A pretrial date has been set for two years and a day after the Teshome Abebe civil rights lawsuit was filed against Eastern and Eastern President Carol Surles.

The lawsuit has been scheduled to be heard in U.S. District Court during the weeks of Dec. 2 and Dec. 9, 2002, and a pretrial date has been scheduled for Nov. 15, 2002.

The lawsuit was first filed on Nov. 14, 2000.

Eastern’s attorney, Elaine Massock, and Abebe’s attorney, Milton Otto, met on Thursday with U.S. District Judge Michael P. McCuskey to agree on a schedule for the case.

“This case could possibly go another couple of years,” said Joseph Barron, university counsel.

In terms of approving a settlement, it has been customary in past cases to seek the participation and approval of Eastern’s president, a representative of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and the Board of Trustees, said Shelly Flock, director of media relations.

From now until the scheduled pretrial date, attorneys will enter into discovery, which primarily entails the exchange of documents and witness lists and the completion of depositions.

The judge also approved a technical change that changes the lawsuit’s designation of EIU to read Board of Trustees of Eastern Illinois University and Carol D. Surles in her individual capacity.

The change was needed because EIU is not a corporate entity and Board of Trustees is.

Abebe, former provost and vice president of academic affairs, filed the lawsuit against the university and Surles based on racial, sexual and ethnic discrimination on Nov. 14, 2000, in the District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Urbana Division.

The most recent action taken in this case occurred Jan. 19 when Eastern filed motion to strike and dismiss portions of the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, Abebe alleged Surles made advances at him, and when he did not respond, she fired him, violated his contractual rights and reduced his salary upon returning to a professor position in the university.

Because Abebe was granted tenure in Eastern’s economics department upon being hired as vice president of academic affairs, he is now teaching as a full tenured professor in that department.

Surles previously said in a press release, “There is not a scintilla of truth in Dr. Abebe’s allegations.”