College of DuPage education professor Shannon Delgado publicly confirmed at the June 25 Board of Trustees meeting that she was the faculty member placed on involuntary paid administrative leave earlier this year, calling on administration to apologize for what she described as a failure of due process. According to Delgado, she was originally placed on leave facing allegations of misappropriated funds but later was told she was placed on leave due to student complaints. 

“I was removed from my duties without notice, explanation or the ability to present information on my behalf,” Delgado stated. 

The Courier reached out to college administration in the Human Resources department for a comment on Delgado’s leave and Jenn Duda, director of Media Relations and Community Engagement, responded with a statement from the college. 

“College of DuPage has completed the internal review process referenced at the April Board meeting,” the statement said. “We recognize that workplace investigations of any kind can be challenging for everyone involved — both the reporting and responding parties. To respect and protect the privacy of our employees and students, the College does not comment on specific employee and student matters. We remain dedicated to ensuring every matter is handled appropriately, fairly and with the utmost care.”

Delgado, a tenured full-time faculty member who has taught at COD for 12 years, teaches in the Education program and previously served as adviser for the Aspiring Educators student organization. She said she has never previously been reprimanded and was named Outstanding Aspiring Educators Advisor for the State of Illinois at last year’s Illinois Education Association-Aspiring Educators conference. Delgado resigned from her role as the Aspiring Educators Advisor on Feb. 19, one day before she was placed on paid administrative leave. 

Delgado stated the situation started on Feb. 19 when Mark Rudisill, dean of faculty, texted her to ask for a meeting. Delgado refused after requesting welfare representation be present but was denied. She said another faculty member, who Delgado declined to name, texted her and told her to speak with Lisa Stock, associate vice president of academic affairs, after Delgado declined to meet Rudisill. 

The Courier reached out to Rudisill for comment, who directed The Courier to Marji Swanson. Swanson has not left a comment. The previous statement from Duda was sent after the Courier reached out to Stock.

The following day, Delgado said she was placed on paid leave during a Zoom meeting. In an interview with The Courier, she said she was not told the specific allegation against her until about seven weeks later, despite being told she would receive information the following week. 

According to Delgado, the investigation initially involved an allegation that she misappropriated more than $11,000 connected to the Aspiring Educators club. She said the money had been transferred to the College of DuPage Foundation and was intended to be moved into a Student Life account for the organization. 

“If they would have told me on Feb. 20 and pulled up all the invoices of all the concerts we worked at, those invoices would have matched all the money that seemed I was misappropriating,” Delgado said.  

When reaching out to Jelymar Mejia, student club specialist, about the Student Life Accounts and the alleged misappropriation of $11,000, she stated, “I can not give any comment.” 

Delgado believed the financial allegation was later no longer a concern, but that the college continued searching for more reasons to justify placing her on leave. She stated that there were student complaints including allegations of acting in an intimidating or unprofessional manner, as well as concerns about family members participating in Student Life activities. She claimed she was unaware of a COD policy, Student Life rule or union contract provision that prohibited family members from participating. 

Delgado questioned the student complaints in the investigation, saying they were insufficiently redacted when provided to her, leaving students’ names visible. Delgado also said that the complaints she was given contained repeated language and that they seemed to have been plagiarized from each other. She said one complaint included the statement, “I was asked to write this,” which led her to question whether a student had been pressured to submit it. 

Delgado declined to provide The Courier the names of the students who made the complaints. 

Delgado said she was cleared to return to work on May 22, after approximately 13 weeks on leave. However, she said she could not fully resume her duties until May 27, as her college laptop remained locked. She said she returned to roughly 1,400 unanswered emails and had to prepare for a class beginning June 1. 

“[This situation] has tarnished my reputation,” Delgado said. “There are rumors that are going around as to why exactly I was put on administrative leave.” 

Delgado spoke during the June 25 board of trustees meeting, and detailed the effect that the situation has had on her professional efforts. During the public comment section, Delgado requested a formal apology, arguing that the college did not follow its own due process policies, outlined in Board Policy 4.10, which states, “A notice of suspension shall be in writing, with copies provided to the Employee and Human Resources for inclusion in the Employee’s file.” 

She cited Section C.10.1 of the faculty bargaining agreement during her statement as well. Section C.10.1 states, “Only documents contained in the Faculty Member’s file may be used for disciplinary purposes or referenced in his/her evaluation.” 

“I do believe a formal apology should be put in my personnel file, as the verbal warning was put in my personnel file,” Delgado said. 

Standing alongside Delgado, Kenneth Orenic, a library faculty member, spoke during public comment. 

“A culture of care is not measured by what we say,” Orenic said. “It must be demonstrated through our actions, especially when members of our community face accusations that place a professional reputation, livelihood and well-being at risk.” 

Missy Mouritsen, a political science professor, also spoke on Delgado’s behalf during the public comment. Mouritsen called for an independent third-party review of the investigation and its aftermath.

“I’m asking you once again for an outside third-party investigation into the investigation that led to the faculty being put on administrative leave, the investigation itself and the aftermath,” Morrison stated.

As faculty members continue calling for an independent review, Delgado said a formal apology would demonstrate whether COD is prepared to repair trust with faculty members.

“A formal apology would help ensure that this type of persecution does not continue to be the norm,” Delgado said. “It would show that the current board and administration are truly committed to repairing this relationship.”