The University of Maryland Eastern Shore has been hit with a discrimination lawsuit by Ronald Nykiel.
He charges that as a former member of the UMES administrative cabinet under President Juliette Bell was treated differently because he was white.
The Salisbury Daily Times reports that UMES officials confirmed there was a lawsuit and said that there were working on it with the university attorneys.
The suit was filed in Baltimore last week.
The paper said also attempts to contact Nykiel were unsuccessful.
Nykiel was named provost when he joined UMES as vice president of academic affairs over two years ago -- the first in the history of the historically black college.
The Daily Times reports that supporters say this promoted the influence of the senior academy officer at the university