I would greatly appreciate any contributions to filling out this timeline and any corrections to errors that are seen herein.
April 1. Paul Mason begins work at UNCG as Vice Chancellor of University Relations.
September 2. Andrea Spencer, the chancellor’s former
speechwriter, resigns from the University Relations department, saying: “It
didn’t feel healthy.” She later added, “Having experienced the atmosphere and
seen all of the signs leading up to the criminal charges, there’s no question
in my mind that the agenda was to rid the department of certain people.”
September 12. Carpen, English, and Wilson are notified by UNCG
that they are under investigation under suspicion of having falsified time sheets.
Their computers are seized and the three are put on paid leave[1]. The initial statements
released by the university focused on the use of university cameras and
computers for their freelance business, however the charges that were later
levied were for incorrectly filled out time sheets.
September 25. David Wilson, Chris English, and Lyda Carpen are
served with arrest warrants for the commission of 22 felony charges. The
charges are obtaining property under false pretenses and aiding and abetting in
obtaining property under false pretenses. Translation: The money they were paid
for work is the property and the false pretenses were the time sheets. The
aiding and abetting portion was the signing of the time sheets by Carpen. Keep
your eye on these particular charges.
September 29. A letter was sent by Betsi Robinson (former
Director of Communications, 2 years), Debbie Schallock, (former Director of
Marketing, 13 years) and Andrea Spender (former copywriter, 11 years) to the
executive staff indicating an ongoing problem of abuse and harassment by Paul
Mason. The letter indicates that numerous efforts had been made to look to
Human Resources for relief and labels Mason's treatment of the employees he
supervised as "deplorable."
Dear UNCG Executive Staff:
We write to each of you
today with grave concern over the actions taken on the morning of Thursday,
Sept. 25, 2014, against three SPA staff members who worked in the University
Relations Department and under the Office of the Chancellor. On Sept. 24, 2014,
these employees were terminated after an investigation regarding secondary
employment.
Following their
termination, Lyda Adams Carpen, Chris English and David Wilson, dedicated
university employees for 17 years, 12 years and 11 years, respectively, were served
with felony arrest warrants. We are compelled to immediately respond with a
shared voice of outrage over these actions, which include ongoing threatening
treatment of these professionals and the deeply concerning mismanagement of the
University Relations Department.
All three employees have
impeccable UNCG service records with award-winning results as well as a deep
admiration for the university. The fact that their livelihoods and professional
integrity are being threatened by criminal charges is not only alarming, but
should be of grave concern to any SPA employee who could face similar threats.
In the past six months,
seven people in University Relations have been forced from their positions. One
was forced to transfer departments. Two were released through a reduction in
force. One resigned her position based on concern over her own professional
welfare. And, now, three have been terminated and accused of criminal behavior.
The actions taken on Sept.
25 are unjust and certainly not the way UNCG should treat dedicated, loyal,
passionate and committed employees who have served the university, the
Chancellor’s office, and the greater campus community with honor and
pride.
UNCG is committed to being an inclusive, equitable and safe community. Members of the Executive Staff are charged, in part, to oversee and protect the wellbeing of the university. We respectfully implore you to be the voice of SPA employees and the UNCG community as a whole by expressing your mutual concern about the university’s treatment of these employees under the management of Paul Mason, who joined the UNCG community on April 1, 2014, and immediately created a hostile work environment in University Relations. Numerous employees of University Relations have notified HR about Paul Mason’s harassment. Most of these complaints are documented and show a disturbing pattern of behavior that must be stopped before it is publicly exposed and causes irreversible harm to UNCG’s integrity and reputation.
We implore you, as leaders of the university, to get involved, to ask questions and to take action to protect UNCG and all of its employees against this kind of deplorable treatment.
Respectfully,
Betsi Robinson, former Director of Communications, 2 years Debbie Schallock, former Director of Marketing, 13 years Andrea Spencer, former Copywriter, 11 years
UNCG is committed to being an inclusive, equitable and safe community. Members of the Executive Staff are charged, in part, to oversee and protect the wellbeing of the university. We respectfully implore you to be the voice of SPA employees and the UNCG community as a whole by expressing your mutual concern about the university’s treatment of these employees under the management of Paul Mason, who joined the UNCG community on April 1, 2014, and immediately created a hostile work environment in University Relations. Numerous employees of University Relations have notified HR about Paul Mason’s harassment. Most of these complaints are documented and show a disturbing pattern of behavior that must be stopped before it is publicly exposed and causes irreversible harm to UNCG’s integrity and reputation.
