"Egregious Offense" or Retaliation? A University of Arizona Worker's Story

Clarissa’s dedication to her career with the University of Arizona may sound familiar to anyone who has spent their life in higher education—full of devotion with a deep commitment to service. She began work at the U of A in 1997 and, for nearly three decades, became a cornerstone of institutional support and disability advocacy in and outside of the university.

For ten years, she served in the Department of Disability and Psychoeducational Studies (DPS) within the College of Education (COE). Clarissa’s leadership as a Business Manager established benchmarks of equity, inclusion, and innovation, while ensuring the university’s policies and practices were upheld. She raised the bar in conflict resolution and strengthened the process of conducting thorough investigations when staff or faculty were unfairly targeted or accused of wrongdoing. Beyond her role at the University of Arizona, Clarissa’s impact extended statewide as she championed meaningful policy changes to advance the rights of individuals with disabilities in Arizona.

Her record speaks volumes. She lobbied for pay equity for faculty and staff, boosted revenue by strengthening course enrollments, and brought expertise in academic finance and strategic planning to sustain programs long-term. She expanded access to American Sign Language classes for faculty and staff—an initiative that directly supported Deaf students and colleagues within the College of Education. She also played a pivotal role in advancing philanthropic fundraising for DPS programs, ensuring critical support for students most in need. Beyond these efforts, she served on the College of Education’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, turning equity from principle into practice, and contributed as a Wellness Ambassador, promoting mental health and work-life balance across the college.

Clarissa’s contributions went beyond budgets and administration; she helped weave University of Arizona purpose, mission and values into the fabric of her department and college. To Clarissa, her work was not just a job—it was a career built on values and advocacy.

Throughout it all, Clarissa pursued her academic dreams at the U of A, holding two bachelor’s degrees - in Ethics and Global Media, respectively - and was in the process of pursuing her Master’s in Mild Moderate Disabilities within the department she was fired from; she would have graduated in Spring 2024. She had hopes of applying to the Education Leadership PhD program also from the college in which she was fired.

The values the University of Arizona claimed to uphold were called into question when Clarissa repeatedly reported concerns to the former Dean, former Assistant Dean of Finance, former Financial and HR Directors, and the Department Head regarding financial mismanagement and labor law violations within the College of Education between Fall 2022 and October 2023. Rather than addressing the serious issues raised, COE senior leadership retaliated against Clarissa swiftly and severely. In a single stroke, her professional standing, moral character, reputation, and livelihood were left in ruins.

January 2020 – October 2023 | Withholding of Budgets

The former Assistant Dean of Finance failed to distribute departmental budgets across the College of Education, obstructing planning and accountability at every level. 

Summer 2022 | Disappearance of Departmental Funds

The former Assistant Dean of Finance removed all funds from departmental accounts—including nearly $600,000 from the Department of Disability and Psychoeducational Studies—while assuring continued support. These funds were pooled into a central account. Those assurances later collapsed under the claim of “lack of funding” and there was no transparency of how the money was allocated. 

Fall 2022 – Spring 2023 | Employment Violations Ignored

Reports were made to senior leadership regarding students and faculty being hired without proper institutional procedures (including I-9 verification), failure to honor written offer letters, and staff and faculty being required to cover multiple roles without compensation. Despite these serious violations, no action was taken by the public bodies defined under ABOR.

Spring – Summer 2023 | Concealed Deficits

The full scope of financial deficits was withheld from departments and their business managers, leaving key individuals who could have assisted in the dark as conditions worsened.

2023 | Raises Amid Deficits

Even as deficits mounted, the former Assistant Dean of Finance secured substantial salary increases* for herself and another dean—totaling more than $50,000 including ERE, while denying overdue base-pay increases for faculty and staff. 

College-wide deficits were publicly disclosed December 2023 (post-termination).

*Salary information is available publicly online.

Despite the former Dean’s positive communication with the department and his open-door policy, even emailing Clarissa “I appreciate your thought leadership," he circumvented her supervisor with accelerated termination in October 2023. Clarissa was falsely blamed for a delayed payment to a student worker who had not been properly hired by faculty in the department. The payment for which she was terminated was assigned and managed by the portfolio of another department. Upon returning from vacation, she was abruptly terminated without warning. Administration decidedly ignored the university’s Performance Management Guidelines in this decision and the recommendation by the VP of HR to provide a written warning.

Clarissa was terminated without ever being consulted or given the chance to respond to the accusations against her. She was denied the opportunity to present the sequence of events, identify those involved, or clarify the circumstances.

For Clarissa and her family, the consequences have been devastating. She lost her position; the termination of her health insurance disrupted her cancer treatment; her progress toward completing her master’s degree was cut short; and her son’s educational stability was thrown into uncertainty. Clarissa would have been eligible for full retirement in 2026 had she not been terminated. Now, nearly two years into the legal battle since her October 2023 termination, Clarissa is preparing for a jury trial and facing additional legal fees projected to exceed $150,000. 

The moral of the story is that labor laws in Arizona are very slim. Your protections as a worker are mostly non-existent. You, like Clarissa, can be  retaliated against for raising issues of public concern at any time for any reason. Decision-makers, like the university administration in this story, have no reason to be accountable to the people and workers who serve the institution. The people making these decisions are acting with impunity because they have the protections that most workers don’t have.

Clarissa brought her story to our attention because for her, silence is not an option. She believes that public institutions must protect those who expose wrongdoing, not destroy them. Clarissa hopes that her trial will bring about a strong and transparent policy for whistleblowers - which is currently extremely lacking - and limits on the use of termination. Workers should be able to do their jobs to the best of their abilities, not cowering in silence, electing not to provide feedback in fear of losing everything.

Our fight as your campus labor union, United Campus Workers of Arizona, CWA Local 7065, is to enshrine the protections that workers deserve. We are fighting for job security, thriving wages, and fair benefits. Join your labor union, because the protections you think you have at work might not be defending you at all. 

You can support Clarissa’s legal battle by giving to her GoFundMe and by sharing her story.