20161207 DOL Davis Interview
Employee Name: Ellen F. Davis
Date: December 7, 2016 @ 11:5pm
Race: White
Gender: Female
Veteran Status: Non Veteran
Current Job Title: Official JT: Amos Ragan Kearns Professor of Bible and Practical Theology
Previous JT: Interim Dean at the time of the meeting that was requested by Mr. Struble
Starting Date in Position: 7-1-2001
Previous Position(s) with Duke University: No.
Starting Date(s) in Previous Position(s): NA
Starting Date with Duke University: 7-1-2001
Other Prior Experience: Professor at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria VA from 1996-2001.
Education: PHD from Yale University; BA University of California in Berkley
I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Is the current position you stated the same job and title that you had during January 1, 2015 – August 31, 2016?
I was Interim Dean at the Divinity School.
If not, what was your job title?
(see answer to #1)
What are your current job duties as it relates to hiring TA employees? What were they during the review period?
None
Provide a brief description of the various tasks and responsibilities that you currently perform including how many employees are currently supervised by you. (If available, provide a written job description).
I supervise other people but not in that area [Teaching Assistants (TAs)]. Supervising TAs never came to my attention. Supervising TAs are handled by an Associate Dean for Academic Programs [Dr. Jeff Conklin-Miller]. He reported to me and we will discuss if there are any issues. When I was Interim Dean there were 51 faculty and 100 staff and 650 students under my supervision.
Who supervises you?
Last year the Provost of the University, who is the Chief Academic Officer and the President of the University.
Describe the chain of command.
President
Provost – Chief Academic Officer
What are the written policies or guidelines that bear on your role in hiring decisions of TAs? (Obtain a copy)
Not applicable per answer to #3
Have you received training about hiring TA employees?
Not applicable per answer to #3
a. Who provided the training? NA
b. What was the content of the training? NA
c. How frequently has it taken place? NA
d. What was its duration and type (for example, one-hour webinar, one-week in person, etc.)? NA
e. When was your last training? NA
f. Is there any documentation of this training? If so, please provide a copy. NA
g. Did the Complainant talk about non-favorable treatment of veteran students, veteran employees or both. Please explain. NA
h. Did you know about the removal of the flyers posted by the complainant? When was it? Why? NA
II. HIRING:
Do you know the complainant (Logan Martin Isaac)?
I do. His last name was different. He was called Mehl-Laituri. At some point he got married. He legally changed his name; I want to say it was changed in 2015-2016(attorney). (Exhibit H to the position statement on 12-1-2015)
How long have you known him?
I think he was my student in a lecture class when he was a student at the Divinity School. That class had 160-170 students so I couldn't tell you. It was a MA we don't do BA at the School.
What is your employment relationship with the complainant?
None.
What role did you play in rejecting the complainant for 2016 summer semester assignment?
None
Why was the complainant rejected? NA
How was he notified? When? NA
Who else was involved? NA
Was he provided a rejection notice? If so, please provide a copy. NA
Was the complainant asked to sign any documents when you rejected him? Did he sign them? Please provide a copy. NA
Please describe in detail the events which led you to reject the complainant. Please provide names of those involved and the specific dates for each action(s).
Not applicable per answer to #10.
On February 29, 2016, the Complainant, Logan Martin Isaac, brought his concerns about how veterans are treated at Duke University and you referred this issue to Dan Struble, the Dean of external Relations to investigate this situation. Please describe:
I do remember that he came to see me at the Deans Office. Allegation will be a stronger word. He said that he felt veteran concerns. I remember he asked me if we had any faculty members who were veterans. I said I don't know. He asked about the staff, and I referred him to Dan [Struble] who is one of our senior staff deans of the divinity school. Dan is a Navy reserve commander I believe who gives prominence to his military activity. I am not sure if he is still active reserve. He keeps pictures, albums in his office. I could be wrong but I think that he was not making an allegation but expressing concern that the divinity school didn't have enough veteran's and the presence of the staff was not well known. I referred him to Dan because I knew that he would be sympathetic. I didn't refer him about a TA concern because Dan didn't have anything to do with that. I knew from years past that we had veteran students in the past and don't always feel that their voice is prominent at the divinity school.
Did Dan create a team to investigate these allegations?