We implore you, as leaders of the university, to get involved, to ask questions and to take action to protect UNCG and all of its employees against this kind of deplorable treatment.
Respectfully,
Betsi Robinson, former Director of Communications, 2 years Debbie Schallock, former Director of Marketing, 13 years Andrea Spencer, former Copywriter, 11 years
October 7. A fund is set up to help the UNCG3
offset the legal costs related to their firing and arrests.
October 8. A forum is held by Edna Chun, Vice Chancellor of Human
Resources; Jaime Herring, Chief of UNCG police; and Charlie Maimone, Vice
Chancellor for Business Affairs to address concerns regarding secondary
employment generated by the firings and arrests. Approximately 250 people
attended the forum. From
the News & Record:
“The
central issue is what is called secondary employment. According to state and
UNC system policy, employees must disclose details about paid jobs outside
their normal UNCG work. Employees must submit disclosure forms annually, and a
supervisor must approve them. Outside employment isn’t typically restricted —
UNCG officials said Wednesday they encourage it — but it cannot conflict with
the employee’s primary job at UNCG.”
Edna Chun stated that there were no formal complaints of a
hostile work environment that had been filed. During her exit interview Betsi
Robinson asked about filing an official workplace harassment complaint
against Mason but was told that because she is not a member of a protected
class that option was not available to her. In addition, David Wilson’s
attorney Ken Free attested that Wilson had filed a complaint against Mason.
October 15. 156
faculty from UNCG sign a petition to the DA urging that the charges against the
UNCG3 be dropped. There were 995 faculty members at UNCG in 2013, assuming only
minor shifts in that number, this means that nearly 16% of the faculty signed
this petition. Looking closely at the faculty numbers, it is important to
realize that as of 2013 the number of non-tenure track faculty (meaning those
whose employment is renewed on a fixed term basis, either semester-to-semester,
year-to-year, or in three year cycles) is 465. These are people who are very
easily intimidated by the lack of security in their position. In addition, a
large number of these non-tenure track faculty are adjuncts who teach a small
number of courses and whose employment is renewed on an as needed basis by
semester. In addition, some of the faculty with tenure are those in upper
administration.
It is also important to note that this 16% of unanimous
support is far greater than the mixed reactions given to the new rec center in
the Brailsford and Dunlavy Campus Needs Assessment survey to which only 10.7%
of the student population responded and of those 55% said the current rec
center satisfied their needs – and yet the Brailsford & Dunlavy survey
results were apparently convincing enough to spend $91 million. Which is more
45% of 10.7% or 100% of 16%?
October 17. The
Chancellor’s office issues an invitation to a forum to discuss secondary
employment.
“The events of the past few
weeks have been difficult for all of us in the UNCG community. Many issues have
been raised, and I am working hard to address them. On Friday, October 17 at 2:00 p.m.,
I invite you to a forum to address questions and concerns related to our
policies on secondary employment and conflict of interest. The Forum will take
place in Room 114 in the School of
Education.
Many of our faculty and staff
pursue secondary-employment opportunities. It is an essential part of a
university culture, and it promotes individual, professional and institutional
growth.
Our faculty and staff – many
of whom engage in outside employment – show up here on
campus every day and do the good work of this university. We are proud of
our colleagues and the work that they do, on campus and off.
I look forward to seeing you
Friday.
Sincerely,
Linda P. Brady”
At the "forum", she addresses a packed house by reading a
canned statement and then refusing to take questions. Her statement is, in a
nutshell, trust me, it’s a lot worse than you know.
I use scare quotes because, a forum is defined as “a place, meeting, or medium where ideas and views on a
particular issue can be exchanged.”
In
other words:
1. In
an effort to show the UNCG community that it can trust her, she brings them
together under the false pretenses of a forum.
2.
Her attempt at “speaking directly and personally to this community” consisted
of reading a generic statement and refusing to take questions.
3. In
an attempt to clarify she reveals she can say nothing that has not already been
said.
It’s
brilliant.
Needless
to say, people were somewhat taken aback.
An
emergency fund is immediately started to buy the Chancellor a much needed
dictionary so that she can learn to use words with the definitions they already
have assigned to them.
The
message she read and then emailed indicated that the crimes that had taken
place were much different than simply making personal phone calls or copies at
work. (note: it turns out to be about using a UNCG laptop for personal business
while at home…but I guess we can still make copies and phone calls.)
The
Chancellor’s personal, communicative, and transparent email reads:
When I announced this forum
earlier in the week, it was because I know many of you have questions about
recent events in University Relations, concerns about the climate on campus and
confusion about how university policies may affect you. And I wanted to speak
directly and personally to this community.
I know what is really on your
minds is the University Relations issue. So I have chosen to focus my remarks
on that.
I want to acknowledge how
difficult this has been for all of us. I know that some of you believe these
employees weren’t treated as they should have been.
I also want to acknowledge
that this university and our state benefit enormously every day from the
commitment that you bring to your work here. UNCG is a great university because
of our outstanding faculty, staff and students. I carry that message with me—proudly
and consistently—everywhere I go.
That’s what makes this issue
so difficult … because I know that the issue involving three University
Relations employees is an exception on this campus.
There has been a great deal of
speculation and inaccurate information that I know you have all heard or read.
We have been receiving numerous emails with questions regarding these events
and news reports about them. We have limited our public conversation. The
employees are able to speak freely but we are bound by laws of confidentiality.
Today, I will clarify as much as possible about what transpired.
Anytime we become aware of
employee misconduct or misuse of resources, we are obligated as stewards of
North Carolina’s resources to investigate and respond. We also have
important and clear obligations under state law when we have information that
may indicate possible theft or misuse of state resources to report that
information to law enforcement authorities and then cooperate in any resulting
criminal process. That is what we did in this case.
When Paul Mason joined UNCG as
associate vice chancellor for marketing and strategic communication on April 1,
2014, I asked him to elevate the performance of University Relations for the
benefit of the university and to find ways to operate more efficiently,
particularly given the serious budget cuts we have experienced over the past
several years. In the course of conducting an initial assessment of the
department, Paul discovered information that indicated possible misconduct by
employees.
When made aware of this
information, as required, the UNCG Police Department conducted a criminal
investigation. I understand from Chief Herring the information from the
investigation suggests that three employees in the office of University
Relations participated or aided in operating a for-profit business using
university equipment, during university time, while receiving substantial
revenues from the business. This went on for at least several years.
It is important that our
faculty and staff understand that what he found was very different from the
secondary and outside employment arrangements that are permitted and encouraged
at UNCG. It is significantly different in scale from the incidental use of
university resources that is permitted, as well.
I stand by the decisions that
we have made. The employees have appealed their terminations, and I know the
grievance process will provide a fair and objective review of the decisions. I
know the District Attorney’s Office will continue to make the appropriate
decisions related to the criminal charges and the employees will have another
opportunity to be heard.
One of the most disturbing
elements to me is that this situation has created fear and anxiety among
faculty and staff. Let me assure you that this is not about a few hours of time
recorded inaccurately. It is not about making personal copies or phone calls at
work. It’s not about appropriate outside employment that has been approved
through established university procedures. This was an egregious misuse of
university resources that had a direct impact on these employees’ ability to
perform their day jobs.
Again, the information
supports that employees were operating a for-profit business out of university
offices on university time, using university equipment, over a period of
several years. That is not acceptable.
We have addressed this issue,
and will continue to address this issue, with fairness and integrity,
consistent with the core values of our university.
I have received many
questions, and the ones I will address today reflect some of the concerns that
I’ve been hearing:
1. “Are you going to drop
the charges?”
I think we’ve made the right
decisions, and that we’ve addressed this issue with fairness and integrity.
There is a grievance process on campus that will provide employees a fair and
objective review of our decisions, and the criminal process will follow its
course as well.
2. "Can you address
staff members’ unease that they no longer feel safe within the UNCG system, if
at any time a manager can go back years on timesheets and work up a case of
timesheet fraud? There is not a person on this campus who has not made an error
or two on their timesheet…listing a day as a work day instead of a vacation day
because of human error."
I understand this concern.
This case is not about incidental mistakes, or the unintentional failure to
document a brief instance of an outside employment opportunity because of not
understanding a policy. Again, let me remind you that the situation in
University Relations was very different.
