By Jacob Swiecicki, Staff Reporter.
Michael Wiltse’s wrongful-termination lawsuit against Delta College, President Jean Goodnow, and Vice President Margaret Mosqueda has officially been thrown out by Bay County Circuit Judge Kenneth Schmidt.
Wiltse, the former Director of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Training, was fired on June 12, 2013 due to “serious willful misconduct,” according to documents filed by Delta’s defense attorney, Brian Swanson.
Wiltse, represented by attorney Tom Pabst, sued the college last year, and after months of depositions and motions, Schmidt ruled that Wiltse’s claims lacked merit.
Pabst maintains that the decision won’t hold up and has appealed the local court’s decision to the Michigan Court of Appeals.
“I’m confident they will reverse the decision,” stated Pabst of Schmidt’s ruling to dismiss.
Although the case has been dismissed, the “discovery” phase of the lawsuit reveals several instances of conflict between Goodnow and Wiltse leading up to his termination.
Wiltse’s alleged misconduct, according to deposition transcripts reviewed by the Delta Collegiate, involve sharing with several people the intimate details of alleged on-campus sexual contacts between a former Delta faculty member and two of his students.
When asked during his deposition to whom he had divulged the information, Wiltse responded, “Members of my police department. My wife. Police chief from Bay City.” He added that he also told “the police chief of Wayne County Community College, I believe his last name to be Muhammad.”
Wiltse, also the former Delta women’s softball coach, admitted to discussing the purported professor-student affair with Greg Mallek, the Athletic Director at Lansing Community College, while drinking beer at Buffalo Wild Wings. Wiltse determined that no crime had been committed in the situation because both students were at least 18 and the reported sexual encounters were consensual.
In justifying Wiltse’s firing, college administrators argued that his discussion of the allegations, even without naming student names, amounted to a violation of a federal law that protects the privacy of students’ educational records.
Shooting remarks trigger controversy
The sexual “gossip” was not the first conflict between Wiltse and Goodnow, deposition testimony shows. In August of 2012, Wiltse upset top administrators by making comments about the shooting of a 49-year-old mentally ill Saginaw resident, Milton Hall. Hall was a black man who was shot to death by six police officers while wielding a knife in Saginaw.
Afterwards, Wiltse was interviewed by WNEM-TV 5, and discussed how Delta College law enforcement students are trained “that if there’s a threat, that’s when we shoot, to eliminate the threat.” Wiltse was quoted as saying that the fact that Hall had a knife made the situation “lethal.” Read the WNEM story here: www.wnem.com/story/19209213/milton-hall-coverage-police-trained-to-eliminate-threat
Wiltse also was quoted by Mlive making similar statements.
After the statements appeared in the media, Goodnow called Wiltse into her office to ask him to write an apology letter to the community, he said in his deposition. Wiltse refused to apologize for his statements.
Goodnow indicated in her deposition that board of trustees members from Saginaw were unhappy with Wiltse’s public comments and she believed they reflected poorly on Delta.
Cadet image dispute gets hairy
Another conflict between Wiltse and Goodnow centered on the hairstyle of the Delta College Law Enforcement Academy cadets, which Wiltse oversaw during his employment at Delta. Goodnow contended that shaving the heads of police cadets was giving the college a negative image. Wiltse took that as a comment on his own appearance, since he also shaves his head.
Pabst argued that the college discriminated against Wiltse because Goodnow perceived him as a “white skin-headed, probably KKK, macho white male who shoots to kill, a la the movie character Dirty Harry.” Pabst stated this in Wiltse’s lawsuit, formally known as a “complaint” and demand for jury trial.
College officials, including Goodnow, declined to comment on the allegations documented in court records.
In defending against Wiltse’s claim that he was unlawfully fired, however, Goodnow argued that Wiltse’s firing was not personal. She insists he was fired because his many admitted statements about the alleged professor-student affair violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which requires student consent to disclose educational records.
Wiltse, who now works with the Clinton County Regional Educational Service Agency at Lansing Community College, provided the Delta Collegiate a statement via email:
“I love what Delta College means to the Great Lakes Bay Region, as a former student, employee, and community member. I am proud of all of the accomplishments that were completed while employed by Delta. I had the opportunity to work with many great students, athletes, and fellow employees, who continue to do great things within our community. I miss working with the outstanding students and employees of the college and I will always bleed Pioneer green.”
Second suit settled
Meanwhile, a second civil lawsuit involving Wiltse and Delta College has been settled. The suit was brought by a former Delta Human Resource staff member and was dismissed after the two sides reached a settlement through a mediator.
Bay County Circuit Judge Harry P. Gill dismissed that civil suit on Nov. 4.
The plaintiff first brought the lawsuit nearly five years ago, claiming that Wiltse violated her rights and sexually harassed her after she reported being stalked while at work via the Internet by a former romantic partner. Allegedly Wiltse refused to treat the matter as a crime because of her sexual orientation.
The plaintiff sued Wiltse, Mosqueda and two other former Delta administrators for more than $25,000 as well as attorney fees, alleging sexual harassment and other violations due, in part, to inappropriate statements that were reportedly made by Wiltse when he was investigating her harassment complaint.
According to the lawsuit, rather than focusing on the alleged criminal threats made toward the victim, Wiltse reportedly said, “What is it about girls that you like?” and “You are every man’s fantasy, you are bisexual!”
Arguing that Delta College violated its policies and her rights by retaliating against her for filing the complaint, the plaintiff in that case was first suspended and eventually terminated after reporting the alleged stalking and then filed a sexual harassment complaint against Wiltse.
Delta’s disciplinary action policy requires progressive discipline and promises no action will be taken against an employee without “adequate and just cause,” according to the lawsuit.
The terms of the settlement, including any payment, were not made public in the court file. The Delta Collegiate was unable to reach the plaintiff for comment.