Career-Ending Injustice, Pt.3

When Lorethie "Loe" Dunn was selected for the position of Campus Director in Region 8 of Louisiana Delta Community College, located in Bastrop, LA, she became the first African-American to hold that position. Dunn received high praise from the person who selected her, but some did not appear to show the same enthusiasm for her. Allegedly, after the selection, Dunn noted an interesting occurrence - not one of the other Regional Directors, whose job was to select a new Campus Director, offered her congratulatory applause except for one person. It was an embarrassing moment for Dunn, given the lack of support, despite her 30 years of experience in various positions leading up to becoming the newest Campus Director. Dunn was aware that the other Regional Directors were disappointed (or perhaps angry internally) because the individual most, if not all of them, desired for the position was not selected. When Dunn was selected in February 2011, it didn't take long for the honeymoon phase to end, as Dunn began to feel treated as an outsider. One memorable incident occurred after Dunn became Campus Director. The nurses who taught medical classes at the school abruptly tendered their notices to sever ties with the school. Coincidentally or not, all of the nurses were White. This didn't deter Dunn, as she understood that all eyes would be on her. Dunn replaced the White nurses with Black nurses who were eager to work at the school and were found to be qualified for the positions. After Dunn retired, some White nurses who left returned to the institution when she was no longer the Campus Director. Again, was it a coincidence or not?

Dunn was convinced that she was being treated differently from her white colleagues, a belief that was on full display during some moments in 2011. In a correspondence dated December 9, 2011, Dunn described how Campus Directors were required to send an email notice regarding their whereabouts for the upcoming week. On November 10, 2011 Dunn informed the secretary to the Vice-Chancellor that she would be attending the National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) in New Orleans. However, on November 15, 2011 the secretary appeared to question the legitimacy of the trip, later asking whether the trip was for business or pleasure. Dunn clarified that the trip was career-related, but the secretary wanted Dunn to prove or substantiate her time away because others did so. Dunn sought advice from two colleagues who confirmed they had not completed what was called a green leave slip, indicating that Dunn felt pressured to do so.

Additionally, on November 15, 2011, the vice-chancellor sent the secretary to collect copies of some students' folders. Two employees in the admission department had not finished making all the copies. Despite this, the secretary did not wait until all copies were made and left. She returned on orders from the Vice-Chancellor with the copies that had been taken before. The Vice-Chancellor wanted the original copies and allegedly shoved the returning folders back to the admission staff in a harsh, disrespectful manner, as described in the correspondence. Dunn was greatly disturbed and sought answers about who was treating her this way. She was informed that it was the Vice-Chancellor. Dunn then expressed her disapproval to the secretary, stating that she didn't like the mistreatment of her employees or their actions on her campus. She questioned why she was being treated differently from the other campus leaders. This question has remained unanswered. There were instances where three White directors overseeing one site were offered Assistant Director positions on their sites, two of which had building projects underway. One declined and instead asked for a Development Study Instructor. Dunn, who was in charge of two sites, was not offered the benefit of an Assistant Director, with the explanation that the campus did not require that. Another issue arose when Dunn requested another nursing class at the Bastrop campus. Despite having enough students signed up for another class, Dunn was turned down, citing budget constraints. However, documents showed that the budget issue had been resolved, as no further action would be taken with the budget for the upcoming school year in Fall 2014. Disputed emails sent to Dunn regarding her tenure, which had been established in 1983, were being challenged. Upon closer examination of some emails with messages that would be missed without careful scrutiny, it appeared that these emails fast-tracked Dunn's termination while she was still on FMLA. Over the years, Dunn has asked herself several questions. Why did things go downhill so fast between May 1 and October 1? Why did the emails from HR concerning her job status raise more questions about her tenure? Was it deliberate? To be continued...