UNCG Faculty Concerned; Want More Answers On Firings

The UNC Greensboro Board of Trustees is bringing in an independent panel to review university policy surrounding outside employment for faculty and staff.

The move comes after three employees were fired last month and now face criminal charges in connection with using university time and property for a private business.

At a meeting Monday, board members spoke in support of administration officials who have been criticized for their handling of the situation. Margaret Moffett is a reporter who has been covering the story for the News & Record of Greensboro. She explains to WFDD's Paul Garber how the investigation began and what it could mean for the university.

Moffett says the firings and arrests have caused a backlash and created uncertainty among faculty and staff.

"My colleagues and I have received many emails sent anonymously  from people who are scared that they're going to lose their jobs because of their own secondary employment ouside the university," says Moffet. 

She tells Garber that there are still unanswered questions about who brought the charges against the former employees.

"The chancellor and the trutees have reiterated several times that it was in fact the district attorney that brought about the charges, not the university," says Moffet. "To me, that seems like a difference in semantics. The arrest warrants list UNCG as the complainant and [associate vice chancellor for university relations] Paul Mason as the witness. So the question remains who initiated the investigation into the three employees?"