Tenured professors resign to avoid third investigation

'Inconclusive' closure to sexual harassment case

By: Derek Simons

Posted: 8/18/08

Facing an investigation, possible tenure-revocation and dismissal, UMKC Professors Drs. Keith Haddock and Walter S. Carlos Poston II, last week agreed to resign, effective Sept. 30.

As part of the agreement, the two, who currently serve as vice-chair and chair respectively of the Department of Informatic Medicine and Personalized Health at the School of Medicine, will not be able to seek employment in the future with the university.

Haddock said almost four years of being under investigation had taken its toll on them, their families and their students. He added that the generous settlement offered by the university was better than risking a possible "kangaroo court."

Accused in a 2006 lawsuit of sexual harassment and of creating a hostile environment in the lab they supervised in the Psychology Department, Haddock and Poston have undergone two internal investigations, both of which resulted as "inconclusive."

In July 2007, UMKC agreed to a $1.1 million out-of-court settlement with Dr. Linda Garavalia, associate professor of Psychology, and Megan Pinkston-Camp, a former psychology graduate student and now a postdoctoral fellow at Brown University.

A summary of the results of the second internal investigation, conducted in fall 2007 by Grace Hernandez, director of UMKC's Office of Affirmative Action, was released last week as part of the agreement negotiated with the professors.

It stated Hernandez "felt the evidence was inconclusive as to whether or not there was a hostile work environment in the HRG Lab."

The two professors were promoted and transferred to the School of Medicine Sept. 1, 2007, with Haddock's annual salary increasing from $75,876 to $93,376, and Poston's going from $76,707 to $101,707.

Pinkston-Camp said she was surprised and even shocked the professors had continued to have contact with students for the last year.

"When I first saw [the announcement of their resignations], I was actually very happy and just relieved that the university heard not only my voice but also many other women's voices and other student voices that have been hurt by these two professors for years," Pinkston-Camp said.

Garavalia expressed disappointment in what she saw as inaction on the part of the university over the previous year, but said she thought last week's agreement was the best solution the university could have come up with.

Haddock and Poston see the events in an entirely different light.

"The bottom line is you've got a sexual harassment case where two internal investigations have concluded that there was not sufficient evidence that there was sexual harassment," Haddock said. "Not one, but two comprehensive investigations."

Haddock and Poston said they want the full report of Hernandez's investigation released. However their lawyer's Missouri Sunshine Law requests have been denied for personnel reasons by the University of Missouri (UM) Office of General Counsel, which negotiated the $1.1 million settlement.

Haddock said he and Poston were told by Hernandez, former UMKC Chancellor Dr. Guy Bailey and Dr. Betty Drees, dean of the School of Medicine, that the report exonerates them.

Hernandez, Bailey and Drees were unavailable for comment.

"Grace's [Hernandez] report said, 'No sexual harassment, no hostile environment, no recommendations,'" Haddock said. "That's a huge embarrassment to General Counsel. So what are they going to do with this? What they did, I guess, was cover it up."

Haddock said the university paid in 2007 because it lacked policies, procedures and training on sexual harassment.

He added, focusing attention on the two professors now was a way of saving face, but Hernandez's report didn't provide the result for which General Counsel hoped.

Hernandez interviewed approximately 70 people during the investigation.

The letter she sent to the professors states, "Some of the students interviewed who were in the lab during the relevant time frame believe there was a hostile environment in the lab. In contrast, a larger number of other students, faculty members, and employees that were in the lab during the relevant time period do not believe the lab was a sexually hostile environment."

Garavalia said the interviews conducted by Hernandez were not recorded and transcribed.

"Would I like to see the report?" Garavalia said. "No. I don't have enough faith in its quality. If I felt like it was a report where people had given testimony under oath and could be held accountable for their words, then possibly. When the university settled with us, we had to give sworn testimony."

Pinkston-Camp said many of those who were interviewed by Hernandez had a lot to lose if they told the truth.

"And the fact is, a lot of stuff happened behind closed doors, so people didn't see stuff," she said. "At least within the UM System now, these two men will not have access to students or staff members again."

As part of the two professors' agreement with the university, however, Haddock said they will be attending a conference in Asia this fall with a female graduate student with university-controlled funds.

"If we're these gun-toting, sexual maniacs, what should happen to the attorney who allows us to travel to Asia with this female grad student?" Haddock said.

Also part of the agreement, Haddock and Poston can transfer research grants and contracts to a new employer and keep all of the research sponsor-funded equipment and computers. They will continue to chair dissertations of their students and they will receive pay until Aug. 30, 2009.

Haddock said the university has offered them free use of university software for four years.

"It went on and on with all these little 'gimmes,'" Haddock said. "We were faced with getting a significant amount of money and all of our materials … grants and contracts. … They were giving us all this stuff and a letter of exoneration. What would you have done?"

Garavalia said the professors were giving up millions of dollars.

"When you get tenure, you basically have a job for life," Garavalia said. "It takes almost an act of God to fire you or revoke your tenure. Who else has that type of job security in this economy? And they were making good money. So you wouldn't voluntarily give up that kind of job."

dsimons@unews.com

Editor's note: a part of a quote from Garavalia was inadvertently omitted from the original article due to an error in copy editing.
The rest of the quote has now been reinserted: "under oath and could be held accountable for their words, then possibly. When the university settled with us, we had to give sworn testimony."