This is a long article but definitely worth the read. It illustrates how the head of ASU’s HR, Kevin Salcido, has repeatedly been informed of issues among his faculty members (whether they are professors accused of sexual harassment, or a Police Chief accused of incompetence), and has repeatedly failed to take appropriate and timely action against university employees.
The federal government confirmed Thursday that Arizona State University is under investigation for the possible mishandling of a report of sexual assault or harassment.
An ASU alum wants to trigger a second inquiry.
Jasmine Lester said she plans to file a Title IX complaint against the school sometime in the next few weeks.
“Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in all education
programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance,” according to a U.S. Department of Education news release.
ASU is one of dozens of schools nationwide with an active Title IX investigation involving sexual assault or harassment, the Thursday release said.
Lester said she will file her complaint because, among other reasons, a university administrator discouraged her from filing a sexual harassment complaint within the university system.
Lester said a professor flirted with her for more than a year, took her out for drinks, and created “sexual tension.”
“‘We’re talking about sexual harassment as more of a shove you up against the wall kind of thing,'” the school’s Title IX coordinator said, according to Lester.
After Lester persisted and filed a report, the school found no evidence of sexual harassment, Lester said.
She said parties with a stake in the investigation went on a smear campaign against her, another reason for the federal filing.
Multiple calls to ASU for comment were not returned. As such, details of Lester’s complaint with the school could not be confirmed.
What is interesting about this article is Jasmine Lester previously met with the head of ASU’s Human Resources department, Kevin Salcido (you can view the transcript of the discussion here). In this discussion, Jasmine and another individual mention to Salcido how some of Jasmine’s concerns regarding inappropriate behavior by a faculty member were brought to the attention of ASU officials, who waited three years to initiate any sort of response (Salcido responded, “it’s unfortunate that it took a while for that to make it our way”).
Salcido also avoids answering direct questions about why the faculty member was allowed continue to lead study abroad trips (where Jasmine’s incident occurred), or why it took so long to fire professors engaged in sexual relationships with students. Salcido states that if he isn’t informed about such incidents, he can’t do anything about them (despite the fact Jasmine reported her incident to both faculty members and ASU administrators).
Salcido goes on to lecture Jasmine about how the rules of evidence [in a university investigation] aren’t the same as in a criminal court, but how she needs witnesses, emails, text messages, etc. Salcido also has the nerve to state that he is speaking both as an HR person and “also as someone who was, in a prior life, a police officer”.
The lack of an appropriate and timely response Jasmine experienced with Salcido is nearly identical to the response Salcido has given to the 10+ ASUPD employees who have spoken with him. Many current and former employees have come forward to speak with Salcido directly in regards to the on-going problems occurring at ASUPD (staffing, the FTO program, supervisors engaging in illegal and unethical behavior). He has stated on several occasions that he “can’t just fire half the police department”, despite being told (again, by multiple employees) many members of the Command and training staff were/are engaged in illegal/unethical behavior. Several employees who spoke to Salcido about this topic also witnessed the negative behavior first hand, or provided Salcido with the names, dates, and documents that would prove the merits of the accusations.
In regard to the slew of former employees ASUPD has left in its wake, Salcido has more or less stated the opinions and experiences of the people who have left the university aren’t relevant to what is currently transpiring within ASU, and speaking to them would be essentially pointless.
Much like his interactions with Jasmine Lester, Salcido’s pledge to “look into” ASUPD’s problems were completely useless. When the head of the Human Resources department at the largest university in the United States is incapable of removing problem employees from the university DESPITE witnesses and evidence…it makes one wonder how many other issues Salcido has failed to act appropriately on.
P.S. Mr. Salcido, you could never be a police officer, even in a prior life. Your deliberate indifference in the face of adversity illustrates your complete lack both compassion for others and a moral compass.
If the shit poor job of ASU human resources becomes a story you will have plenty of people coming out of the woodwork with supporting evidence that they do nothing but collect a check, shrug, and ignore everything. Does Mr Salcido have a daughter? Men that turn a blind eye to women being victimized aren’t real men at all.
Everyone knows what their job is. You either do or don’t do it. Clearly the job hasn’t been getting done because there has been no incentive. Here comes the incentive.
