By: Madison Lira
In an email sent out just before the start of the 2023-2024 school year, CSU Pueblo’s Director of Compliance in the Department of Human Resources and Institutional Equity, Dr. Nicole Ferguson, turned in her resignation letter based on allegations of bullying, harassment, and upper management’s failure to remedy these issues.
In her resignation letter, Dr. Ferguson reiterated several instances of bullying and harassment. In an interview with The TODAY, she pointed out that some of these instances included student concerns with these behaviors. According to Dr. Ferguson, instead of following the laws and policies in place according to Title IX, upper administration failed multiple times to address these issues. “In my opinion, we were not complying with those laws and policies,” she said, “The President of the University has a cabinet, and there a number of vice presidents who serve on that cabinet, so when I mention campus leadership that’s who I was referring to specifically.”
Dr. Ferguson also claimed she faced retaliation from administration for attempting to uphold policies and laws. “My performance evaluation went so far as to state that I “lacked good judgment” by informing upper management they had been non-compliant, and points were removed from my merit score as a result,” she stated in her letter.
She said that she reached out to multiple people for support, including her supervisor, campus attorney, and the Colorado State University system, when she began hitting brick walls with upper management. It was her breaking point.
“I have been in this position since last March, and I didn’t really have an idea of how widespread and systemic these issues were until I took this position. I was trying to make change,” she said. “I was continuing to ask for help, and it felt like it wasn’t being heard or no change was occurring.”-Dr.Nicole Ferguson
At this time, CSU Pueblo has said they cannot comment on the personnel matters relating to Dr. Ferguson’s resignation. According to CSU Pueblo’s website, “CSU Pueblo is committed to equal educational and employment opportunities and to the elimination of all forms of Discrimination, Protected Class Harassment, and Retaliation. Furthermore, CSU Pueblo is committed to maintaining respectful, safe, and nonthreatening educational, working, and living environments.”
