Sue Dennison and George Dimock, the heads of the UNCG chapter of the AAUP, delivered the following petition to to Guilford County District Attorney Doug Henderson asking him to dismiss all charges against the “UNCG 3.” Here’s the petition in full:
We, the undersigned, urge you to dismiss all criminal charges against Lyda Carpen, Chris English, and David Wilson. All three have been dedicated and highly respected members of UNCG’s professional community with hitherto unblemished records of employment for a combined 39 years. To bring criminal charges in a low-level personnel case with no evidence of criminal intent is unprecedented and unwarranted. As evidenced by the various forums called by both the Provost and the Chancellor to address this issue, the policies and procedures regarding secondary employment on campus have been little known and rarely, if ever, explained.Further, as reported in the News and Record,* there is evidence that the firings and criminal complaints may have been retaliatory, and the employees were denied the most basic protections of fair labor practices such as interviews, warnings, incremental disciplinary action, etc.
As evidenced by continued coverage in the News and Record, its editorial pages,** and numerous letters to the Provost, Chancellor, and Board of Trustees, our view that the criminal charges brought against our colleagues are unjust and destructive is widely shared throughout UNCG and greater Greensboro community.
The totality of the circumstances show:
1. There is no evidence that Lyda, Chris, and David ever worked less than their required hours or performed in an unsatisfactory way;
2. There is no evidence of the essential element of wrongful or criminal intent by Lyda, Chris, and David as is required by due process of law;
3. Vague UNCG policies have been intentionally misconstrued by UNCG complainants and presented to you as criminal wrong-doing;
4. Mandated fair labor practices cited above were not followed; and,
5. Given the lack of culpability on the part of Lyda, Chris and David, along with the resources expended by University investigations and the tremendous diversion of time and energy required to manage the campus and community outcry that has ensued, continued legal proceedings are fundamentally unfair and a misuse of taxpayer money.
Thus, we strongly urge you, as our elected District Attorney, to exercise your discretion and facilitate dismissal of all criminal charges. This matter is best handled by allowing civil and administrative procedures to run their course.
Respectfully,
Members of the UNCG Faculty [See following pages]
cc: Chancellor Linda Brady, UNCG Board of Trustees, UNC President Tom Ross
* http://www.news-record.com/news/in-embattled-uncg-department-only…
** http://www.news-record.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/firings-a-refle…
Petition to Guilford County District Attorney Doug Henderson to Dismiss All Criminal Charges Against Three UNCG Employees
October 15-21, 2014
[Signature Page]
Omar Ali (African American & African Diaspora Studies)
Janet Allard (Theatre)
Aaron S. Allen (School of Music)
Susan Andreatta (Anthropology)
Robert Anemone (Department of Anthropology)
Matt Barr (Media Studies)
Tatia Beal (Languages, Literatures, and Cultures)
Walter Beale (English)
Deborah Bell (Theatre)
James Benshoff (Counseling & Education Development)
Silvia Bettez (Educational Leadership & Cultural Foundations)
Nikki Blair (Art)
Aprille Black (Bryan School)
Chuck Bolton (History)
Danielle Bouchard (Women’s and Gender Studies)
Rachel Briley (Theatre)
Stoel Burrowes, (Interior Architecture)
Heidi Carlone (Education & Higher Education)
Jim Carmichael (Library and Information Studies)
David Carlone (Communication Studies)
Gregory Carroll (Music Studies)
Christopher Cassidy (Art)
Nadja Cech (Chemistry and Biochemistry)
Maggie (Ball) Chrismon (Public Health)
Becky Clark (College of Arts & Sciences, Dean’s Office)
James Clark (English)
Frances Clerk (School of Health and Human Sciences)
Laura Cole (Interior Architecture)
Mary V. Compton (Specialized Education Services)
Eleanor Cowen (CASA and Media Studies)
Austin Craven (Biology)
Anthony Cuda (English)
Keith Cushman (English, Professor Emeritus)
Duane Cyrus (Dance)
Steve Danford (Emeritus, Physics and Astronomy)
Noah Davis (Theatre)
Susan Dennison (Social Work)
George Dimock (Art)
Sarah Dorsey (Library Faculty)
Gavin Douglas, (Music Studies)
Liam Duffy (Chemistry and Biochemistry)
Mark Elliott (History)
Beverly Faircloth (Teacher Education and Higher Education)
Patricia Fairfield-Artman (Communication Studies)
Nadine Farrell (SPA Theatre)
David Fein (Languages, Literatures and Cultures)
James Fisher (Theatre)
Melissa Floyd-Pickard (Social Work)
Bob Gaines (Emeritus, Library)
Diane L. Gill (Kinesiology)
Alan Goldfarb (Kinesiology)
Laura Gonzalez (Counseling & Education)
William Goode (Emeritus, Romance Languages)
Jill Green (Department of Dance)
Gregory Price Grieve (Religious Studies)
Veronica Grossi (Languages, Literatures and Cultures)
John Gulley (Theatre)
Alice Haddy (Chemistry & Biochemistry)
Steve Haines (Music)
Robert Hansen (Theatre)
William Hart (Religious Studies)
Joseph Hill (Specialized Education Sevices)
Christopher Hodgkins (English)
Mary Anne Horley (Languages, Literatures and Cultures)
Stephen Holland (Bryan School of Business and Economics)
Ana Hontanilla (Languages, Literatures and Cultures)
Jerrie Hsieh (Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Hospitality & Tourism)
Glenn Hudak (Education Leadership & Cultural Foundations)
Gwen Hunnicutt (Department of Sociology)
Elisabeth Hurd (Social Work)
Katherine M. Jamieson (Kinesiology)
Lawrence Jenkins (Art)
Janine Jones (Philosophy)
Jeff Jones (History Department)
Spoma Jovanovic (Communication Studies)
G. Donald Jud (Emeritus, Bryan School of Business & Economics)
Jody Kaizen (Theatre)
Alicia Kaplan (Social Work)
Karen Katula (Biology)
Elizabeth L. Keathley (School of Music and Women’s & Gender Studies)
Laurie Kennedy-Malone (Nursing)
Mary Krautter (University Libraries)
Colleen Kriger (History)
Steve Kroll-Smith (Sociology)
Stephanie Kurtts (School of Education)
Tommy Lambeth (Interior Architecture)
Stephen Layson (Economics)
Jo Leimenstoll (Interior Architecture)
Lisa Levenstein (History)
Barbara Levin (Teacher Education & Higher Education)
Michael E. Lewis (Geography)
Gary Lim (English)
Melissa Lohmuller (College of Arts & Sciences Dean’s Office)
Rebecca Macleod (Music)
Killian Manning (Communication Studies)
Anna Marshall-Baker (Interior Architecture)
Hannah Rose Mendoza (Interior Architecture)
Sam Miller (Education)
Alexandra Schultheis Moore (English and Women’s and Gender Studies)
Mary Morgan (Human Development & Family Studies)
Christine Morris (Theatre)
Noelle Morrissette (English)
David Nelson (Music Studies)
Hamid Nemati (Information System & Supply Chain Management)
John Neufeld (Bryan School of Business and Economics)
Sebastian Pauli (Mathematics and Statistics)
Promod Pratap (Physics and Astronomy)
Connie Prater (Theatre)
Chris Poulos (Communication Studies)
Amy Purcell (Art)
Bennett Ramsey (Religious Studies)
Kerri Richardson (Department of Teacher Education & Higher Education)
John Rife (Social Work)
Mark Rifkin (English)
Patricia Reggio (Chemistry & Biochemistry)
Jack Register (Social Work)
David Roderick (English Department)
Scott Romine (English)
Joseph Rosenbaum (The Master of Arts in Liberal Studies)
Hephzibah Roskelly (English)
Kailan Rubinoff (Music Studies)
F. Saidak (Mathematics)
John Salmon (Music Performance)
Maria Carla Sanchez (English)
Maria Schilke (Languages, Literatures and Cultures)
Mark Schulz (Department of Public Health Education)
Terry G. Seaks (Emeritus, Economics)
Stephen Sills (Sociology)
Jenni Simon (Communication Studies)
Mark Smith-Soto (Languages, Literatures, and Cultures)
Caitlin Spenser (Dance & Grogan College)
Carol Steger (Communication Studies)
Paul Stewart (Music Performance)
Justin Streuli (NC Entrepreneurship Center)
David Sullivan (Theatre)
Edna Tan (Teacher Education)
Pauli Tashima (Languages, Literatures and Cultures)
Anita Tesh (School of Nursing)
Barbara Campbell Thomas (Art)
Christopher Thomas (Art)
Charles Tisdale (Emeritus, English)
Jose Felipe Troncoso (Languages, Literatures, and Cultures)
Jonathan Tudge (Human Development and Family Studies)
Leila Villaverde (Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations)
Beth Walker (Women’s & Gender Studies)
Nancy Walker (Music Performance)
Anne Wallace (English)
Pat Wasserboehr (Art)
Karen A. Weyler (English)
Jennifer Whitaker (English)
Andrew Willis (Music Performance)
Holt Wilson (Teacher Education)
Bob Wineburg (Social Work)
Daniel Winkler (School of Business & Economics)
Jim Wren (Theatre)
Stephen Yarbrough (English)
Join the First Amendment Society, a membership that goes directly to funding TCB‘s newsroom.
We believe that reporting can save the world.
The TCB First Amendment Society recognizes the vital role of a free, unfettered press with a bundling of local experiences designed to build community, and unique engagements with our newsroom that will help you understand, and shape, local journalism’s critical role in uplifting the people in our cities.
All revenue goes directly into the newsroom as reporters’ salaries and freelance commissions.
It would be interesting to hear at least a few faculty to come out and praise the administartion’s stand. The silence is deafening.
Court business in this country cannot and should not be influenced by public opinion. If this kind of interference were to be allowed to decide guilt or innocence, then sports figures, TV personalities, politicians, etc, could commit crimes with impunity and no fear of punishment. I hope the DA will not cave in to these noise makers.
This seems as good a place as any to mention that Friday at noon there will be a protest on the Elliott University Center lawn at UNCG. Speakers will be talking about, among other things, how autocratic administration leads to messes like the one UNCG is in.