Jacquelyn Bolman, former director of Humboldt State University’s Indian Natural Resources Science and Engineering Program, has filed suit against the university in Humboldt Superior Court, according to an article in Indian Country Today.
Bolman alleges that her free speech, right to due process and civil rights were violated after she was fired in October 2014. The firing, which Bolman says was a retaliatory action after she criticized the University’s “under-representation of minorities,” was marked by weeks of student protests.
Bolman, who is currently working for the Wiyot Tribe, is demanding reinstatement to her position at HSU, and is seeking a jury trial in Humboldt County Superior Court. The University has filed its own complaint requesting the case be moved to a U.S. District Court.
Bolman’s attorney, Peter Martin, declined to comment on the case. University spokesperson Frank Whitlach emailed a two-sentence statement, saying, “HSU respect Ms. Bolman’s right to file a lawsuit. We will vigorously defend against the allegations raised in the complaint demonstrating our actions were based on legitimate business reasons.”
This article appears in Exempt from Disclosure.
“…our actions were based on legitimate business reasons.” Frank Whitlach, HSU spokesperson.
This idiotic quote reveals a lot about today’s crisis in education, like the crisis in healthcare, the crisis in prisons, affordable housing, Health and Human Services, the military, and on and on and on….
It’s not a “business”!
After 35 years, Ronald Reagan’s legacy has come to fruition. Running government like a business is an unaccountable and inefficient failure.
Nothing invites corruption and waste in government more effectively than employees working in fear for their jobs. At HSU, due-process rights, including “tenure”, have no meaning when a professor must have the courage and the resources to put their career on hold to fight for their rights against state-funded lawyers for ten years.
Arbitrary, capricious, illegal, and at-will employment practices are common in private industries. However, in government bureaucracies like HSU, administration officials subvert the California Education Code and union agreements, then hand the full costs over to the public to pay for the lost productivity, attorney fees, court hearings, and large confidential settlements to make victims like Bolman “go away” while incompetent and corrupt officials admit no fault, retain their jobs, and continue their petty tyranny ensuring no one else will dare to speak freely and publicly…until the next confidential settlement, and the next, and the next…
This story illustrates why there’s worsening crises in our communities amid so much official silence.
Whether it’s another HSU professor, a Eureka police Chief, or a Humboldt County professional, that $350,000 settlement offer and glowing professional recommendation that comes after about 18 to 24 months of Subpoenas, Interrogatories and Discovery, is always taken.
“incompetent and corrupt officials admit no fault, retain their jobs, and continue their petty tyranny ensuring no one else will dare to speak freely and publicly”
I couldn’t have said it better myself. I imagine this could easily become a class action suite if Bolman’s lawyers were to look around. Start w/ the former IELI faculty & staff, that were forced to work under deplorable conditions including “Arbitrary, capricious, illegal, and at-will employment practices…” Whom then were unceremoniously & viciously run out because of incompetence at the higher administrative levels.
I’m sure there are MANY former faculty & staff that were shut down & silenced by the prevelant strong arm tactics employed by HSU at the administrative level.
We’ve obviously failed in education in the U.S.
How else do you explain the hundreds of thousands of 18-21 year old students graduating “public” universities $25,000 in debt and few prospects for living-wage employment, and yet, not one campus has been shut-down by student protests?
When HSU’s 30-year president Allistar McCrone, couldn’t fire the teachers he wanted to, he simply eliminated the entire Education Department. The class-action suit dragged on for a decade after all but one teacher took generous early retirement packages. The lone hold-out received unreported back-pay and damages. Following countless scandals, McCrone himself negotiated a 3 year agreement to leave, sitting in a library basement office doing nothing to collect $1 million while Rolland Richmond took over.
Vice President Don Christiansen left HSU for an Oregon university administrative position after the $15 million John Sterns scandal that occurred under his and McCrone’s watch. Admitting “no fault” in court settlements enables incompetent, unqualified administrators, all lacking advanced degrees in their over-paid administrative field to play “musical chairs”, entering another state and campus to repeat the costly, inefficient process of subverting law and due-process. Instead of being held accountable, they receive multiple retirement checks from multiple states while taxpayers pay out millions in settlements.
It’s a broken and corrupt institution, like so many others in the U.S. today, completely off the radar.
We all agree that change needs to occur at HSU, however this individual is not the person to lead it. She is not Native American although she will lead colleagues, students, and others to believe that she is. There is no record of her enrollment anywhere. Although she is sympathic to native Americans and their issues-it makes
me question her credibility if she can’t be truthful to one question of WHO SHE IS!! With that being said – I ask all of you to question stories that the media publishes as often they are not true! I would hope these student that are supporting her are told the truth as they are jeopardizing their education and future to defend her – Shame on Dr. Bolman!! Lawsuit based on race?! Good luck winning that lawsuit. What has the world come to that we have educators lying to our young people.
HSU is a campus run by liars who are not what they claim to be, none hold advanced degrees in public administration, human resources, public finance, or communication, despite their titles and outrageous compensation.
Once hired, however, everyone has rights under the Ca. Ed. Code that few can afford to have enforced.
HSU’s “Burt” Nordstrom held a B.A. in P.E. and was in charge of building maintenance until his brother-in-law and U.C. Director Charles Lindemenn left and in-law “Burt” became the new director! “Burt’s” first act was to hire attorneys to claim all HSU auxiliary employees were “at-will” in violation of the Ca. Ed. Code. “Burt’s” next appointment was as HSU Vice President of Advancement!
HSU athletic director Dan Collen, also holding a B.A. in P.E., did OK as University Center coordinator for outdoor activities. Once appointed director of athletics, he terminated the position of the popular 25-year track coach Dave Wells handing Wells a settlement check for $250,000!
HSU vice pres Cofee held no college degree at all.
HSU administrators lecturing students about academic excellence are modeling something entirely different and probably a far more valuable life-lesson for today’s young adults.
If HSU were run by actual professionals credentialed within their fields, they would hire more professionals instead of fearing them! Professionals need not rely on costly fear and subversion of law to manage, nor tolerate the nepotism and favoritism that shields and perpetuates incompetence and corruption.
Eliminating perceived opponents is a trademark of tyranny and despots and has no place on a public university campus, or any other public institution.
Give ’em Hell and fight to the end Bollman, you are not alone.