Virtually every member in the command staff doesn’t have a clue on how to properly manage resources or treat its people. They think they do, but they really don’t. How do we know this? Look at the state of affairs in the ASU PD. It’s abysmal!
We have a commander who is adamant that we do not have a staffing issue. A commander who likes to pose in uniform in an inappropriate sexual group setting at the firing range with his clique buddies, also in uniform. A commander who projects his own inadequacies onto others. An assistant chief who doesn’t know the first thing about real police work or how to relate to people. And a chief that denies there are any problems in the ASU PD, only a few disgruntled employees making all the fuss.
We hope everyone that wants real change within the ASU PD comes forward and presents whatever solid evidence he/she might have, to the court of justice, on ASU PD’s appalling treatment of its employees and its mismanagement of taxpayer funded resources.
Chief John Pickens, Assistant Chief James Hardina, Assistant Chief Michael Thompson, Commanders, William Orr, Michele Rourke, Lou Scichilone, and Chris Speranza, one can only hope a year from now you are all faded memories so that the ASU PD can finally begin the healing process.
It will be nice someday when the posts on the blog have positive things to report to the world about the ASU PD, but we all know that won’t happen until all the above individuals are no longer part of the ASU PD.
Mr. Kevin Salicido, we hope in the end you are permanently removed and eventually prosecuted for not investigating members of the ASU PD command staff and certain mid-level employees!
Dr. Morgan Olsen, we hope in the end you are permanently removed and eventually prosecuted for not investigating members of the ASU PD command staff and certain mid-level employees!
Dr. Michael Crow, we hope in the end you are permanently removed and eventually prosecuted for not investigating members of the ASU PD command staff and certain mid-level employees!
Well said, but until the evidence is handed over to investigators there isn’t much that can be done. Don’t lose track of the bigger goals by getting caught up in resentment. Unfortunately most student don’t want to see the bigger picture and it is up to those of us who can see the brighter future to go around campus and open the eyes of the people.
When it comes to how some of these administrators do business there are priorities like everything else. The problem is when the priorities are against the public interest and they are being funded by public dollars. In a word: corruption.
They act as if ASU is their private business and they are worried about image and stock fluctuations, not truth, public interest, or morality.
In this case the priorities are:
1. You can’t validate complaints, that’s a potential lawsuit.
2. Keep people quiet, this can’t reach the press! That makes your bosses angry. They don’t like to be embarrassed, perfection, perfection!
3. Make it look like you listened, care, but had the power to do nothing about it so they go away. That usually does the trick. Victims are already beaten down, what’s one more rung?
4. When they don’t go away minimise their issues, cloud the issue, and do not admit wrongdoing. The throw you against the wall standard is a good example. Remember what the legal advisors said. Hopefully they give up by now.
5. They still persist? Lie your ass off saying that you’ll look into it. If they come looking for answers say that you couldn’t find the smoking gun, so your hands are tied, but you really feel for them. Knowing you intentionally failed them and blew them off offer them a pamphlet for counseling for the initial victimization and give them a second pamphlet for their time with you being victimized again.
Thanks for serving yourself, the public that pays you will have to wait.
Not surprising to me. In the real world when something is broke you fix it or replace it. Not here, not even when every moral compass in the world points in the opposite direction.
What’s their incentive to do the right thing? They have none. What, who is holding them accountable? Nobody.
You’re exactly right, it’s having a law without any enforcement provisions. When you have unscrupulous people running around you need to guide them down the path or the innocent suffer the consequences the way our students do by having a BIG POLICE BUILDING without anyone in it but high priced supervisors without anyone to supervise.
It says, “A university administrator tried to keep her from filing a complaint through the university system.” It sounds like there’s a wholesale attempt to keep the truth underground concerning not just Clery stats, but other unfavorable ones as well. It’s about doing right or wrong and that’s it.
[…] with ASU’s half-assed resolution to Ms. Lester’s situation, as well as ASU HR’s failure to properly investigate complaints against the police department. We are hoping the additional sex abuse complaints will place additional heat on the university, […]
[…] given another position in the university. However, given Kevin Salcido’s track recording of dealing (or rather, failing to deal with) problem employees, we forsee the endless cycle of dysfunction continuing to run ASUPD into the […]