NAACP representative finds evidence of discrimination, retaliation
This post was updated at 5:05 p.m. Feb. 26 to correct inaccuracies about the anonymous professor’s teaching position.
Faculty and staff are accusing university officials of discrimination and retaliation.
A faculty member has alleged retaliation after she spoke out in favor of a colleague. A library technician is alleging workplace discrimination and hostility.
Dana Brockway, a representative from the NAACP executive committee legal redress team, has investigated both situations and said she has found evidence of the allegations.
Allegations of Retaliation
Dr. Regina McManigell Grijalva, associate professor of English and Eleanor Lou Carrithers endowed chair of writing, said she has been experiencing workplace discrimination since 2016.
As the former director of English composition, Grijalva said it was her job to conduct peer reviews of professors and collect classroom data. She said she was conducting a review for a colleague who had received a scathing letter from the outgoing department chair at the time, attempting to remove him from his teaching position. Her colleague wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation.
The anonymous professor said before the outgoing chair wrote the letter, he was on a search committee for a new faculty member. Grijalva and the professor were discussing pros and cons of one of the applicants. The professor said they later found out the applicant was a friend of the outgoing department chair who was angry at their comments. The professor said the scathing letter stemmed from this interaction.
“Since then, she’s kind of had it in for both of us,” he said.
The professor said he was formally the director of the Learning Enhancement Center, sat on multiple search committees, advised students, and taught several higher-level English classes. Since the incident three years ago, he has been removed from these positions. He has been teaching at OCU for 37 years.
“Up until the last few years, I’ve felt like the university was my home. I got married at OCU,” he said. “My daughters got two degrees at OCU. My granddaughters took piano and dance classes at OCU.”
He said he believes these removals are the result of ageism and retaliation, and since then, he has been passed over for opportunities.
“I had experience as department chair, I’m a tenured faculty member, I know the programs, I was chair of the faculty senate for four years, but {the dean} didn’t even ask me if I was interested in being department chair,” he said.
Grijalva said after the letter, she spoke up for the professor.
“I knew for a fact that some of the things that were being said were untrue,” Grijalva said. “One of the untruths was that the assessment data had shown him to be a bad teacher, but no one had seen that data except me, so I knew it was a lie.”
Grijalva said she has extensive experience in the area of peer review, including graduate degrees and publications. She wrote on his behalf, and the promotion and tenure committee voted to continue his tenured status, but the dean overturned it. Grijalva then conducted another review of the colleague and found he aligned with the national standards better than any other professor in the department. She said she could not morally review the professor negatively when it wasn’t true.
“Then the discrimination started to come my way,” she said.
Grijalva said the dean then attempted to force her into taking a sabbatical. When she read the sabbatical application, it said she would be rotated out of her position of director of composition.
“Somebody else, younger, different gender, different culture, would be rotated in,” she said.
Grijalva identifies as Hispanic and Native American.
Grijalva then withdrew her sabbatical application.
“My supervisor came back four times in an email trying to get me to do it,” she said.
Grijalva said she went to the deans and then Human Resources about the situation. She found the deans had reported her for “mean and aggressive behavior.”
“It’s hurtful and it’s frustrating to know that you work so hard to do your job well and to be recognized by your peers, and to have that complete and utter rejection because you won’t play these kinds of games,” she said.
Grijalva said HR officials told her they found no harm was done to her. After being the director of composition for eight and a half years, Grijalva was demoted this semester.
The professor said he spoke with Joey Croslin, vice president for human resources, and told them he was being bullied by the outgoing department chair. He said after the report, he heard nothing from HR.
The professor said he believes officials are attempting to remove tenured professors to bring in new professors with smaller salaries.
“The university has serious financial problems,” he said.
Brockway said in total, 14 professors have contacted her about discriminatory and retaliatory actions at OCU.
Brockway said the NAACP finds these issues concerning.
“We see that there are discriminatory actions and there are retaliatory actions,” Brockway said.
These professors have 20-30 years of experience at OCU, Brockway said.
“When we look at what the professors here are going through and the professors that are now knocking on our door, we see a common denominator of age, gender and/or minority status,” Brockway said.
Steven Vincent, former campus police officer, said he was removed from his position without being notified in June of 2019. After finding out from coworkers, he said he was told there was not enough room in the budget for his position. He said he believed it was an act of retaliation after he attended the employment hearing appeal of a coworker.
“They couldn’t afford my part-time, no-benefits position,” he said.
Before then, Vincent had been working as a civilian in the department after being injured on the job. He worked on organizing data and cataloguing evidence that hadn’t been touched in years, he said.
“Joey praised me multiple times for my work,” he said.
Vincent said he saw multiple people fired without notice during his time at OCU.
“My intention was to spend a career there, and it was taken away from me when I was injured there on duty without the courtesy to tell me first,” Vincent said.
Vincent said some officials have created a culture of fear of speaking out.
“The majority of people are kind and understanding,” Vincent said. “But you have a few people in power who use their power to extract menial revenge against people they feel have wronged them personally.”
Allegations of Discrimination
Anthony Edwards, Dulaney-Browne Library circulation technician, is claiming gender discrimination and retaliation by his library superiors. After he spoke out about being racially profiled by former campus police lieutenant Michael Kavenius last fall, he said he has been targeted by administration and his superiors in the library for bringing light to issues on campus.
“When you start shaking the tree and demanding rights, and they’re not getting processed properly through the policies, my organization has to step in, and we have to wonder why,” Brockway said.
Brockway said she found Edwards experienced gender discrimination by being asked to do manual labor in the library when there is a facilities department for those purposes.
“He’s being asked to do it because of his gender, but it’s out of his work scope,” Brockway said.
Edwards said he experiences workplace hostility from his superiors because he has been outspoken about issues on campus.
“It’s difficult to be 100% here for the students when you have this cloud of negative retaliation,” Edwards said.
Brockway said she has found Edwards’s superiors became hostile in tone when questioning him about where he has been, despite him asking off work ahead of time.
“He has endured verbal abuse in front of people and been humiliated. Those are things that should not be allowed to continue,” Brockway said.
Edwards said HR officials told Edwards his civil rights were not violated.
“My message would be for everyone to watch very closely what’s going on this campus. Watch who is leaving, and not just faculty,” Edwards said.
Leslie Berger, senior director of university communications, said the university legally cannot comment on personnel issues, so she cannot discuss any specific allegations. Berger sent the following statement to Student Publications:
“Oklahoma City University policy prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in the learning environment and workplace in accordance with all federal and state civil rights laws. We are committed to providing an environment free of any form of discrimination, harassment and retaliation.”
Berger said as part of the university’s diversity and inclusion plan, officials have implemented new committees and positions. The Council for Diversity and Inclusion meets monthly. More than 50 OCU students, faculty and staff serve on the council and its six committees.
A student who wished to remain anonymous, is on the Council for Diversity and Inclusion committee for Student Engagement and Intention. She said the committee and the council are working to make changes to better the experience for students, faculty and staff of color.
“When it comes to dicey things like race, the school is used to handling it a certain way,” she said. “I think we’re just going to have to have a lot of changes for us to get to that level where every student can feel comfortable.”
She said although her overall experience at OCU has been positive, particularly being involved with the Black Student Association, the Council should work to build the bridge between students and faculty to facilitate conversations about difficult issues.
“When we have those conversations together, then maybe we can see eye to eye and be more understanding on both sides,” she said.
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