BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF 4 COMMUNITY COLLEGE CASES

Here are brief descriptions of 4 Community College whistle-blower cases brought to the American Association of University Professors, Arizona Conference, for assistance.  (Names are withheld in some of these descriptions, to prevent further reprisals.)

Example #1

A faculty member at a Maricopa College came to testify, as a witness, in favor of another faculty member at a grievance hearing.  The witness testified to observing the abuse of authority and mismanagement of a supervisor.  The witness, revealing the wrongdoing of the supervisor, was terminated.  Upon appeal, under the whistle-blower policies of the College, the terminated witness was held not to be a whistle-blower, since her testimony, while recorded in writing while she testified, did not qualify as protected activity since she presented it in oral form, and oral whistle-bowing is not protected.

Example #2

In a current case, a whistle blower at a Maricopa College reports persistent unsafe levels of solvent fumes in a classroom.  He/she has been diagnosed by a physician as having serious health problems from those fumes.  He/she is concerned that pregnant women take classes in that room, and might harm their unborn babies.  He/she was directly informed that if he/she goes to an outside authority such as OSHA or to legislators, to ask for an investigation or evaluation of the situation, he/she will be terminated.

Example #3

Prof. David Iadevaia, Physics and Astronomy, Pima Community College East Campus

Prof. Iadevaia teaches physics and astronomy at Pima College, has received a Distinguished Faculty Award in April 1997, among other teaching awards.  He is rated between Very Satisfactory and Extremely Satisfactory on student evaluation forms.  Prof. Iadevaia wrote a memorandum on Nov. 19, 1996, which went to a member of the Pima Community College Board of Governors, the President of the campus, to the administrator in charge of risk management, and to his dean, among others, notifying them that there was an unsafe condition in the student physics laboratory and a student had gotten injured.  He noted his frequent prior requests for the hiring of a properly qualified lab manager to prevent dangerous situations, and that his requests for safety were being ignored.  Subsequently, his physics teaching materials and his campus computer were locked up and made inaccessible to him and, when asked to attend a meeting to deal with solving the physics lab problem, he was informed that he was under verbal counseling.  Subsequently, a written letter of reprimand was placed in his file for one year.

     On bringing his case to 4 legislators, the reprisals were reversed.

Example #4

A faculty member (a whistle-blower) at a community college reported that another faculty member, teaching in the same area, with the same required specific credential for their highly specialized area, had committed a felony and was in prison. The whistle-blower further reported that the felon's friend was illegitimately and falsely using the felon's specialized credential to teach, and allow several others to teach and be paid for their highly technical courses, but these teachers were not qualified instructors. The whistle-blowing faculty member was then removed from ability to teach in the desirable and specialized area, even though having a proper credential.

Most whistleblowers can't mount campaigns among the members of the legislature as an alternative to having genuine rights. Most legislators have more urgent priorities than lobbying the bureaucracy to reinstate whistleblowers. Legislators have to add that task to their workloads, however, because there's not a system of credible legal rights in state law.