From college leader to legal adversary, former Chancellor Dr. Diane Van Hook has filed a lawsuit against College of the Canyons for wrongful termination after the Board of Trustees voted to place her on administrative leave this evening in closed session.
Shortly after being put on administrative leave, the former chancellor announced her retirement.
This comes after allegations by Dr. Van Hook suggested wrongdoing by the board, mentioned in a press release from her representing attorney. The media statement argues:
“The claims alleged that Dr. Van Hook was abruptly removed from her position and forced to resign based on the board’s misuse of the results of a campus climate survey conducted to gage various aspects of COC’s work environment.”
“People feel that they can engage in the college and participate in college activities, whereas before, there might have been, you know, with some, you know, fear of retaliation if they made suggestions or didn’t feel like their voices were adequately being heard,” said Nicole Faudree, who is the Political Action Committee Chair for the COCFA PAC.
“But the thing that gets missed frequently is that nearly half of the employees don’t feel psychologically safe. Have personally experienced discrimination and microaggressions, and they’re not reporting them because they didn’t feel provide identifying information out of fear of being identified,” continued Faudree.
The decision has sparked mixed feelings within the community. Speakers addressing the board voiced disgust with it.
“I am shocked and disgusted. The lack of appreciation and respect for Dr. Van Hook’s COC leadership record is appalling,” said Al Adelini.
“In conversation of the last couple of weeks about this particular item before the board has resulted in a great many people being quite angry, and they did not come today because of that anger. They don’t believe that the board is acting in the best interest of this community. I certainly do not,” said Katherine Parker.
After speakers gave their criticisms, the Board of Trustees held its own candidate forum and commented on transparency regarding its decision.
“This board will not break the law. We are governed by regulations, and if we provide information, it’s because we have legal advice, and it says, yes, you can say that, and in some cases, we would like nothing more than to share more with you,” proclaimed Edel Alonso, a Board of Trustee member.
“The Board of Trustees is mandated by law to have what we call closed sessions. They usually have to do with personnel. Those laws are designed to protect the personnel. They are not designed to protect the board. They’re designed to protect the personnel so you don’t smear somebody,” said Jerry Danielsen, another Board of Trustee member.
On the other side, former trustee Joan MacGregor took to social media to openly accept Dr. Van Hook’s challenge:
“How sad that she is still trying to get more compensation. She should be supporting the current administration, not costing the students and staff. I look forward to full disclosure in court if that is what she really wants,” said MacGregor.
This “more compensation” former trustee McGregor refers to will be in addition to Dr Van Hook’s guaranteed $330,000 severance lifetime health care and long-term care insurance benefits unavailable to any other district employee and $500,000 pension paid per year in retirement, which is funded by taxpayer money.
With several more opinions floating around the college’s sphere, the school itself had not much to comment on.
“So Dr. Van Hook did file a government claim for wrongful termination against the college, and as a matter of practice, the college does not comment on pending claims or litigation,” said Eric Harnish, Vice President for Public Information at College of the Canyons.
Among all the legal turbulence, the college’s Board of Trustees could face a major shakeup later in the year. The College of the Canyons Faculty Association recently conceded three of their endorsed races, one of them being incumbent Jerry Danielsen’s. The other incumbent, Edel Alonso, is clinging to a slim margin of just four votes ahead of Scott Schauer. While the votes will not be official until December, a dramatic transformation is yet to come.
