UNCG Chancellor To Decide Grievance Over Objections Of Fired Employee

A fired UNC Greensboro employee will have a grievance hearing to get her job back Thursday, and she doesn't want the chancellor to be part of the process.

Lyda Carpen was fired in September along with two university photographers she supervised. The three also once faced felony charges in connection with allegations that they co-mingled their university work with a freelance business.

Carpen argues she was unjustly fired.

Seth Cohen, an attorney for Carpen, says UNCG Chancellor Linda Brady can't be impartial in the case because she has made repeated statements in support of the firings.

"Chancellor Brady is the last person on the UNCG campus who should be deciding or who should have anything to do with the decision on whether Lyda Carpen should be reinstated or should be terminated," he says.

The university, however, will not consider Carpen's request. Imogene Cathey, General Counsel for UNCG, says Brady can be fair when deciding the case.

"As we have said all along, the Chancellor is committed to adherence to the disciplinary process and when, in that process, her deliberation is required, she will consider all the facts and evidence presented," Cathey says in a statement to WFDD.

Carpen's appeal will be heard by a three-member panel. Under normal rules, the panel's decision would be passed on to the university chancellor, who would then either accept or reject the panel's decision.

Cohen says a formal request has been made for Brady to recuse herself from that decision. 

All criminal charges against Carpen were dropped in October. So were the charges against photographers Chris English and David Wilson, after they paid a week's salary for restitution.

Cohen says Carpen's attempt at mediation with the university failed.

It could take a month before a decision on the grievance is made. Cohen says if Carpen is not rehired or the university does not otherwise settle, Carpen will appeal to have an administrative court judge hear the case.

The firings and subsequent arrests sparked a backlash by the university community. For more than a month there were petitions, social media outrage and a silent vigil attended by dozens of supporters.