A former Slippery Rock University professor is suing 15 of his previous students for allegedly making false claims against him and hurting his reputation in a complaint from the students to the school.

Yili Tseng was an assistant professor at Slippery Rock University who taught a computer science ethics class of 25 students in the fall of 2019, and over the course of the semester conflicts arose between many of the students and Tseng that ultimately led to him filing the lawsuit. Along the way, students filed complaints against Tseng, and by the end of the school year last spring, Tseng had lost his job at the school.

In a recent court filing in Butler County Court of Common Pleas, Tseng is asking a judge for monetary compensation for what he claims were false complaints made by the students “for the purpose of willfully and maliciously injuring (Tseng’s) reputation.” Tseng also blames the complaints for the school’s decision to not renew his contract at the end of his first year as a teacher there, according to the suit.

Slippery Rock University confirmed that Tseng was a professor there and that it declined to renew his contract, but declined to comment further, citing the ongoing litigation.

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