Hi All,

As you may have heard, the Los Angeles Times recently reported that a District administrator at Southwest was the subject of multiple sexual harassment complaints, including one that resulted in a $10 million judgment against the District for failing to prevent and investigate the harassment, and for retaliating against the faculty members.

This same administrator attempted to purchase items worth several thousand dollars from his family members and an acquaintance on behalf of the college. Despite these allegations, this same administrator was recently interviewed for a Los Angeles Trade Technical College position.

Tell the Trustees: from bond awards to bad administrators, we need an accountability plan!

At its December 1st meeting, the District Academic Senate passed a resolution demanding that the District:

• Appoint an independent Blue Ribbon Panel to conduct an external audit to identify the full extent of favoritism in violating procurement procedures and other policies and procedures and implement the recommendations from the external audit to ensure accountability for any violations uncovered.
• Improve efforts to prevent sexual harassment and discrimination, respond decisively to reported incidents, ensure a survivor-centered approach to responses; conduct timely, thorough, and impartial investigations into allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination; and take appropriate disciplinary actions if violations are found;
• Regularly review its policies and procedures regarding sexual harassment and discrimination to ensure their effectiveness and compliance with changing legal standards and best practices and solicit recommendations for policy improvements from all stakeholders, including students, faculty, staff, and administrators, and commit to ongoing collaboration with external organizations, experts, and advocacy groups to continually enhance their efforts to combat sexual harassment and discrimination on campus.

The Academic Senate further resolved that if there is insufficient progress on these recommendations, they would consider a vote of no confidence at the DAS meeting in February 2024.

Tell the Trustees: restore confidence, restore accountability–give us an action plan!

In addition, the Guild is highly concerned that the administrator, who has been accused of sexual harassment by numerous women and was the subject of a corruption investigation, was recently granted an interview for a position at Los Angeles Trade Technical College. While we cannot imagine that he would be offered a position, we are asking that the Trustees take further action to ensure that employees who have had multiple complaints of sexual harassment filed against them are not considered for future positions at the District.

Tell the Trustees: protect students and faculty at LACCD!

LACCD’s faculty union, AFT 1521, endorses the District Academic Senate’s resolution, and we’re asking you, our colleagues, to sign this petition in support of their resolution for accountability at LACCD.

Thanks to the hard work of the Academic Senate and our union, the District has already begun implementing many of the suggested changes in the Academic Senate resolution (please see below); we still need your support. Please sign our petition to support the Academic Senate’s resolution and help us hold the District accountable.

Please share this widely amongst your colleagues, staff, students, and community members: https://bit.ly/aft1521-stop-harassment-2023

In unity,

A. James McKeever PhD

AFT 1521 Faculty Guild President

Re: District Response to December 14, 2023, District Academic Senate Resolution

 

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we responding to your December 14, 2023, District Academic Senate (DAS) Resolution.

 

First, Sexual harassment and discrimination have no place at LACCD. The Board of Trustees and District remain firmly and unequivocally committed to fostering a campus climate that promotes respect and civility at our workplace and in our classrooms. We want to reaffirm the seriousness of these issues. Where lapses may have occurred in the past, we are fully committed to improving our policies and practices, and to reinforcing our vigilance and our responsibilities to promote a safe, inclusive and respectful teaching, learning and work environment free of harassment and hostility in any form for all members of our academic community.

 

Related to the specific requests of your December 14, 2023, Resolution:

 

1. We will conduct an external and independent audit of our District’s procurement process to review and validate our current processes and to make recommendations, with the full intention of implementing these recommendations from the external audit, to improve our system and procurement processes.

 

As the report is being completed, the Board of Trustees will determine the appropriate vehicle to discuss the report and recommendations (e.g. Board Meeting, Special Meeting, Board Committee, Committee of the Whole, Ad Hoc Committee or Task Force).

 

Vice Chancellor Gordon is receiving quotes now for this professional services contract, and I fully expect to have a firm secured by the February 14, 2024, Board meeting, if not before, where I will make an announcement of this action.

 

1. With respect to reviewing our current policies to prevent sexual harassment and discrimination, the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access (ODEIA) is responsible for ensuring compliance with federal and state statutes and District-wide goals related to the prohibition of harassment and discrimination and to improving diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.

 

The Chancellor has authorized ODEIA, with the support of the Human Resources Division and Office of General Counsel, to identify external resources for the purposes of reviewing our District-wide policies, plans, systems, training programs, processes and procedures pertinent to sexual harassment and discrimination to ensure their effectiveness and compliance with changing legal standards and best practices. We will continue to provide ODEIA with the support and resources it needs to fulfill its organizational mission: Office for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility | LACCD

 

1. Deputy Chancellor Kathleen Burke provides administrative oversight of our Board Policies (BP) and confirms that we have in the last year reviewed and adopted BP 3430 – Prohibition of Unlawful Harassment and BP 3433 – Prohibition of Sexual Harassment under Title IX. We are awaiting the federal changes to Title IX this spring, which will invariably amend the principal District policies that govern the prohibition of sexual harassment at LACCD: BP/AP 3540 – Sexual and Other Assaults on Campus and C-14. This spring will give us another opportunity to review these policies to ensure their effectiveness and compliance with changing legal standards and best practices.

 

When this work in #2 and #3 occurs, the District will solicit feedback from all stakeholders, including students, faculty, staff, and administrators. Furthermore, we commit to ongoing collaboration with external organizations, experts, and advocacy groups to continually enhance their efforts to combat sexual harassment and discrimination.

 

In addition to the prospective and specific actions above, the Board of Trustees and District leadership have engaged or will engage in public communications, presentations and professional development activities to lift the significance of these issues and to educate our District constituencies. Past and forthcoming examples include:

 

1. December 7, 2023, Decision Maker Training (7 hours) on Title IX/Sexual Harassment, coordinated by Human Resources and facilitated by an external expert, for college presidents, Deputy Chancellor and Chancellor at LA Harbor College.

 

1. December 8, 2023, All-District communication from 2023 Board President David Vela and Chancellor Rodriguez distributing information on sexual harassment policies and services to all employees (see below).

 

1. December 13, 2023, Board of Trustees Meeting Presentation from Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access (ODEIA) by Director Natalie Mason-Kinsey. ODEIA is also scheduled to provide another update in the spring to the Board of Trustees on progress on goals.

 

1. January 10, 2024, Board of Trustees Meeting Presentation regarding the District’s Procurement Process by Vice Chancellor/CFO Jeanette Gordon and Director Valencia Moffett.

 

1. February 14, 2024, at the Board of Trustees meeting, as part of the Chancellor’s Report, Chancellor Rodriguez will provide an update on the external audit of our District’s procurement process and the additional support to ODEIA to ensure their effectiveness and compliance with changing legal standards and best practices regarding sexual harassment and discrimination.

 

1. March 6, 2024, before the monthly Board of Trustees’ meeting, we are proposing the 2-hour mandated training on sexual harassment for the Board of Trustees, Chancellor, college presidents and members of the executive team.

 

1. A Gender Equity/Title IX Ad Hoc Committee has been established for 2024 and is chaired by Board President Henderson with the goals of reviewing Board Policies and District practices, and improving our prevention and responsiveness to gender equity issues, including sexual harassment.

 

Thank you for your attention to this important communication and for working collaboratively with us on these timely and sensitive issues. We have the same goal and we look forward to continuing the dialogue and to taking action to promote a safe, inclusive and respectful teaching, learning and work environment free of harassment and hostility in any form at LACCD.

Sincerely,

 

Francisco C. Rodriguez, Ph.D. Nichelle Henderson

Chancellor Board of Trustees President