NWACC - Masters of Defamation

It appears that Northwest Arkansas Community College (NWACC) CEOs are masters of defaming and slandering individual’s characters as we have many of these cases on file.  NWACC CEOs condone this behavior by keeping the perpetrators while getting rid of their victims, whistle blowers, truth seekers, or those who have the gumption to exercise their first amendment right to speak up about NWACC’s corrupt practices.

The following question was posed to NWACC administrators by a brave NWACC Board Member, Jim Parsons, on December 17, 1998:

Is an NWACC CEO, faculty member, staff member, or student allowed to insinuate that another CEO, faculty member, staff member, or student is crazy, nuts, psycho, or a lunatic? 

Mr. Parsons answered this question with a yes, explaining that, “This is NWACC’s way of disposing of anyone who is inclined to tell the truth.  The last thing that individuals want is to lose our self dignity, honor, pride, integrity, self-esteem, and reputation.  It is what has driven many men forward in battle where almost sure death awaited.  They would rather die than be defamed with cowardice.  If you are watching any national news at all, you will notice that the way to dispel of a whistle blower, or someone who is in search of the truth, is to attack his or her reputation through defamation, slander, and libel.  NWACC does this by attaching a derogatory title to your name, such as crazy, nuts, psycho, or lunatic.  It is their way of stopping the truth from getting out.  They believe that if they can destroy your credibility, they can destroy your effectiveness”.

NWACC Sexual Harassment Scandal & Cover-Up

It appears that NWACC has many cases of sexual harassment on campus.  We’ve been informed of numerous sexual harassment allegations, however, this blog entry concerns just one sexual harassment cover up concerning Mr. Ron Taylor, NWACC’s Director of Physical Plant, who forced one of his female employees to have sex with him over a long period of time.  The resulting handling of this situation by NWACC administrators was to keep Ron Taylor employed with salary while they placed the female victim on a ninety-day suspension without pay.  Shocking to say the least, but we are not surprised.  This is how NWACC operates.  They condone and keep the perpetrators while getting rid of the victims or those who have the gumption to exercise their first amendment right to speak up about NWACC’s corrupt practices.

The following question was posed to NWACC administrators by an NWACC Board Member, Jim Parsons, on December 17, 1998, stating “this is a question that we as tax payers want to know.  At a later time after this question has been addressed, we have many more questions needing to be answered”:

     Why is Mr. Ron Taylor, Director of Physical Plant [the sexual harasser], continuing working at Northwest Arkansas Community College [NWACC], when the female sexual harassment victim has been suspended? 

Mr. Parsons explains that, “Ron Taylor should be placed on suspension without pay just as the female employee was.  I now pose the same question that you have asked to NWACC President Dr. Bob Burns.  Dr. Burns, why is Ron Taylor still employed while the employee that came to you with a sexual harassment complaint has been suspended for ninety days?  According to her testimony, she admitted having sex with Taylor for a long period of time and she is willing to accept her dismissal.  But, the fact remains that Taylor is in his fifties and she in her thirties.  Also, he was her boss and she wanted to keep her job.  She enjoyed working at NWACC until this administrator coerced her into having sex with him.  Because of the employer/employee relationship, he should bare more responsibility for what happened than the victim should.”

“Documentation from the college to the media indicates that an investigation of this was going on as early as last spring and a complaint was filed a few months ago with the EEOC.  Because taxpayers are now shelling out money for legal fees (again), it seems the members of the board should have been told something.  It is embarrassing to get anonymous phone calls from taxpayers that start out with, “Did you now”, and the truth is you don’t know.  And, it’s worse when your friends ask, and they know, and you are on the board and don’t know.”  [This is just one example of how NWACC CEOs keep their board members in the dark.] “I know that the administration’s story is that she was removed from her job for ‘poor job performance’, but I did not drop in here off a turnip truck.  I have heard this line many times before and I do not believe it.  [NWACC always portrays their victims as being something other than who they are.]  The material that was sent to the media and to me has enough evidence and testimony in it to show that Ron Taylor was at least an equal partner in the episode.  I also ask Dr. Burns [NWACC’s President] why Taylor’s name is redacted in all of the testimony provided to the media while the victim’s name is not hidden?  Apparently from the employee’s testimony and the written documentation sent to the media, it seems to be clear that Taylor was taking sex, money, and gifts from the employee.  And, apparently, some of this took place on campus and during duty hours.  Because he was her superior, I think that he should be placed on suspension if she is.”

“One piece of tangible evidence that should be grounds for Taylor’s immediate removal is the Best Western Motel receipt (Exhibit #1).  The receipt shows that Taylor was making the reservation on a work day during working hours.  On the receipt it shows that in order to get a commercial rate he claimed to be a member of the State Building Services (SBS).  I called the Director of SBS and he said that Taylor is not a member of SBS.  I called the motel manager and he said there are laws against making false claims in order to get a reduced rate.  Taylor also paid the single rate when in fact the female employee was with him and the honest thing to do would have been to pay the double rate.    Notice that Taylor also lied about his residence.  Perhaps this is no big deal, but is this the standard that we want to set for our NWACC employees?  Perhaps Dr. Burns [NWACC’s President] feels that as long as Taylor is doing a good job, that we don’t care what he is doing to whom or where.”

“What really bothers me is that this seemingly bit of unfair and unjust treatment of personnel comes on the heels of a situation where another administrator accused of sexual harassment was officially found to be innocent.  He was exonerated from any wrong doing, but was fired anyway.  Now we have an administrator for whom we have tangible evidence of wrongdoing and NWACC administration is hiding his name in all of the official investigation but not hiding the victim’s name.  Where is the justice in all of this?”

To add insult to injury, a letter written to this female victim from the Director of Student Development, Dale Kirkpatrick, dated April 30, 1998, stated, “In regard to our conversation concerning an interpersonal conflict with members of the physical plant staff which you expressed to me on April 29, 1998: It will be necessary for you to refrain from any personal contact with members of the physical plant staff.  Should any problems arise, notify me immediately.  It is important that we focus on maintaining a positive and well functioning working environment for everyone at NWACC.  I appreciate your cooperation”.  We suppose Kirkpatrick meant for everyone except this female victim which, in our interpretation, spells discrimination, too.

What are your thoughts about this scenario, dear blog readers, media, and NWACC tax payers?

NWACC-What Happens to Their Whistle Blowers

This blog entry contains a letter from NWACC Whistle Blower, LTC Jim Parsons, to NWACC's Board of Trustees, a response to Parsons from NWACC's attorney, George Rhoads, and a news article published in The Benton County Daily Record, all pertaining to the same subject.

For more information on LTC Jim Parsons, read our blog entry titled, "Why NWACC Board Members Keep Quiet" and "Our Board Picks".

"ACEA

State Affiliate of Christian Educators Association International

Jim Parsons, State Director ACEA

December 22, 1994

Dear NWACC Board of Trustees Member:

I tried to tell you some of these things and you fired me for it.  Pamella Midgette tried to inform you of some of these issues and you fired her.  Now is another group of whistle blowers and I suppose that you will want to kill these messengers, too.  Is your method of solving problems one of silencing everyone and then there will be no more problems?

It seems that you do not welcome anyone on campus that might have a difference of opinion than your own.  In today’s Arkansas Democrat Gazette Governor Jim Guy Tucker in responding to questions regarding the Joycelyn Elders issues was quoted as saying, “Obviously, what you do on your own time is still your business in this country.”  Apparently, you do not agree with that and you want all NWACC students and employees to agree with your opinions 100 percent or you will remove them.  And, by Don White’s being Chairman of the Benton County Democrat Party, we know what those opinions are.

In an editorial titled Judge Teaching Abilities in The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas dated December 18, 1994 the article states, “It should be noted here that colleges and Universities are places to exchange diverse ideas, not limit them.  Liberals and conservatives alike should have the right to hold and express ideas on college campuses”.  We know for a fact that this is not the philosophy of the NWACC President or the Board of Trustees.  I hope that you will give me more than two minutes this time to try to resolve some of these problems.

Sincerely,

Jim Parsons

State Director ACEA"

On December 3, 1998, LTC Jim Parsons received this letter from NWACC’s attorneys, Matthews, Campbell, Rhoads, McLure & Thompson of Rogers, Arkansas, stating…

“Dear Mr. Parsons:

Dick Trammel has forwarded your November 27 letter to me for reply.  You requested to have two minutes on the December  [1998] Board agenda to talk about freedom of speech.  That is not a proper agenda item.” 

Are these NWACC attorneys suggesting that our red, white, and blue American first amendment right to freedom of speech is not our legal right?  Do they not understand that our first amendment right is as important as our second amendment right?

This letter continues with, “By removing the Trustee Comments item from the agenda a few months ago, the Board of Trustees expressed its desire not to have speeches of a personal, political nature on the agenda.  You may discuss your personal, political issues at any other time, but you may not clutter the business of the Board with your personal issues”.

Our first amendment right to confronting NWACC with their corrupt practices is not of a personal or political nature.  NWACC changes its policies and procedures whenever they need to hide their corrupt personal agendas.  NWACC did not want these issues to be publicized, which would have been had LTC Parsons been able to present his story to the board.  This letter is signed by Attorney George R. Rhoads

On December 9, 1998, The Benton County Daily Record published this article, “Parsons’ complaint not on agenda… Jim Parsons, a Northwest Arkansas Community College Board of Trustee member [who was fired for whistleblowing], contends that two official letters from NWACC administrators to staff members are “concrete” examples of First Amendment freedom of speech suppression at NWACC.”

“Parsons’ complaint about freedom of speech, though, will not be placed on the December board agenda.  In a letter dated Nov. 27, addressed to board chairman Dick Trammell, Parsons requested two minutes on the December agenda to discuss the two letters.”

“Nwacc attorney George Rhoads addressed a reply to Parsons stating that freedom of speech is not a ‘proper agenda item’.  Rhoads went on to explain that by removing the trustee comments item from the agenda a few months earlier, the board expressed ‘its desire not to have speeches of a personal, political nature on the agenda’”.

LTC Jim Parsons was eventually fired for attempting to right the wrongs of NWACC.  Are there not "Whistle Blower" protection laws?  And if so, then NWACC, once again, clearly broke the law.

NWACC Ex-Employee Sues College

By Dave Perozek

Posted: March 21, 2013 at 5 a.m.

Benton County Daily News

BENTONVILLE — A woman fired last year by NorthWest Arkansas Community College has filed a lawsuit claiming her dismissal was in retaliation for complaints she made about the college.

Susan Gidney had worked as a fixed-assets accountant for five years before she was fired in July. She seeks an unspecified monetary award that would include back pay for lost wages and benefits. She also wants her job back.

The lawsuit names the college; Becky Paneitz, college president; and Wendi Cadle, human resources director, as defendants.

Steven Hinds, a college spokesman, declined to respond to the allegations in the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in federal court in Fayetteville.

“We have turned it over to our attorney and have been advised it is best not to comment while this matter is in litigation,” Hinds said.

AT A GLANCE

College Pay Raises

NorthWest Arkansas Community College gave raises to some classified employees in 2010 despite a memorandum from the state ordering state employee salaries be frozen. Following an extensive review, the state found five raises totaling about $10,000 were invalid. The college’s foundation paid that money back.

An October 2010 letter to college President Becky Paneitz from the state Office of Personnel Management identified Susan Gidney as one of six employees who had received “additional duty pay” which hadn’t been authorized.

The college also granted pay raises totaling $93,000 to six administrative employees in 2011. The raises ranged from $9,939 to $18,379 per person. Paneitz said those raises were needed to keep pay at a competitive level; they also were needed because of administrative restructuring that led to more responsibilities for the six employees.

Source: Staff Report

During the last 15 months of her employment, Gidney sent a series of letters to government officials and the media expressing her concern about newspaper articles that reported several college employees had received raises in violation of a state wage freeze, according to the lawsuit. Gidney also complained about college management practices.

When Gidney applied for a different position at the college last year, she learned in July the job already had been filled. She then obtained all documents related to the job through a Freedom of Information request.

Gidney emailed officials at the state Office of Personnel Management expressing concern the college might not have followed state guidelines in filling the position, according to the lawsuit.

She later told Beverly Hill, a human resources employee at the college, she was considering filing an age discrimination complaint against the college with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

“The speech by Plaintiff concerned misconduct of public officials and how to remedy that misconduct and discrimination, as well as public officials’ misconduct in (mis)spending public monies, (mis)managing publicly owned property, and in the education of youth,” according to the lawsuit.

Gidney was fired less than a week after her conversation with Hill, according to the lawsuit.

“The reason given ... was misconduct, in the form of failure to complete required assigned work in a timely manner,” according to the lawsuit.

Supervisors evaluated Gidney’s performance four times during her time as a college employee. She received a rating of “above average” or “exceeds standards” each time.

Gidney is in her mid-50s, said Charles Kester, her attorney. She still lives in Northwest Arkansas.

“She is unemployed and has been looking for work ever since she got fired,” Kester said. “This has ruined her life. She has no job and has no prospects. She’s a middle-aged woman with a very specific skill set.”

Gidney thought she was more qualified for the job she was seeking last year than the person who was hired for it, and that person is younger than her, Kester said.

The retaliation complaint is at the heart of the lawsuit, Kester said.

“Her main concern was she was fired because she was complaining about things of public concern,” he said. “It’s retaliation for her trying to do the muckraking and bring the muck to light.”

NWACC VP Filed Lawsuit Against Former Student

Benton County Daily Record, Feb. 27, 2013
Staff Reporter, Tracy Neal

BENTONVILLE — An administrator at NorthWest Arkansas Community College is suing a woman over statements she made about him on the Internet.  Houston attorney Paul Kerlin filed the suit Monday in Benton County Circuit Court on behalf of Steven Gates against Francesca M. Cataldo.  Cataldo couldn’t be reached for comment. There were no responses to email sent to her Tuesday.

Gates, senior vice president for learning and provost, claims in the lawsuit Cataldo began posting about the college on the blog nwacccorruption.blogspot.com. The lawsuit claims Cataldo made false and defamatory statements regarding Gates and his position with the college.

The college isn’t a named party in the lawsuit.

AT A GLANCE

The Lawsuit

Steven Gates’ lawsuit claims the Internet statements about him are defamatory because they:

• Injure his reputation and expose him to public hatred, contempt or ridicule or financial injury

• Impeach his honesty, integrity, virtue and reputation

• Injure him in his occupation or profession.

Source: Staff Report 

“The college is not involved in the suit; however, Dr. Gates has made us aware of its filing,” Becky Paneitz, college president, said in a news release Tuesday. “We are understanding of Dr. Gates’ desire to end what we understand to be false posts about him on the Internet. Dr. Gates is well within his personal rights to pursue this action.”

The lawsuit lists several examples of defamatory statements. The lawsuit states on May 26, Cataldo posted Gates was “a bully” and had been fired from Crowder College in Neosho, Mo., for sexual harassment. The posting also claimed Gates had been unemployed for several years and questioned why someone with “his tainted history” was hired by the college, according to court documents.

The complaint reflects an Aug. 7 posting that described Gates as a “bully” and the “the Don Coreleone of this mob mentality.” The posting also claimed Gates destroys people’s lives and careers.

Cataldo accused Gates of cyberstalking her in an Aug. 13 posting, according to court documents.

The lawsuit claims Cataldo posted a web link urging readers to contact the college’s Board of Trustees to inform them of how poorly Gates and other administrators ran the college.

Gates said Cataldo’s statements about him are false, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit claims Cataldo’s false statements are libelous. The lawsuit seeks a preliminary injunction to remove all the statements about Gates from the nwacccorruption website.

Gates’ lawsuit wants the court to stop Cataldo from making statements that defame or disparage him. The lawsuit also wants the court to order Cataldo to assist in removing defamatory and disparaging remarks about Gates from Internet search engines.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages. The case is assigned to Circuit Judge John Scott.

NWACC Bullies and Their Targets

Bullies are often insecure individuals who feel threatened or out of control, and they externalize those feelings in actions toward others – the victim.  Bullies need to make themselves feel more powerful and secure by controlling, manipulating, frightening, and bullying the targeted victim.   Bullies also perceive their victims as being more competent or who seem uncertain by being calm, pleasant, cheerful or tolerant.  Bullies often mistake kindness for weakness.  And assertiveness repels bullies.

In most cases, the bully outranks the target. If the petty tyrant has a supervisor title or above, he/she can make good on the threat of ending somebody's livelihood, such as what is practiced at NWACC with their many wrongfully expelled students enrolled in their allied health programs.  These bullies have the power to expel, punish or misuse the performance appraisal process thereby taking a thoroughly competent student and disassembling him/her with a series of negative evaluations (grades tampering is the most commonly used tactic at NWACC, but they have many more tactics in their hat).  Additionally, NWACC does not address legitimate grievances.  Rather, NWACC retaliates with disciplinary actions, which is against their own policies and procedures.

Competitive environments can serve as petri dishes for such behaviors, say the experts, and bullying is often camouflaged.  It takes a system like NWACC’s hierarchy to allow bullying, otherwise the bullies would be slapped down, confronted, punished or fired.  NWACC’s group dynamics plays an important role in bullying.  It's a mix of personalities within this environment  who either condone the practice and/or inadvertently or explicitly reward it, such as is the case with NWACC’s President, Becky Paneitz, VP Provost, Steven Gates, and Dean of Allied Health Programs, Mary Ross.

In the case of the group bullying situation, the big hammer these bullies have is the withdrawal of social support and validation of the bully victim because the group holds the key to good social validation.  If the group decides to ignore the bully victim and ice him/her out by secretly and connivingly turning as many people as possible against the victim, the victim comes to doubt that he/she is a person.  How very cruel.  This is termed “academic mobbing” for which there is a significant amount of research posted on the internet.

Group dynamics holds some gender variables.  The only significant difference between male and female bullies in terms of tactics is the use of the group.  Women, such as Dean Mary Ross, tend to pit co-workers/classmates against the target, more so than using top-down power strategies more commonly used by male bullies, such as VP Steven Gates.

Regardless of the bully/target relationship, if you're of the mind to lodge a complaint against NWACC, think twice about going up NWACC’s  chain of command to obtain help in your plight.  Bully victims mistake NWACC’s higher ups role and responsibilities to right the wrongs. Victims falsely believe  that the hierarchy is part of the organization's support for victims.  When it's time in a lawsuit to write a defense, the hierarchy is involved on the defense side, not the bully victim’s side.

The consequences of bullying is brutal and often results in a negative impact on a target's health.  Thirty percent of the victimized women get post traumatic stress disorder.  We're talking about a severe war-like wound that changes a person’s life forever.

Advice imparted to bully targets is outlined at length in a book titled “The Bully at Work “, authored by Namie.

Wrongfully Expelled NWACC Students–Outrageous!

We have received information from many wrongfully expelled NWACC students, but this case is so well documented that we are using it as an example to show just how NWACC practices academic mobbing.

This is an analysis of a former NWACC student’s case of wrongful expulsion by Northwest Arkansas Community College (NWACC) in Bentonville, Arkansas, that occurred just three weeks prior to her class’ graduation.  The ill treatment of this student began with the respiratory therapy director, Alan Clark (a bully) and respiratory therapy instructor, Michelle Frazier (a bully), and then went all the way up the chain of command to Dean of Allied Health, Mary Ross (a bully), to Judicial Affairs, Dale Montgomery (a bully), to Dean of Learner Services, Mike Hartman (a bully), to Dean of Academic Affairs, John Tuthill (a bully), to Provost, Steven Gates (a bully), and finally to President Becky Paneitz (a bully).

It should be noted that bullies Mike Hartman and John Tuthill left NWACC shortly after this student’s case because the heat was on and they didn’t want to be caught up in it.  Hartman and Tuthill are good friends and together move around the country obtaining positions with various junior colleges until their time is up and they move on to the next one.  These two bullies should be held accountable, as well as all those involved in destroying this student’s reputation, grades (they tampered with them), financial stability, and career in respiratory therapy.  This student paid heavily for a service that NWACC provides, only to have NWACC yank it at the last minute.  This case wreaks of consumer fraud, breach of contract, as well as numerous other illegalities.

This student e-mailed NWACC President Becky Paneitz requesting that NWACC honor her degree in respiratory therapy as she was a model student with excellent grades and attendance and strong work ethic and because she completed the entire program with the exception of the final weeks leading up to graduation because NWACC wrongfully expelled her at that time.  Her e-mail request to President Paneitz requesting her degree has also gone ignored.  This student now owes $22,000 in Stafford student loans with interest accruing (plus one $16,000 private student loan) and she needs her degree, and mid-life career change, to repay this debt. Not only does she need it, but it is rightfully hers because she has earned it in every way and more so than her classmates.  The two years of intense bullying on top of her academic challenges were immense but she was able to get through it with excellent grades and impeccable attendance, all the while keeping meticulous records on the uncountable times she was bullied.

All involved in this conspiracy have ignored and have never given this student the chance to present her formal grievance (her side of the story).  Rather, NWACC bullies immediately retaliated by bringing her up against a disciplinary action committee for fabricated allegations.  This student remained professional, dignified, diplomatic, and has done such a thorough job with her record keeping to disprove each and every false allegation against her.  Additionally, this student has a large file of documentation of other students who were wrongfully expelled and who underwent the same unethical treatment dating as far back as the early 1990s.  Indeed, the similarities between all these wrongfully expelled students’ stories are chilling, indicating that NWACC uses the identical tactics on each one.  Clearly, NWACC has a long history of institutional bullying which they have perfected over the years.

Furthermore, respiratory therapy instructor, Michelle Frazier, and respiratory therapy director, Alan Clark, attempted to recruit the entire class of 2011 to go against this student and to back up their false allegations against her.  Half of the class joined in on the bullying and the other half refused to do so.  The class bullies who joined Frazier and Clark in ganging up on this student are Cameron Bishop of Siloam Springs, Kristie Hamilton of Springdale, Amie Jones of Siloam Springs, Seandra Martin Watanabe of Fayetteville, Melinda Johns of Centerton, Jessica Armstrong of Holiday Island, Mariah Thomas of Bella Vista, and Chrissy Flatt of Siloam Springs. 

This "game" of plausible deniability is not uncommon in cases of institutional abuse.  In fact it's an age old trick. They break the victim’s spirit through isolating and bullying and then attempt to break their bank by taking away their degree thereby marginalizing them.  This, however, is not acceptable behavior, especially for an accredited institution.  NWACC knows this and is pulling out all stops in order to keep the truth from coming out.  Given the severity of the charges and allegations of this student against NWACC, this case has great potential to damage the school's reputation, which is already in a fractured state. NWACC has financial and legal resources that are well beyond the means of an average student.  Consequently, many wrongfully expelled students over the years have walked away from this horrific treatment and NWACC continues on with their academic bullying practices.

The local NWA media is well aware of NWACC’s bullying practices, but it is taboo for them to publish these stories as NWACC political schmoozer, Jim Hall, convinces the media that these students’ stories are completely unfounded.  It's time for the media to publish the truth.

This student has been able to produce much credible evidence to support her claims.  Furthermore, school personnel have been uncannily reticent in acknowledging her evidence as proof, even despite the overt contradictions contained within the body of evidence.  What is also interesting about this case is that her grievance was met with a highly-articulated and fabricated counter attack rather than the peaceful desire for resolution promoted in the school's policy.  In the cover letter of her formal grievance, which is dated 12.17.2010, this student clearly stated, “My hope for the outcome of this grievance is to repair my reputation at clinical sites; be given the grades that I rightfully earn with fair academic instruction and testing; foster open communication channels and respectful relations between NWACC faculty and administration, hospital clinical sites, and myself; and to be able to complete my final semester in peace, to graduate, and to move on with my life.”  

NWACC's haste to throw together a case against her and administrative personnel overlooking these simple requests altogether are questionable.  This student asked to be heard, only to be silenced. She asked for an education, only to be robbed of it. She asked for diplomacy, only to be stonewalled. She asked for peace but NWACC gave her war.