An investigation by outside counsel validated RA’s complaints of mistreatment. Not addressed was the hiring of an employee with no apparent duties. Ella Banken//AS Review
By Hailey Murphy
When Abbi McKee was hired as an additional administrative assistant for Ridgeway Kappa in November 2016, she expected to be assisting the interim Resident Director Jackie Thurman by checking emails, scheduling meetings or coordinating her calendar.
Instead, McKee said she spent much of her work time watching Christmas movies or writing her book, as she was given nothing else to do.
“Literally there was nothing,” McKee said. “I never got a job description. I never got tasks to do. There was no training… I always felt bad for that, because I literally for 8 hours didn’t have anything to do, but no one was responding to my request for work.”
McKee said she made $13/hour when she worked at Western. The starting salary for a temporary administrative assistant 1 is currently is currently $13.87/hour, according to Western’s pay schedule.
This is one of the issues resident advisers for Kappa brought to Human Resources in January 2017 involving interim Resident Director Jackie Thurman. Other allegations included neglecting her duties, emotionally abusing RA staff and misusing funds by going on an excessive number of conferences.
These issues were part of what sparked the RA movement in Spring 2017, in which RAs detailed a list of allegations against Residence Life. These included being dismissive of sexual harassment and student safety concerns, not properly compensating or training RAs for the position and being unresponsive to these concerns when raised.
Despite interviewing Kappa RAs and staff, HR never conducted an official investigation. Instead, Eileen Coughlin, vice president for enrollment and student services at the time, hired lawyer Richard Hughes from Olympia to conduct a third-party investigation.
However, McKee’s hire in November 2016, as well as Thurman’s frequent use of funds to attend conferences, aren’t mentioned in Hughes’ report.
The report states Hughes reviewed the HR interviews and student’s written statements, as well as conducting interviews of his own, meaning he was aware of potential misuse of funds.
“It is perceived by the Kappa Resident Advisor’s and Administrative Assistant that the new admin employee does not have real job responsibilities and was hired to be a personal assistant to Jackie, a misappropriation of government funds,” one student told HR.
Antonia Allen, Western’s internal audit director, and Kathleen Cooper, director of communications from the Washington State Auditor Office, both said in emails last May that they received no complaints regarding Thurman’s alleged misappropriation of funds.
Hughes’ report validated many of the RA’s concerns and made a number of recommendations to Western in his report, such as assessing temporary employees and giving all ResLife employees anti-harassment training.
While changes have been made as result of the RA’s protest, including increased pay, it’s unclear if Western implemented any of these recommendations. Hughes said in an email last June that he doesn’t comment publicly on investigations. Paul Cocke, director of communications and marketing, also wouldn’t comment on what he called a personnel matter.
Thurman could not be located for comment.
A Mysterious Hire
Much of the Kappa staff was confused with the creation of Abbi McKee’s assistant position, since the position of administrative assistant was already filled by then-student Alicia Duncombe. Additionally, McKee was brought in abruptly and with little explanation.
Thurman, an assistant director, stepped into the position of temporary resident director after former Resident Director Laurel Eby left unexpectedly in October 2016, according to the HR report. Thurman initially asked Duncombe to work extra hours as a way of easing the transitionary period.
However, in the following month, RAs came to feel unsupported by Thurman, according to testimony they gave HR.
She missed multiple meetings for conferences and often wouldn’t tell students beforehand, according to student testimony. She informed the staff on Oct. 17 that a new RD had been selected and would there within the month. Then on Nov. 21, Thurman told RAs the new hire had fallen through weeks ago.
In November, Duncombe met with Leonard Jones, director of University Residences, to express concerns regarding Thurman and the RD hire, she said. That’s when the solution of creating a new position was presented by Jones to Duncombe.
“That’s something that at least [Jones had] been thinking about. I think him and [Thurman] had been talking about, prior. But I can’t say what the catalyst was for them deciding to bring in [McKee] or her position,” Duncombe said.
Thurman told RAs they needed “boots on the ground,” Duncombe said, and to ask McKee for support if they needed it.
McKee was hired as administrative assistant to Thurman late November, after a Western recruiter followed her into the restroom at a job fair, she said.
A few days later, the recruiter called and asked McKee to come to campus for what she thought was an interview.
That interview turned out to be her first day of work, McKee said, which was the start of much confusion around the position.
McKee said she wasn’t given an orientation, a job description or any formal training. She had little contact with Thurman, and struggled to get a hold of her.
Once Thurman finally got back to her, McKee said she’d have to seek the help of RAs to complete tasks. McKee would also have to ask for help when students came to the desk with questions.
When students asked about McKee’s position, Thurman would tell them the job description was “intentionally vague” so McKee could fill in where need be, according to student testimony.
No one in ResLife’s main office knew of her employment until the day she arrived, McKee told HR.
“It was a position, but it was never a position that I was qualified for,” McKee said. “I got put in the middle of something I should never have been put into. It was like a personal fight between Jackie and the students at Kappa house and ResLife that was going there, so I just felt let down by such a big university, and I felt like they didn’t handle it very well.”
McKee also said that, when she met with Chyerl Wolfe-Lee, head of HR, to resign, she learned Thurman had bypassed protocol by bringing her in so quickly and without an interview.
According to Western’s HR website, when hiring for classified positions, three staff members need to act as a search committee.
However, the recruitment process for an employee, according to Western’s website, involves first developing a position description, requesting recruitment, evaluating the applicants (including conducting an interview), offering the position and then onboarding the new employee.
