A special investigation into complaints of unprofessional conduct
against Metro State affiliate faculty member Andrew Hallam has
concluded that Hallam did not violate any college policies, President
Stephen Jordan announced today.
The investigation was requested by Jordan based on two student
complaints and media stories that Hallam demonstrated unprofessional
conduct in the classroom.
Conducted by Lee Combs, college general counsel, and Luis Torres,
interim deputy provost, the investigation included interviews with
Hallam and six of his students, two who were interviewed by several
media outlets.
The investigation concluded that Hallam must learn to curb the use
of vulgar language in class, and that the introduction of controversial
topics must have a substantial relationship with the subject of the
class. While discipline is not warranted, appropriate mentoring is
recommended.
The investigation found that:
- An assignment given by Hallam did not require his students to write
an essay undermining Gov. Sarah Palin as a person or candidate.
- There was never an occasion during which students felt personally belittled, insulted, bullied or harassed by Hallam.
- Hallam did make a small number of brief disparaging quips about President George Bush and his administration.
- On isolated occasions Hallam used vulgar language. The use of
crude language arose from a student’s question as to whether it could
be used in another writing assignment.
- The complaining students have suffered no repercussions of any kind, and no student feared retaliation by Hallam.
- In addition, no student wanted to see Hallam’s employment terminated.
Hallam’s mentoring will address how personal quips about politics,
religion and other subjects of public controversy can adversely affect
participation for some students, and what the best practices are in
dealing with such controversy when it is related to the subject matter.
Jordan also announced that all orientations for tenure-track faculty
and affiliate faculty who are newly employed by Metro State will
include a session on maintaining appropriate political balance in
classroom discussion and assignments, particularly when the course is
not related to politics.
For questions contact This Week@Metro.