Again allegation is a strong term. I will express it as a concern. What I remember next is that there was a meeting in my office, Dan was there, [redacted] in Divinity School and [redacted], the Chaplain (I invited him), I received an invitation to send someone to the military chaplain's conference. I remember talking about going to lunch with students from the veteran's organization. I gathered people that can contribute to see if we can get attention to the student veteran's participation at the divinity school. Again, I wasn't addressing Logan's concerns. I don't remember exactly when the meeting was and we were getting a new Dean, shortly after she was appointed, she did some work with the Army and comes from a military family, which makes her being sympathetic to these issues. Veteran concerns were more than an issue for me. I thought let's put this on the radar. Yesterday at the faculty meeting, one of the vets came and presented himself and talked about the presence of vets on campus, and shared problems and concerns in general. The student who presented on behalf of the vets said that things have gotten much better in the last 2 years. Megan Benson was hired as a New Chaplain last year and when I tried to call her, she was at the military chaplain's conference so she couldn't attend the meeting. There was a meeting yesterday which was for faculty and others by invitation. Logan was not there. The student was representing about the student veteran's organization and [redacted] was invited to make a presentation. The new Dean does work as a consultant for the Army in the area of sexual abuse and she has done some consulting around that issue. I believe she comes from a military family.
Any follow up on the recommendations?
Nothing official. Sometime last year there was a service at the divinity school that was put up by the vets and it was very moving. There was no direct follow up from the Dean's office.
Any plans to meet the concerns of the complainant?
I don't remember. No reason from my perspective. I think Dan met with him more than once, but again I was not seeking an official outcome. I was not aware that there was a case. So I was registering and wanting to make sure that people in admin positions that the general issue got some attention.
Have you rejected other applicants within the last two years? If yes, please identify the employee by name and identify the veteran status, if known, date of rejection, contact information (to include address and telephone number) and please identify the offense committed and penalty issued to the employee.
I ran a search for a senior director of admissions and financial aid, so we hired an applicant. There were a number of people who applied for the position. I don't know the names of the ones that got rejected. I don't know if they were any veterans rejected. I was paying attention to their skill sets.
Did you consult with any other management officials when deciding whether to reject the complainant?
I consulted with a group that we call the strategy team which is a group of 7-8 administrators from the divinity school.
If yes, with whom did you consult, when and how did this consultation occur, and what was the substance of the consultation?
I wanted an ordain United Methodist with considerable experience in the church and academic administration.
Please provide any documentation.
We went thru HR at the University and so all of that from the time of posting the job description and to the time of hiring all will be documented thru HR office.
What advice did other management officials provide to you regarding disciplining or rejecting the complainant? Other employees? Did you follow it? Why or why not?
NA
Is Duke's rejection process spelled out anywhere? Is it given to employees? Was it followed consistently with this Complainant?
I believe there is actually one. At the end of the process there is a report. At the end you have to say how many people were hired. When someone has an interview you have to say why you didn't choose them. In that case I was conscious of why I was selecting one person vs. the other.
The Complainant alleges that he was retaliated against because of his veteran status and filed an informal complaint. Then, he was reinstated as a TA. He also stated that he is suffering from mental anguish resulting from his employment with Duke University. Are you aware of these allegations? Did you make any recommendation or plan to resolve these allegations? Please explain.
No actually. I heard what he has spoken to me about not being accepted to the doctoral program. I wasn't aware of the mental anguish allegation. In fact I only heard about this a couple of days ago. I didn't know that Logan was teaching, or maybe I forgotten. The divinity school has a spring term from Jan-April; then fall End of Aug-Mid December. We don't have a summer semester. A TA may be higher for spring or fall. In the summer the courses that are taught are in intensive Greek and intensive Hebrew; sometimes if we have enough students. There is a maximum of two courses and they are staffed by or doctoral degree senior students, writing their dissertations. Logan is not in one of those programs. To me the allegation is incoherent. There is no formal process, the senior students will approach the faculty and then two people will teach the summer courses. There is no formal application process. We accept one doctoral student once a year, we are talking about one or two qualified people to teach the summer course. An email goes out to the students if they want to enroll in an intensive language course and sometimes nobody wants to. We need 4 people to make a class. A doctoral student in one of those two tracks Old Testament and new testament will qualify and if interested and if the course has enough students then they will teach the class. When we accept Doctoral students and when there are opportunities of directed readings of this kind, they will not be advertised; It is not the same system as the preceptors who are open in the PHD program students and out of the PHD program. The opportunities will be given to the THD students.
(Attorney clarification: There are no preceptors for the summer courses. They are called instructors.)
At some point he told me that he had applied and had not been accepted to the doctorial programs. I think he also told me that he applied the previous year and not entered or maybe put on a waiting list. He never used mental anguish. I honestly don't know why he shared that information with me so there is no point in speculating. I have no control over admissions.
Did the complainant's veteran status play a role in the decision to reject him after the Spring Semester of 2016? Please explain.
