fired just months after Woolfolk, allegedly for raising alarms about Liberty’s compliance failures.

Both these suits come about 18 months after Liberty University agreed to pay $14 million for violations of the Clery Act—the largest such fine in U.S. history. Under the Clery Act, colleges that take federal student aid must disclose certain information about crime and campus safety. According to the Department of Education, Liberty created a culture of fear for sexual assault victims and failed to maintain accurate crime data.

“The bigger dumpster fire”

Woolfolk describes a workplace rife with racially-charged behavior and favoritism. Supervisors allegedly assigned her “the bigger dumpster fire, high profile cases,” telling her they chose her because they “knew she could handle the workload.” White colleagues, by contrast, were given lighter caseloads and freedom to leave the office for “extended lunches, shopping trips, and workout sessions.”

Her supervisors, Title IX coordinator Nathan Friesema and Reich, are accused of exploiting the “strong black woman” stereotype to overwork her while praising less-qualified white investigators. According to the complaint, Reich “treated Ms. Woolfolk differently from white employees, either avoiding her entirely or interacting with her in a patronizing and condescending manner.”

The racial undertones in the office were blatant, Woolfolk alleges. In one instance, during a casual online chat about naming a co-worker’s new dog, white colleagues suggested Confederate-friendly names such as “Stonewallia Jackson” and “Roberta E. Lee.” Friesema, her direct supervisor, allegedly participated in the exchange.

Denied opportunities

Despite completing 19 formal investigations and nearly 1,000 incident reports during her tenure, along with pursuing a doctorate, Woolfolk alleges she was systematically excluded from advancement. She says Liberty created a special task force in 2022 to address Department of Education compliance issues, but chose Joel Nelson, a white investigator with less experience, instead of her.

Later, Woolfolk claims, she applied for a Deputy Title IX Coordinator role only to learn that it had already been promised to another white colleague, David Sparnroft, before the posting even opened.

When Sparnroft was terminated for sexual misconduct before assuming the role, the job was instead handed to Kasey Smith, a white intake specialist with “no prior Title IX investigation experience.” Smith was later promoted to Title IX Coordinator, while Woolfolk said she was ignored.

She also accuses Reich of denying her requests to work remotely for legitimate medical or business reasons, while white colleagues were routinely granted that flexibility. When she asked to work from home to finish 11 reports amid noisy office distractions, her request was denied. Yet days earlier, another investigator was allowed to work from home while “waiting for an oven to be delivered.”

The lawsuit emphasizes her cooperation with the U.S. Department of Education’s Title IX probe, which resulted in a $14 million fine against Liberty in March 2024 for Clery Act violations. She claims her candor with federal investigators and her internal complaints about discriminatory practices marked her for retaliation.

Her termination on June 26, 2024, she says, capped years of disparate treatment rooted in both race and gender stereotypes, stating: “Black women are subject to unique stereotypes that neither Black men nor White women must endure”.

A veteran’s parallel battle

Just months before Woolfolk filed suit, Peter Brake, a veteran and an attorney, lodged his own 35-page complaint against the school. Brake worked as a civil rights investigator in the same office before being terminated on the same day as Woolfolk.

Brake’s lawsuit, filed in February, paints a picture of retaliation against a veteran who raised alarms about Liberty’s compliance failures. During his three-and-a-half years on active duty, senior leaders allegedly derided his absence as the “Brake problem” and called him a “squatter” for holding his position while serving.

When he returned in October 2023, Brake says his office was “ransacked” and stripped of basic supplies. Within weeks, he reported to Liberty president Dondi Costin that the Title IX office was prejudging cases, ignoring federal deadlines, and improperly dismissing complaints.

Brake also raised alarms about a sexual relationship between two investigators that he says may have involved non-consensual conduct. He claims Liberty ignored the matter, even after he presented text messages in which one investigator wrote that her colleague “didn’t take (her) no for an answer.”

According to Brake’s lawsuit, his complaints set off a wave of retaliation. He was interrogated on camera by Liberty’s human resources chief over an alleged remark that his supervisor was “in the hot seat.” He later learned the comment had supposedly been made months earlier, leading him to conclude the charge was a pretext for punishment.

In one email, Costin reassured him: “I’m confident your leadership understands that retaliation is not allowed around here, so don’t give that possibility another thought.” Yet within a year, Brake was out of a job.

Together, the two lawsuits depict an office charged with protecting students’ rights that instead fostered what Woolfork terms “coded racism,” harassment, and retaliation against its own staff. Both former investigators allege Liberty failed to investigate sexual misconduct complaints, mishandled Title IX processes, and prioritized the university’s image over compliance with federal law.

The cases also underscore Liberty’s ongoing clash with federal regulators. In addition to the $14 million Department of Education penalty, the school has faced years of criticism and litigation over its handling of sexual assault reports.

Liberty University has not yet filed responses to either Woolfolk’s or Brake’s lawsuits. A spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment from El Informe Roys (TRR).

In an earlier declaración para EE.UU. Hoy en día, however, Liberty asserted Woolfolk’s termination was based on “legitimate business reasons related to Liberty’s continuing effort to provide excellent service in the Title IX investigation function.” 

Regarding the Brake lawsuit, Liberty told the Lynchburg, Virginia, Noticias y Avance newspaper, “While we will not respond to these allegations in the media at this time, we disagree with the lawsuit’s claims and are prepared to defend ourselves in court.”

Esta historia ha sido actualizada.

Mark A. Kellner is a reporter based in Mesquite, Nevada. He most recently covered statewide elections for the Correo de Nueva York and was for three years the Faith & Family Reporter for el tiempo de washington. Mark is a graduate of the University of the Cumberlands and also attended Boston University’s College of Communication.