Soon after McKee’s arrival, Duncombe said she was unexpectedly transferred to Delta and wasn’t give much of a reason. Thurman then told McKee that Duncombe was no longer allowed in the Kappa RD office.
“It was never super clear to me why. The reason that Jackie gave was that… ‘This is [McKee’s] space now, so you’re going to have your own space in this other office,’” Duncombe said.
Duncombe said she didn’t expect to be transferred as a result of McKee’s hire, nor was McKee’s hire meant as a replacement position.
Karl Heinz filled the Kappa RD position in January 2017, according to McKee. She was then transferred to Heinz’s former office and worked as a program coordinator before giving her resignation at the end of January.
“I feel as if this was a made up position,” McKee wrote in testimony to HR. “A way to relieve tension from [Thurman], maybe. A way for her to avoid [Duncombe]. I can only speculate based on what I have seen and heard regarding [Thurman] and the staff at Kappa.”
McKee said she felt she was a go-between Thurman and the students, both because of the tense situation and because none of the students saw any relevance in her position.
“We did need somebody – that sort of position was not the right solution,” Duncombe said. “And I think it could’ve worked if she’d been properly trained, but she wasn’t, so she didn’t know what she was doing, and she was kinda left hung out to dry.”
RA Allegations
In January 2017, the Kappa RA staff reached out to HR and Wayne Rocque, AS VP for student life at the time, with complaints about Thurman’s behavior.
In HR interviews and a report Rocque wrote, students detailed complaints about Thurman, including frequently not showing up to meetings, using intimidation, refusing to let students express their opinions, physically blocking students from entering rooms and pointing fingers in their face.
Students described the environment under Thurman as hostile and unhealthy.
Hughes, in his investigative report, states that RAs raised valid concerns about Thurman’s treatment, although it may not rise to the level of harassment on a legal standard.
Students in the HR report often described crying during staff meetings with little care from Thurman.
“I constantly cry during multiple staff meetings with no comment from Jackie,” wrote one student. “She doesn’t stop when I or anyone else starts crying. She keeps lecturing like nothing happens, which it does. I feel emotionally drained and have no solace.”
RAs also said they were falling behind on their academics, and were working extra hours to compensate for the lack of support.
When Rocque met with RAs, they were quite distressed, he said in an interview last June. They came to the AS Board at the advice of a ResLife staff member, as the Board had more freedom to advocate for the students.
However, advocating for the students put Rocque at legal risk. One of Western’s assistant attorneys general came to a Board meeting to warn the board they were at risk of legal action, Rocque said.
According to Hughes’ report, Rocque could be held personally liable for discussing personnel issues with an open governing body. He recommended that Western provide training to AS Board members regarding legalities of open forum and governance.
Rocque said Wolfe-Lee was dismissive student complaints, however.
“[She] told students, ‘Why don’t you go back and talk to this person, maybe you can sort it out.’ How can you put students in a position where they’re made to talk to their abuser after that?” Rocque said.
Duncombe said the Kappa staff didn’t receive much support from administration after bringing forward complaints, and instead saw more support from staff members within ResLife.
Wolfe-Lee ultimately didn’t respond with comment after stating in an email two weeks ago that she’d reply once back in office.
Hughes was retained by Coughlin in March 2017 to investigate not just the complaints students brought to HR, but also a complaint Thurman filed with the Equal Opportunity Office against former Resident Director Scott Leppla.
The report outlined three findings and seven recommendations. One finding was that RAs had brought valid concerns to HR.
“It is not acceptable to treat employees – particularly those who may be relatively inexperienced in the workplace and less equipped to defend themselves – with the contempt, disrespect, and in some cases intimidation described,” Hughes wrote in his report.
Hughes said in his report that, while it may not qualify as harassment, this is behavior Western must address right away.
As a result, he recommended that temporary employees receive performance reviews to prevent continual intimidating behavior in the workplace. He also recommended anti-harassment training for all ResLife employees, and a clear appeals process for employees so student concerns aren’t dismissed.
Another finding of Hughes’ report was that the workplace situations – the complaints brought forward by RAs and the complaints brought forward by Thurman against Leppla– were worsened by the actions of ResLife and University Residences.
Hughes said the inadequate hiring process for Thurman’s temporary position and the delay in filling the permanent position made the situation more difficult for RAs than necessary, and he recommended a redesign of the hiring process.
He also said workplace tensions could’ve been eased with more conflict resolution from Jones, but only mentioned resolving conflict between Thurman and Leppa, not between Thurman and the students.
He recommended that Jones be provided with mentoring and communication to improve relationships with his employees. He also said that all employees should be aware of their right to third-party intervention.
The report doesn’t address Thurman’s travel expenses or the hire of McKee.
“It turns out that that investigation was never for the students,” Rocque said of Hughes’ report. “It was never about Jackie abusing students. It was never about Jackie’s abuse of funds. It was never about that. It was because Jackie had filed a complaint that she felt discriminated against and she felt attacked.”
According to Hughes’ findings, the behavior Thurman outlines in her formal complaint doesn’t constitute harassment.
Thurman left her position in spring of 2017, Duncombe said. Shayna Woods now holds the assistant director position for Kappa, according to Western’s website.
“It was just a really unfortunate situation that [Thurman] was supposed to be there to help all the RAs, had some sort of vendetta and really wasn’t there to be the student’s voice,” McKee said. “And Western is known for the voice of the students, and Jackie Thurman? It was more about her and how she could be in control.”
If you have information about potential misuse of state resources you can report it to Western’s independent auditor here or email us at as.review@wwu.edu.