From a former TMCC employee
As I have not obtained permission to publish this personal e-mail, it will remain "undocumented" (for now).We were discussing how grant money, and equipment purchased with grant money just seemed to vanish."...I was horrified by the way money on grants just “disappeared.” For example, the president wanted two science labs in the Redfield building for the nursing program. We got a federal grant to fund them completely. Then we got a second federal grant to fund them completely. Then, after I left, I was shocked to learn that Ringle went to the Redfield Foundation and got $1 million to fund them AGAIN. "I was going to quit pursuing this... but now with Ringle gone, those responsible will be scurrying like the rats they are trying to CYA. I'm still wondering where "my" $190,000 FISPE grant went for funding the MT Industrial Controls & CNC Labs (plus... what did they do with my "smart" classroom....... and where is that $60,000 worth of training equipment donated & grant funded)??
One other note I got:
"By the way, no one ever got fired from that school for doing poor work. The only people who get let go are ones who made someone personally angry, (like Bill Verbeck, whom Ringle hated). "
Too bad we can't old Bill back and put him in charge of the whole damn college! cl
Ringle steps down from TMCC helm
http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070505/NEWS/705050343/1002Lenita Powers (LPOWERS@RGJ.COM) RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL May 5, 2007
Philip Ringle is stepping down as president of Truckee Meadows Community College immediately because of health problems, the Nevada System of Higher Education announced Friday.
Ringle is on disability leave for a chronic and severe respiratory condition, higher education officials said. He will continue to work with the college until he retires in June 2008, providing advice to an acting president yet to be named.
"Dr. Ringle has served with distinction for five years," a news release from Board of Regents chairman Bret Whipple and other system officials stated. "When Dr. Ringle arrived in 2001, Truckee Meadows Community College was in a difficult period of transition. Under his stewardship and leadership, TMCC now models the highest ideals of academic excellence, student access and fiscal accountability."
Chancellor Jim Rogers said Ringle's departure has nothing to do with a sexual harassment complaint filed last year against him, the second such charge in two years made against him.
Karen Magstadt, Ringle's former executive assistant, filed a complaint that is pending before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, charging him with sexual harassment.
The complaint alleges that Ringle stalked her, following her to the ladies' restroom and waiting outside, following her to her car after work, asking her "inappropriate questions" and creating a hostile work environment.
Magstadt, 50, left her job as Ringle's assistant in January 2006 and transferred to the Redfield Campus south of Reno. She filed her complaint in June.
Ringle could not be reached for comment.
Rogers said he was aware of Magstadt's complaint but not about the details of it.
"That never has been a major concern to me and had nothing to do with what is happening now. He really has very serious health problems, and nothing else is influencing this," Rogers said.
"I can't comment on the complaint; but I can just tell you that I found he was a man of great character, and someone would have to prove otherwise to me," Rogers said.
In 2006, a former employee was paid $10,000 to end a sexual harassment lawsuit against Ringle. TMCC, Ringle and Nevada's System of Higher Education offered to accept a judgment against them if Anne-Louise Bennett would waive any additional claims or costs.
Bennett, 55, had sued Ringle in federal court in Reno, charging he had created a hostile work environment after she refused to accept his offers to have dinner with him and then join him in his hot tub while his wife was out of town.
At that time, Rogers had said the decision to settle the case was preferable to the higher cost of fighting it in court and was no admission of wrongdoing on the part of Ringle, the system or the college.
Bennett, now director of development at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Reno, disagreed. "I thought this meant they recognized what the problem was and would do something about it and get Dr. Ringle help," she had said.
College Settles Sex-Harassment Lawsuit Against President (and comments by Ms. Bennett)
From: The Chronicle of Higher Education: May 1, 2006
http://chronicle.com/news/article/356/college-settles-sex-harassment-lawsuit-against-presidentThe Nevada System of Higher Education has agreed to pay $10,000 to a former employee of Truckee Meadows Community College to settle a sexual-harassment lawsuit against college’s president, Philip M. Ringle.
Anne-Louise Bennett, a former executive director of institutional advancement and foundation at the college, sued Mr. Ringle, the college, and the Nevada higher-education system in November 2005. The suit asserted that Mr. Ringle had created a hostile work environment after Ms. Bennett refused his invitation to have dinner at his home and join him in his hot tub while his wife was out of town.
Mr. Ringle has denied the allegations, and James E. Rogers, chancellor of the Nevada system, said in a memorandum last week that the payment is not an admission of wrongdoing.
“There is absolutely no truth to the allegations made against me,” Mr. Ringle said in a written statement sent to The Chronicle. “As a trustee of the public’s faith and resources, I know that it is important to resolve matters expediently. I am, however, saddened that the legal system has arrived at a place where serious charges must be resolved through financial considerations rather than in the purer pursuit of justice.”
For more on the settlement, see an
article in the Reno Gazette-Journal.
Posted on Monday May 1, 2006
PermalinkComments— Anne-Louise Bennett May 9, 01:32 PM
1. The Nevada System of Higher Education did not “settle” the case. They accepted the judgment against them and Philip Ringle. Here is my response to the Chancellor of NSHE:
Thank you for the update, Chancellor. However, you were not quite clear that what I accepted is an Offer of Judgment, not a common settlement with its confidentiality restrictions; i.e. I won the case.A judgment against NSHE and Phil Ringle is now on record in United States District Court, fully validating the charges in my complaint.I agree with you that this is the best resolution possible: nothing could be better for me, fairer to NSHE, or worse for Phil Ringle.You rightfully supported him until the results of the investigation, and then made the Offer of Judgment when the extent of the damage became evident. My story is just the tip of the iceberg.Money was never the issue. Attorneys seem to find that position incomprehensible, but your gift of service to higher education shows that you understand. I, too, served higher education in Nevada for over a quarter of a century and felt privileged to do so. No amount of money would have induced me to settle, because shining a light on abuse is the only way to stop it. However, I would have accepted an Offer of Judgment at any time for no money at all. (My attorney is very pleased at being paid, of course, and the For Kids Foundation is happy to be receiving any remaining funds as a gift.)I understand Systemese, and I have every confidence that there will be no more victims. That is what I sought. Thank you for making it so easy for me.By the way, your memo neglected to mention the second investigation, conducted by Michael Bland and Associates. I believe that’s the more interesting of the two. As my attorney told me, I won this case and I am at liberty to trumpet it from the rooftops. Spin as much as you like, that is the fact of the case.Sincerely,Anne-Louise BennettFaculty Emerita