3. "Has anyone
addressed the common feeling that if you go to our HR department, you are not
considered in a confidential status?"
I have heard this feedback and
we are working with Human Resources to ensure that clear policies are in place
regarding confidentiality and that these policies are adhered to. We know it’s
important that our employees have a safe and confidential resource to support
them.
4. "What about the
claims of a hostile work environment?"
I don’t want any employee
working in a hostile work environment. If you feel like you are in such an
environment, you should contact either the supervisor of the individual about
whom you have concerns, or contact Human Resources. We also have a policy
regarding violence in the workplace that prohibits violence, including bullying
and intimidation and contains procedures for reporting.
5. "Is the secondary
employment form a UNCG-generated form, or is it used system-wide?"
The secondary employment form
was generated by UNCG but complies with the requirements of the office of state
human resources policy. A similar form is used on all campuses of the
university system. Generally secondary employment that does not interfere
with work hours, or does not create a conflict of interest, is permissible.
6. "Has the current
University Relations staff been asked how things are?”
I met with the University
Relations staff on Wednesday to communicate my support and respond to concerns
that they have. Clearly this has been a difficult time for the university
community, but especially for the University Relations staff. They have my
continued support.
7. "Who does the
head of police report to?"
The chief of the university
police department reports to the office of the Vice Chancellor for Business
Affairs. It’s important to note that the university police department is
a fully functioning law enforcement agency under state law, and operates
independently from the university in determining if a crime has been committed.
I recognize that I have only
been able to address a few of the questions that faculty and staff have asked.
We will continue to work to answer your questions and provide more information
as we are able.
I want to say again that I
know what a difficult time this has been for our campus community. As
challenging as it is at times, we must always do the right thing. It is painful
for me to hear that many of our faculty and staff are afraid and hurting.
This is not the kind of environment that we want to foster at UNCG.
Together we must focus on
rebuilding our community. Nothing is more important for the future of this
university.
October 20. The
Chancellor resigns, I mean, announces
her retirement as is generally done by having it coincidentally occur in
the middle of a major scandal. The two events are in no way connected. None.
Seriously. Many employees find themselves in agreement with a decision made by
the Chancellor for the first time during her tenure and a general sense of
elation floats through the air at UNCG, just briefly, before reality settles in
again.
October 23. Provost
Dana Dunn invites faculty to a forum regarding the university’s policies and
procedures regarding external professional activities. Attending university
forums appears to have taken on the aspect of a full time job, most likely
requiring filling out a secondary employment form.
October 28. A
silent vigil is held in the center of campus attended by over 100 faculty,
staff, and students who stand in the heat of the midday sun for 22 minutes, one
minute for each of the felony charges levied against the UNCG3.
October 30. In a
definitive demonstration of the egregious nature of the charges levied against
the UNCG3, all 22 charges are dropped. It makes me think back to the day
(October 12) when UNCG attorney Imogene
Cathey told the News & Record:
“While confidentiality requirements prohibit
us from specifically addressing the details of these issues, we can say that
our findings are solid and our actions were appropriate to the situation. We
expect that will be borne out as the employment and legal processes play out.”
November 6. Chancellor Brady announces that she will
review UNCG’s human resources department and hold more of her beloved forums
which, like Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats during the Great Depression, are sure to
have families gathering around their radios in adoring rapture.
This announcement
came at a Faculty Senate meeting where Brady characterized the problems on
campus as resulting from “a subset of faculty” that did not like the decisions
that she had had to make in these difficult times. However, given that the
charges had been dropped, she suggested it was time that we all move on. Stop asking
questions. Stop it dammit! Or something to that effect.
Brady cautioned faculty members to look
forward, not back.
“I am sorry that this situation has created
so much tension and uncertainty on this campus,” Brady said, “but it is
critically important that we collaboratively focus on the future.
“We are damaging this institution and
putting the search for a new chancellor at risk if we continue down this
potentially self-destructive path.”
As only a
nanosecond had elapsed between the revelation that the charges had no merit and
Brady’s sudden desperation to move on, some were left wondering that if we were
so concerned about self-destruction and collaboration if it might not have been
wiser to not to let Mason destroy the University Relations department and try
to ruin people’s lives. Also, if there were any possibility of looking to a
future in which Mason didn’t work at UNCG and bullying was not tolerated.
