A number of students, faculty and staff participated in the vigil holding signs that read “22” or “3”. (Above)

By Emily Bruzzo, Staff Writer

Published in print Nov.5, 2014

Last week began with 22 minutes of silence and ended with 22 dropped felony charges.

The terminations and arrests of three former UNCG employees—Lyda Carpen, Christopher English and David Wilson— have been looming over the university campus for over a month now.

Last Thursday it all came to an end when the Guilford County District Attorney’s Office agreed to drop the 22 felony charges against the trio for their alleged falsification of time sheets and abuse of university resources.

English and Wilson will have to pay restitution to the university, which The News and Record reports will amount to $875 for English and $770 for Wilson.

These sums amount to a week’s pay for the former University Relations photographers, who were accused of working for their private photography business while on the clock for UNCG.   

Additionally, they must perform 40 hours of community service.

Prosecutors did not stipulate any conditions for the dropped charges against Carpen, English and Wilson’s former University Relations supervisor who was charged with aiding and abetting.

Though the criminal charges have been dropped, the university administrators can’t wipe their hands clean of Carpen, English and Wilson just yet, as their appeals of their terminations will be addressed in a thorough grievance procedure. 

In a phone interview, Kenneth Free Jr., English and Wilson’s attorney, said of his clients’ court outcomes, “I think it was fair in that it got the criminal matters resolved.”

However, Free says the issue should not have resulted in criminal charges in the first place. The attorney argues that UNCG should have handled the situation at the administrative level and left it at that.

Free says that his clients had been granted an “informal meeting” with Paul Mason, the associate vice chancellor for marketing and strategic communication— Carpen, English and Wilson’s boss— to talk over the accusations, but all they were given in preparation for the conference was a bullet list of topics to discuss.

Free said that Mason put on the list items like time sheet issues, but when English and Wilson requested more information about what specifically incited such an accusation, no information was provided.

“They were asked to explain themselves,” Free asserted, “But they weren’t given the information or chance to do so.”

Concerning the next stages of the grievance procedure, Free says Wilson will have his meeting Thursday, and English will have his Tuesday.

Free explained Human Resources is currently overseeing the process and the next stage will involve Wilson and English sitting down with a mediation board.

If the mediation process is unsuccessful in allowing the university and its former employees to reach an agreement, the process will result in a hearing before a faculty board.

As to what English and Wilson hope to gain from the grievance procedure, Free says they simply want answers and the opportunity to discuss compensation for their period of unemployment.

“The main issue here is, why did they not have full disclosure and why were they not able to defend themselves,” Free argued.

Whether English and Wilson will want their jobs back is something yet to be determined.

“They loved working for UNCG,” Free said. However, the attorney contends that it might be problematic for English and Wilson to work in an office with Mason after everything that’s happened.

Faculty, staff and students alike have been overjoyed to hear the news of the dropped charges; however, last week didn’t begin with the celebratory university community of this week.

Last Tuesday, the day of Carpen’s hearing and two days before English and Wilson’s, a group of roughly 100 professors, personnel, students and Greensboro community members gathered for 22 minutes of silence— a minute for each felony charge.

Mostly dressed in black, the protestors stood on the Elliot University Center lawn from 12:15 -12:37p.m. in order to signify their solidarity with Carpen, English and Wilson.

Elizabeth Keathley, a professor of music and women’s and gender studies, and faculty senator, said after the demonstration, “We want to draw the whole campus’s attention to this.”

The group certainly got what it wanted.

As hundreds of students walked by on their way to classes, many stopped and asked what the demonstration was. Some students, upon finding out what the group was protesting, chose to stay and stand as well.

The group didn’t only grab the attention of the university community. At least four news organizations covered the event, including The News and Record, the Greensboro-based newspaper that originally broke the story.

Concerning what the group hoped to achieve, Keathley said, “Just to draw attention to the issue and also to see if we can all call upon the chancellor collectively to try to heal the damage that’s been done here, and to return our campus to an ethical academic institution, which it used to be.”

Rachel Briley, a theater professor and faculty senator, said, “We want to make our voices heard, that’s all. We feel like leadership has failed this institution and it’s caused a crisis— a crisis of confidence in the institution. And there’s a culture of fear that’s been cultivated. And we’re done. We’re done with it.”

UNCG’s Faculty Senate has decided it’s “done with it” as well.

This Wednesday faculty senators are meeting in the Virginia Dare Room to discuss a variety of issues, including a resolution submitted by Faculty Senator Susan Dennison that calls for “a comprehensive review of the campus culture and decision making process.”

Spoma Jovanovic, chair of the Faculty Senate, said in an email: “The faculty recognize that the recent events related to the terminations and dropped criminal charges against former employees is the latest in a string of actions that have circumvented shared governance principles and illuminated systemic issues surrounding ethical policies and practices.”

Jovanovic continued by saying: “The cumulative effect is that our previously collegial campus culture has been undermined. The faculty proposing this resolution wants to reclaim a campus culture where people are happy and excited to be working with one another, rather than fearful of what punishments they may receive.”

“The resolution is a call for involving the faculty in issues central to the operation of this university,” Jovanovic said.