UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA MOHSEN MOSLEH, Plaintiff, v. Civil Action No. 1:19-cv-0339 (CJN) HOWARD UNIVERSITY, Defendant. MEMORANDUM OPINION Mohsen Mosleh is an Iranian American professor in Howard University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. See generally Compl., ECF No. 1. He alleges that Howard unlawfully discriminated against him on the basis of race and national origin and unlawfully retaliated against him, all in violation of the District’s Human Rights Act, D.C. Code § 2-1402.11. See generally Compl. The Court dismissed Mosleh’s breach-of-contract claims at the motion to dismiss stage but permitted his discrimination and retaliation claims to proceed. See Order, ECF No. 12; Memorandum Opinion (“Mem. Op.”), ECF No. 11. Howard has now moved for summary judgment on those claims. See generally Def.’s Mot. for Summ. J. (“Def.’s Mot.”), ECF No. 33. For the reasons stated below, the Court grants Howard’s motion. Factual & Procedural Background Mosleh was born in Iran and received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1994. See Mohsen Mosleh’s Deposition (“Mosleh’s Deposition”), ECF No. 33-9 at 6; Compl. ¶ 3. He joined Howard as an assistant professor in 1996. See Mosleh’s Deposition at 7. Howard promoted Mosleh to the rank of associate professor six 1 years later and to full professor in Howard’s College of Engineering and Architecture (College for short) in 2009. Id. In September 2009, Mosleh and a couple colleagues sent a memorandum to Howard’s then- interim Provost, expressing concerns about their compensation. See Mosleh’s Deposition at 8. The memorandum stated in part that Mosleh and his colleagues were “drastically underpaid” when compared with other comparable faculty members. See Memorandum of September 29, 2009, ECF No. 33-10 at 2. Mosleh sent additional communications to certain members of Howard’s leadership over the next several years with requests for salary increases. See Mosleh’s Deposition at 8. For instance, in August 2012, Mosleh sent a memorandum to the then-Provost indicating that he believed that his comparatively low salary level “can only be explained by discriminatory treatment by the [College’s] leadership.” See Memorandum of September August 7, 2012, ECF No. 33-11 at 3 (emphasis in original); see also Mosleh’s Deposition at 8. He continued to make requests for salary increases thereafter. See Letter of October 4, 2016, ECF No. 33-86 at 2–3. He did not, however, allege salary discrimination on the basis of his race or national origin in these later communications. Id.; see also Declaration of Anthony Wutoh (“Wutoh’s Declaration”), ECF No. 33-81 at ¶ 19. Instead, Mosleh contended that his relatively low pay did not align with his high performance and credentials. See Letter of October 4, 2016, ECF No. 33-86 at 2–3. Achille Messac joined the College as its new dean at the end of 2015. See Achille Messac’s Deposition (“Messac’s Deposition”), ECF No. 33-23 at 6. Shortly thereafter, Messac appointed Mosleh as acting associate dean, effective July 1, 2016. See Mosleh’s Deposition at 30. Mosleh, however, started working for Messac well before that date. Id. …
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