Others saw an opportunity to kiss up to the Chancellor and engage in a little
hostility of their own (See November 10). So, everybody won.
A resolution was
also brought forward at the faculty senate requesting that the search for the
new chancellor be open given the low level of faculty morale and general
disaffection. The resolution is tabled as being both too specific and too
general, and characterized as being a laundry list of complaints that did not
provide enough details. A wormhole was created in the universe.
November 7. In a demonstration of the campus’
willingness to move on, the UNCG3 remained the main topic of conversation
nearly everywhere.
November 8. (See November 7.)
November 10. In a valiant attempt to demonstrate that
the ancient art of letter writing is not dead, Classical Studies Professor
Jonathan Zarecki insists that we shouldn’t dwell on the past. Also, something
about hockey.
A flurry of
letter writing ensues leading all parties to a deeper understanding of each
other’s positions and pledges of eternal brotherhood. No wait, sorry, that was
an episode of the Borgia. Nothing nearly that civilized happened here.
November 12. Lyda
Carpen rejects the university’s generous offer to, given that she never
actually did anything wrong, change her departure status from firing to
resignation. This ‘egregiously’ generous offer came after a hearing with a
panel of independent mediators who confided that it certainly looked like Mason
might have been brought to UNCG to clear out the department.
November 19. Tom Ross speaks at the faculty senate
meeting stating that the search this time should yield someone human (I’m
actually not making that part up!) Unfortunately, the search should probably be
confidential and will involve as little faculty and staff input as possible
with the sincere hope that doing the same thing we did last time we looked for
a chancellor will magically yield different results this time. Confidence in
this prospect is overwhelming.
December 8. Paul Mason forwards a proposal for
reorganization in University Relations, including a note that Sherri
MacCheyne’s salary should be re-examined.
December 9. Edna Chun forwards a request to create two
new positions at UNCG in University Relations. The new positions are just
awfully similar to the positions that were eliminated in order to get rid of
Schallock and Robinson, but that’s just a coincidence. The difference is that
the new positions are EPA which means it’s a lot easier to fire people who aren’t
as morally flexible as you would like them to be. It also means you can over or
under pay them more easily as your needs change and their willingness to serve
becomes more evident.
December 12. Administrative panel in second stage of
employee grievance process upholds
Carpen’s firing after determining that she used a university laptop for
personal business when not at work on her own time. Also, she had made an
amount of money so small that if it fell off the table, the Chancellor wouldn’t
have even leaned over to pick it up, by working on freelance jobs with two
photographers she supervised with the full knowledge and consent of her
supervisors. However, the actual things that she was charged with and that were
given as reasons for her firing were neither “intentional” nor “egregious”
unless Brady was using those words to mean “unintentional” or “of little
consequence” when she said them.
This announcement
was met with what, if there were an award for it, should win ‘Funniest Post
Article Commentary Ever. Ever’ by Scott Romine:
“All of you who are criticizing the panel's findings need to
consider how this would look to the average NC taxpayer. Imagine that you're
paying this woman's salary and that, DURING OFF HOURS, SHE IS DOING SOMETHING
TOTALLY UNRELATED TO HER JOB AND GETTING PAID FOR IT. Even if she had filed the
correct forms and obtained her supervisor's permission, you'd be outraged,
right?
To add insult to injury, she's also--and I wouldn't accuse her
of this if there weren't hard evidence supporting it--using the computer YOU
BOUGHT to do something unrelated to her job! Sure, she's also using the
computer to do her job, but really, she is STEALING disk storage and CPU usage
from the hardworking taxpayers of the state. And we're not talking about
kilobytes; we're talking about MEGABYTES.* Plus, what if she had spilled coffee
on her keyboard during her nefarious exploits? As a society, we cannot afford
to condone burglary and armed robbery. Similarly, we cannot afford to sanction
this kind of THEFT OF STATE RESOURCES.
In my opinion, Lyda Carpen is lucky to have avoided a lengthy
prison sentence for her dastardly crimes.
·
The author of this post, a UNCG employee, is using his
children's computer, not the University-supplied computer in his basement
office.”
The truly unfortunate thing is that the irony in the
statement is lost on those who would benefit most from its existence.
December 22.
The Chancellor announces that it turns out she was right all along only it was
about the wrong stuff and so the wrongness of it is cancelled out if you carry
the two and…look something shiny!!