I am not part of the decision making group
The Complainant also alleges retaliation for asking questions concerning veterans because he was subsequently not invited back as a TA after Spring Semester of 2016. What is your response to this allegation?
I know nothing about it.
Did the complainant's questioning about veteran status concern play a role in the decision of not being invited him back as a TA after Spring Semester of 2016? Please explain.
NA
Who makes the final decision on TA rejection?
I don't know.
Can employees appeal rejections?
It has never come up to my knowledge.
What are the causes or reasons for rejections?
I do not know
III. EEO/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION:
How would you describe the workplace culture with respect to diversity and inclusion for Veterans at Duke University?
In November we just had a gathering of student's veterans and staff members on Memorial Day. It was a public gathering in front of the Chapel. As I said there was a special service in the Divinity Chapel each year. At the faculty meeting a student veteran spoke about [redacted] concerns to the faculty. I will say it is an inclusive culture and is becoming more inclusive. I invited last year the head of the Chaplains of the Marines, and he will be coming to visit us at the divinity school in two years, for two days. It was another attempt to engage the veterans amongst our students. I am a member of Duke Chapel who heard one of the senior Army Official to come and speak at the service in chapel at the university.
Does Duke University have an EEO Policy? Please provide a copy.
Already provided
Are supervisors held accountable for adhering to this policy? Explain how?
Absolutely.
Describe how Duke University shares this policy with its employees, applicants and managers.
We have an HR person in the main administrative section of the divinity school and she sends notices to all of us on a regular basis. Whenever we are hiring a faculty or staff member every step of that process is worked out. [redacted] name is [redacted]. If there are questions [redacted] takes it to the university administration. Bob Kanevel - Chief of Financial Administration. He works hand in hand with [redacted] [redacted] also has meetings with the office of Institutional Equity. Last yr. we had presentations
How does the company policy ensure that employees are not harassed because of their veteran status? How and when is the policy communicated to employees and managers?
If there were a complaint, which I have not being aware of one before this, the complaint will be brought to the OIE (Office of Institutional Equity) and they investigate. A person can also contact the OIE office. I am not aware of anything as a result of veteran status.
Who is responsible for checking the establishment for EEO postings?
I don't know.
How often does the check occur? NA
Describe how Duke University shares this policy with unions, subcontractors, the public, and community groups.
There are three unions at the University. I don't know. I don't want to guess. I can say that the University HR Office has its own website to include union information.
When and what type of training did you receive regarding the University's EEO and/or harassment policy and any other of its Affirmative Action Program and EEO obligations?
No formal training process but a number of meetings with [redacted] and Bob Kanevel. Usually twice a week; frequent telephonic conversations with the Provost and with the OIE, Benjamin Reese. I came into be an intern for the divinity school on an emergency basis.
Has Duke University ever used an equal employment opportunity or non-discrimination statement in any of its materials (e.g. employment manual)? If so, do the materials cover veteran status discrimination?
I believe all the materials are available on the website.
Does Duke University have an internal complaint process for discrimination, harassment and retaliation issues raised by employees? If so, does that process cover veteran status discrimination issues?
Thru the Office of Institutional Equity (OIE).
IV. DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE:
When did you become aware of the complainant's veteran status? Please provide date.
I don't know.
Did you ask complainant about his veteran status? When? How? Where? How did you react? Explain.
No. I remember him attending a worship service and we dedicated an icon to Margin of Tour who was a soldier and a saint. I remember him being involved at that service. I think it was May 2011 probably. I don't remember if he played a role in the service but he was probably in the front. Whether or not he was a veteran I don't know.
Do you know of other employees at Duke University who are veterans? If yes, have they ever mentioned discrimination or negative treatment? Please be specific.
Apart from Dan Struble, no. He comes immediately to mind. He never mentioned any negative treatment.
How do you know about their veteran status?
In his office there is a large picture of the naval ship where he was a commander. And his hat sits on his cabinet. He frequently discusses his time in the navy.
How do you know about their treatment? (e.g., personal observations, email, gossip, etc.)
See# 38
Do you know of any veteran managers or supervisor at Duke University? If yes, have they ever mentioned discrimination or negative treatment? Please be specific.
Dan is the only one I can think of, among the people who I work close with, no negative treatment mentioned.
How do you know about their veteran status?
See #38
How do you know about their treatment? (e.g., personal observations, email, gossip, etc.)
See #38
Is there anything else you would like to add at this time?
I would say that there are a lot of veterans and career military in my family including my father. It is something to be proud of.
The information I have provided above is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge and recollection.
Interviewee: [Signature redacted (6), (7)(C)]
Date: 12/7/2016
Compliance Officer: [Signature redacted]
Date:
