Nicole Esposito has regained her position as CEO of Manchester Community College in Connecticut. She was hired to the position in July 2020 but removed from office only a year later.
Manchester Community College enrolls just under 5,000 students, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Education. Women make up 58 percent of the student body.
Dr. Esposito claimed that she was subjected to sexual harassment by a supervisor in the Connecticut Community College System and was suspended just a year after she was hired. The suspension was withheld in January and her employment was officially terminated.
Dr. Esposito promptly filed a lawsuit against the Connecticut Community College System claiming discrimination “based on sex, and retaliation against her for opposing discrimination and retaliation and speaking out on matters of public concern.” Now a settlement has been reached that gives Dr. Esposito her old job back along with back pay, legal fees, and damages.
A statement from her legal team noted that “per the agreement, CSCU will also provide training to all executive and managerial employees regarding discrimination, retaliation, implicit bias, microaggression, as well as whistleblower and employee free speech rights and protections. Dr. Esposito made it clear to us from the beginning that this lawsuit needed to achieve positive changes that can help others in addition to herself.”
“I am humbled by all of the support I have received this year, and I look forward to returning to my position,” Dr. Esposito said. “I believe we have reached an agreement that helps move us forward in a positive direction.”
Dr. Esposito joined the faculty at the college in 2014 as an instructor in human services/social services. Earlier in her career, she served as an adjunct faculty member at Manchester Community College, developing and instructing courses in abnormal psychology and adults with disabilities. Dr. Esposito has also served on the adjunct faculty of Holyoke Community College and Bay Path College, both in Massachusetts. She is a graduate of Springfield College and holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in educational psychology from American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts.