University of Virginia dean Nicole Eramo filed a defamation suit against Rolling Stone magazine, publisher Wenner Media and journalist Sabrina Rubin Erdely on Tuesday, alleging that the magazine’s November 2014 feature story A Rape on Campus was a “monumental hoax” that had a “devastating” effect on Eramo’s reputation.

The dean, a University of Virginia graduate who has worked at the school since 1997, is seeking $7.85m in damages.

The 76-page claim, filed in the Charlottesville circuit court, states that Erdely was looking to fulfill her “preconceived narrative about the victimization of women on American college campuses” and that Wenner Media acted as a “malicious publisher ... more concerned about selling magazines to boost the economic bottom line” than about discovering and publishing the truth.

Reached by email, Rolling Stone communications representative Kathryn Brenner declined to comment on the lawsuit. Risa Heller, Erdely’s public relations representative, did not respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit charges that intentionally false and disparaging statements in the article – which was viewed 2.7m times before being removed from Rolling Stone’s website last month – were intended to cast Eramo as the “chief villain of the story”. The magazine further tried to cover up with “half-truths, untruths and flat-out lies” as the story unraveled. The claim also argues a “clear pattern of suppression of the truth and active deceit” on the part of the magazine, which opted not to discipline Erdely, her editors or the fact-checkers who worked on the story.

The subject of the piece, identified only by her nickname, “Jackie”, wrote in support of Eramo subsequent to the article’s publication. The lawsuit points to that as an indication that Rolling Stone deliberately misconstrued Eramo’s response to Jackie’s rape allegation. Contrary to her interaction with Jackie as described in A Rape on Campus: “Dean Eramo immediately offered to assist Jackie in holding her attackers accountable.”

A photo of Dean Eramo that was doctored for A Rape on Campus. The claim filed by Eramo says Rolling Stone used the doctored photo to unfairly portray her as “callous toward a sexual assault victim sitting and crying in her office”. Photograph: Dean Nicole Eramo

The lawsuit claims the magazine’s portrayal was responsible for a deluge of hate mail that accused Eramo of being “evil”, a “wretched rape apologist” and a “disgusting, worthless piece of trash”.

A campaign to crowdsource Eramo’s legal fund, initiated last week, has so far collected almost $25,000 towards its $500,000 goal.

In its call to action, the student organizers wrote: “With her lawsuit, [Dean Eramo] is standing up for all of us who were affected by the Rolling Stone article. Now is our time to come together as a UVA community to return the favor.”

UVA student council president Abraham Axler posted on Crowdrise that any funds remaining after the lawsuit will go towards creating a “sexual assault prevention position” at UVA in memory of Eramo’s mother.