Daily Helmsman The
Tigers keep on roaring
Memphis continues five game winning streak in game against East Carolina.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 Vol. 79 No. 65
Independent Student Newspaper of The University of Memphis
see page 8
www.dailyhelmsman.com
by Brian Wilson
Debate surrounds harassment allegations
Members of the Progressive Student Alliance hand-deliver a letter written on behalf of workers they allege were mistreated by building services manager Chadwick White to the office of University of Memphis President Shirley Raines on Friday. Allegations against White were investigated by the Affirmative Action Office. Since then, White has issued his own complaints regarding the manner in which the accusations were investigated.
BY ELIZABETH COOPER News Reporter Despite four formal grievances filed against the Physical Plant’s manager of building services, gaps in communication still exist as to how mediate the situation. The formal complaints against Chadwick White — who was hired in November of 2009 — began in May 2011, when 18 Custodial Service employees filed a collective letter of grievance to President Shirley Raines regarding White’s interaction with his employees. The complainants suggested White undergo further training in communication and supervisory skills as well as training in The University of Memphis’ and Tennessee Board of Regents’
policies and procedures. The complaint also suggested anger management classes. In the fall of 2011, three more employees filed formal complaints against White, one alleging sexual harassment. The Affirmative Action Office was unable to come to a final conclusion regarding this charge. Two workers alleged White belittled them and wrote them up without first discussing their performance. The Daily Helmsman examined dozens of letters, memos and reports filed in the investigation obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. White said he has not “done anything wrong,” and denies all allegations. He said his method of supervising his employees is “being firm, fair and consistent.”
White has never undergone a mandatory performance evaluation plan in his two-plus years at The U of M and also had never taken the required online sexual harassment course until Monday, though ordered to do so in November. White said he waited to take the course because he felt doing so would imply an admission of guilt to the sexual harassment charges. Once he was made aware that the course was required, he completed it online. U of M legal counsel Sheryl Lipman said supervisors are supposed to administer evaluations for all employees but the rule is followed inconsistently, leaving many employees without regular evaluations, something she said was “a problem.” In regards to complaints made
against him, White said his employment history is in hospital housekeeping, where federal regulations required strict guidelines for cleanliness. He said he is holding his workers accountable; a change that he said has caused a reaction. “I am bringing in the element of change,” he said. “Of course this change is met with resistance because people tend to resist change.” White also said he believes his position as middle manager makes him the “sacrificial lamb” in cases of disciplinary action. The supervisors he oversees bring complaints about employee performance to him and he must in turn get approval of any disciplinary action he issues from his supervisor, Calvin Strong, director of custodial
landscape services. After a fellow supervisor filed the sexual harassment charge against White in October, Equal Employment Affirmative Action Officer Michelle Banks investigated the case but could not come to a clear conclusion as to what happened between White and the alleged victim. “It should be noted that there are far too many rumors concerning interactions between administrators and staff members for the investigator to feel comfortable,” the report said. The alleged victim did not respond to an email and note left at her home by a reporter requesting an interview. It was determined by the Human Resources Office that White should have more inter-
see
Allegations, page 6
MCS to hire 1,000 teachers for next year BY CHRIStopher WHITTEN News Reporter
Memphis City Schools plans to hire up to 1,000 teachers next school year, some without a degree in education. Nick Denton-Brown, director of recruitment and selection for MCS, said that an education major might not necessarily be
the strongest candidate for some of the newly available positions. “While we always have a robust crop of teachers who come to us from The U of M education college, we often still need teachers in high-need subject areas like math, science, music and foreign languages,” he said. The State of Tennessee and The University of Memphis
have similar programs. Teach Tennessee and Tigers Teach have been in place since 2005 and 2010, respectively. Tigers Teach is based on the UTeach model, which is recognized nationally for math and science teacher preparation reform by a number of prominent organizations, including the National Research Council, the U.S. Department of Education
and the National Academy of Sciences. “Graduates who may have traditionally gone on to work as engineers, musicians, translators or in other careers can still work in their respective fields as teachers — even if they don’t yet have an education degree or a teaching license,” DentonBrown said. The U of M has 5,458 students
who graduated from MCS. Only two are education majors — something Denton-Brown said is a vast contrast to the goals MCS is hoping for. “If the local schools are hiring again, that’s good news for us,” said Henry Kurtz, dean of the college of arts and sciences. “We certainly have the programs in
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Teachers, page 6