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QuickTake:
Lane Community College President Stephanie Bulger, who was the target of “dismissive conduct ... based on her race and sex” received an official apology Tuesday. The apology, which was supposed to have happened at the board’s last meeting, was postponed after a lack of communication among board members.
Members of the Lane Community College Board of Education made a joint apology to LCC President Stephanie Bulger for disrespect based on her race and sex during a March meeting.
The apology, which came at its Sept. 30 meeting, acknowledged board members’ behavior “included both explicit and implicit actions,” some members speaking dismissively and inappropriately and others staying silent and failing to acknowledge the discrimination. The apology also included the board’s plans to complete training in bias, discrimination, and harassment to improve their behavior.
Austin Fölnagy, board chair, read the apology aloud from his seat, looking at Bulger.
“The Board recognizes and is accountable for the harm caused to you, President Bulger,” Fölnagy read. “We are deeply sorry for the negative impact our behavior has had on you, and the college community at large. President Bulger, please accept the Board’s apology for treating you badly.”
The board made the apology after an independent investigator substantiated an anonymous complaint against the board in a report released mid-August.
With the exception of Julie Weismann, board members dismissed and failed to acknowledge Bulger’s feedback during a conversation about an operating agreement in the board’s March 5 meeting, according to the report.
The anonymous complainant said the board’s discussion was disrespectful towards Bulger and would not “have taken place if President Bulger was a white man.” Bulger is Black.
The private investigator wrote that board members’ behavior “was an example of dismissive conduct toward the leader of the college based upon her race and sex.”
Current board members implicated in the complaint were Fölnagy, then-chair Zachary Mulholland, then-vice-chair Kevin Alltucker, and Steve Mital. Jesse Maldonado and current vice-chair Jerry Rust were not yet elected to the board.
The complaint was one of three against board members.
Alltucker and an unnamed student made separate complaints about former board chair Mulholland’s abusive and bullying behavior toward Bulger and others, which the private investigator also substantiated.
Board members voted to censure Mulholland in the Sept. 3 meeting, the strongest action they can take to formally disapprove of his behavior given that board members are elected officials. Mulholland delivered two spoken apologies in that meeting — one to Bulger and one to the broader campus community.
Fölnagy read an apology aloud in the Sept. 3 board meeting on behalf of the board, but other board members complained they had not had time to read it. This miscommunication delayed the apology until the Sept. 30 meeting.
Here is the text of the full apology:
The Lane Community College Board of Education, with the exception of Trustee Weismann, issues this formal apology to President Dr. Stephanie Bulger for the discriminatory behaviors based on her race and sex that occurred during the March 5 board meeting. These included both explicit and implicit actions: some board members spoke in dismissive and inappropriate terms, while others remained silent and failed to acknowledge or interrupt the discriminatory behaviors. Both the actions themselves and the silence in response are unacceptable.
The Board recognizes and is accountable for the harm caused to you, President Bulger. We are deeply sorry for the negative impact our behavior has had on you, and the college community at large. President Bulger, please accept the Board’s apology for treating you badly.
We thank our President and the community for holding us accountable. We are listening, and we are ready to do the hard work required to support the President, regain her trust and respect, and help make Lane Community College even better than it is Now.
As a board we are committed to learning from our shortcomings. Specifically, we will be taking remedial actions including training in bias, discrimination, and harassment during this fiscal year. Additionally, the Board will ensure that every policy and practice reflects our commitment to equity and respect.
A previous version of this story misspelled Julie Weismann’s name.
