A former administrator at New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas is suing the school, claiming he was fired in May in an act of retaliation for raising concerns about "serious safety hazards" facing the school's student-athletes.
As reported by the Albuquerque Journal, former NMHU vice president for advancement and university relations Paul Grindstaff alleges in the suit, filed this week in U.S. District Court, that he was terminated after attempting to draw attention to outdated football helmets and a deteriorated and unsafe practice field, which allegedly left 28 out of 30 women’s soccer players with lower-body injuries.
"Grindstaff alleges in the complaint that he broached the issues in several reports to administration and to the state Higher Education Department," Journal education reported Natalie Robbins wrote Tuesday. "Grindstaff claims he submitted his final safety report to the university’s general counsel on the morning of May 4, the day he was terminated."
Grindstaff, president Neil Woolf, men’s basketball coach Zach Settembre and vice presidents Johnny Montoya and David Lepre were all terminated earlier this year, along with other staffers.
Woolf and former athletics director Shanna Halalilo have each filed their own suit against the university in recent months. Woolf alleges his termination was also retaliatory and that he too was a whistleblower for unsavory university actions, according to Ribbins, while Halalilo claims she experienced sexual harassment and discrimination while employed at NMHU.
Related: Former AD Sues New Mexico Highlands University, Claiming Discrimination, Harassment
Per the Journal, Grindstaff claims he was terminated after receiving a pay bump to a salary of $213,200 and a satisfactory performance evaluation, and did not receive any severance pay, unlike other ousted NMHU officials. He is suing under the Whistleblower Protection Act, a federal and state law that protects public employers from retaliation after reporting unlawful or improper conduct. Grindstaff is seeking double back pay, compensatory and punitive damages and “a name-clearing hearing,” his attorney said.
NMHU regents allege Woolf, who is a member of the Latter-day Saints, created new positions for Latter-day Saints candidates and showed favoritism toward employees who were members of the church, including Grindstaff, who claims to be “a lifelong Methodist,” according to a news release from his attorneys.
Gridstaff, an NMHU alum who began his employment at the university in September 2024, was also the subject of allegations of document forgery and driving a university vehicle while intoxicated.
“Dr. Grindstaff raised documented safety hazards that were injuring student-athletes at a public university,” Grindstaff attorney Tim White said in a statement, as reported by the Journal. “Weeks later he was fired without a stated reason, and then he was accused of a crime that his accusers’ own records disprove. The certificates, the emails and the letter’s own metadata will do most of the talking.”
NMHU officials, in a statement, disputed the allegations that Grindstaff’s firing was retaliation for raising student safety concerns, and that the letter to the state auditor was prepared or submitted as retribution, per the reporting of Robbins.
“The university will not try this matter through the media,” NMHU general counsel Doajo Hicks said in an email. “Because the lawsuit concerns personnel matters, disputed facts and communications with oversight and law enforcement authorities, the university will not comment on specific evidence, individual employees or the details of any pending review. The university will preserve all applicable privileges, protections and defenses.”
