David Schwartz Sues Webster University for Dumping Him from Graduate Program for "Lack of Empathy"

David Schwartz, 44, a former graduate student at Webster University in St. Louis, Mo., who was studying to be a family counselor, sued the school after he was dismissed from a master's degree program after it was determined that he lacked empathy.

The lawsuit claims up to $1 million in losses, seeks at least $2 million in punitive damages. Schwartz alleges the school dismissed him quickly rather than help him improve his empathy to complete the field work required for graduating.

The lawsuit was filed in St. Louis County Circuit Court last week. The student, David Schwartz, 44, of University City, had received all A's and only one C in his course work, according to a school transcript. But he was dismissed from the program on March 14 after he received a "no credit" for failing to successfully complete the practicum, in which he was to apply his class work to a real-world counseling setting.

Schwartz alleges in his lawsuit that he was deemed a poor performer after he wrote an anonymous letter to the dean criticizing a professor's teaching methods and noting the romantic relationship between that professor and an administrator. Schwartz said in an interview that he had received favorable reviews on his performance until a Feb. 24 meeting with Dr. Stacy Henning, the director of counselor education at the university, who told him he needed to improve.

In a follow-up meeting on March 3, she pointed to three taped counseling sessions that showed he "would not make a good counselor because he lacked empathy," according to the lawsuit. Source: St. Louis Tribune

If Mr. Schwartz wasn't performing as the school expected, why wasn't he offered a course or something to help him develop empathy? That's a crazy reason to kick someone out of a program, considering he must have student loans that will most certainly come due if he isn't accepted into another program or finds gainful employment in the field. Either way, it seems Webster University jumped the gun with it's one strike you're out policy.