Brooklyn, NY – A federal judge has ruled that a Hofstra University professor may proceed with part of his discrimination lawsuit against the school after a botched overseas research trip sparked student complaints and administrative fallout.
Timothy Daniels, a tenured anthropology professor who is African American and Muslim, sued Hofstra and several administrators alleging he was treated more harshly than white colleagues following a 2019 student research trip to Malaysia. Daniels claimed the university rushed to discipline him because of his race and religion, and later retaliated when he spoke out and prepared legal action.
Court records show Daniels organized the trip, funded by a grant, to study shadow puppetry with four female students. While abroad, concerns arose about safety, lodging, and transportation, including reports that a student drove a rented van in rural areas. By mid-July, one student’s parent contacted then–Dean Benjamin Rifkin urging Hofstra to bring the students home. Within days, the students separated from Daniels and requested the university arrange their early return.
Daniels alleged that once the group returned, administrators including Rifkin and then–Provost Herman Berliner unfairly escalated the situation. He argued that similar incidents involving white faculty were not handled with the same scrutiny. Around the same period, Daniels helped establish the Black Faculty Council at Hofstra to address systemic bias, heightening tensions between him and school leadership.
In the decision, U.S. District Judge Allyne R. Ross granted Hofstra’s request to dismiss certain claims but allowed others to proceed, including Daniels’s claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866. The judge found there was enough evidence for a jury to consider whether Daniels faced discriminatory or retaliatory treatment.
Daniels, who joined Hofstra in 2005 and earned tenure in 2011, was later appointed chair of the Anthropology Department despite the ongoing conflict.
The case, Daniels v. Hofstra University et al., remains active in the Eastern District of New York.
