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Germanna probes sexual harassment allegation
Germanna dean previously fired for sexual harassment under investigation for similar claim here
Date published: 10/30/2009
By PAMELA GOULD Germanna Community College officials are investigating a sexual harassment allegation made by an employee against the school's dean of arts and sciences, President David Sam said yesterday. That probe was under way when a Germanna official learned last weekend of an Associated Press report stating that the dean, John W. Francis, had been fired from his last job for sexually harassing female coworkers, Sam said. Francis, 46, was hired last spring. He started work in July. Before that, he worked March 31, 2008, to Nov. 21, 2008, for the Ohio Department of Health as director of performance improvement, the AP reported. Before that, he worked for 11 years at Columbus (Ohio) State Community College as an associate professor of chemistry and in leadership positions. During the application process for the dean position, Francis told Germanna officials he was terminated from the health department job "for political reasons," Sam said. Reference checks with both the Ohio Department of Health and the Columbus State Community College produced nothing that contradicted that, Sam said. "We thought it was political, based on everything we heard from everybody," he said. "Nobody said it was anything else." If reference checks had turned up impropriety, Sam said, "I don't see why we would have wanted to hire him." An Oct. 22 report by The Associated Press said Francis was fired from the Ohio health department Nov. 21, 2008, amid an investigation into sexual harassment allegations against him. Two weeks later, the state investigation concluded that Francis created a hostile work environment and that there was a probable-cause finding for sexual harassment, the AP reported. Francis told the AP the allegations in Ohio were false. "Honest to God, it was a politically motivated complaint [at the Health Department]. I never did anything that was in it," the AP report quoted Francis as saying. Germanna spokesman Michael Zitz said Francis declined to be interviewed by The Free Lance-Star, on the advice of his attorney. An Ohio attorney who said he represented Francis left a telephone message with the newspaper yesterday calling the allegations there "a smear campaign," but could not be reached for comment. Sam said an employee at Germanna approached her supervisor in September alleging sexual harassment by Francis, but she has not filed a formal complaint with the college. He said the college, with input from officials with the Virginia Community College System, is investigating that allegation and reviewing the hiring process for Francis. He said the school this week submitted written questions to Francis about that allegation and others raised by other women who work at the college. No student has alleged any misconduct by Francis, Sam said. The college president categorized the probes as "fact-finding" efforts and said he hoped to conclude them as soon as possible. Pamela Gould: 540/735-1972
Date published: 10/30/2009
Innocent!
(posted by
annagerm
, Nov. 2, 2009 10:14 pm)
Dr. Francis has not done anything wrong. Here's something for the Free Lance Star to report on: how many minorities are in leadership positions at Germmana? How many minorities are full time faculty at this community college? Does this institution embrace diversity? It seems to me that anything Dr Francis says is taken out of context and someone allege that they have been sexually harassed. He is I-n-n-o-c-e-n-t. Stop printing this rubbi[*#@!]
A simple Google search
(posted by
drbob8
, Oct. 31, 2009 9:20 am)
A simple Google search could have found out all of the information that was reported in the article. Anyone who has conducted searches knows that references are often not honest testaments to a person's performance or character. It seems as though his hiring might have been "politically motivated" rather than an honest search.
College Investigations
(posted by
observer
, Oct. 30, 2009 9:07 am)
When it comes to investigations of staff personnel the
academics do a poor job. MWC usually leaves it to the Free
Lance Star to conduct to probes of questionable faculty
members that could be uncovered by a simple phone call.
Don't rock the boat unless it is ready to sink.
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