This story was published as part of a series called Paper Trails and Transfers in collaboration with The Merced FOCUS.
LOS BANOS, Calif. — Merced College leaders addressed topics of workplace culture and conflict during — and after — a board meeting in Los Banos on Tuesday.
The comments from leaders of the college's faculty union, administrators and board of trustees either directly responded to or seemed to allude to a recent investigation published by KVPR and The Merced FOCUS in early March.
The news outlets’ series of investigative stories peered into events that took place after at least 10 employees filed complaints against Merced College Dean John Albano in 2024. The complaints, which alleged gender and discrimination, led to a campus shake-up for many faculty, employees and students.
According to KVPR and The Merced FOCUS reporting, after the complaints were filed, two third-party investigations found no wrongdoing by dean Albano. Some complaints were dismissed on procedural grounds, while others were determined to have unsubstantial evidence or exonerated the dean.
But during the human resource investigative process, Albano became dean of another department. He then announced earlier this year he plans to step back into a faculty role for the upcoming fall semester. Two faculty members and one staff member also resigned shortly after filing complaints, and a part-time faculty member had all of her classes canceled. Some of the resignations resulted in hundreds of students being displaced from a required class.
Megan Igo, the president of the Merced College Faculty Association, kicked off the comments Tuesday afternoon during her union’s report to the board.
“The district seems to be trying to ignore” the recent media reports, she said.
“The reporting reveals this administration's unwillingness to adequately supervise their supervisors, and the strategy of ignoring the reports illustrate the administration's strategy for employee concerns and complaints,” Igo said. “This is not about one dean. This is about an administration who tries to cover problems rather than address them, who protects people who need training, rather than address the actual issues.”
Merced College President Chris Vitelli did not respond to Igo’s comments during the board meeting. But he did address them after the meeting when approached by a KVPR and The Merced FOCUS reporter. The comment marked the first time he directly responded to the news outlets’ reporting on the matter.
“We take all concerns of employees very seriously,” Vitelli said. “We care deeply about our employees. We care deeply about anyone that has concerns. We look into them, and we always will – and we have policies and procedures, and we always follow those accordingly.”
After the interview, Vitelli claimed he did not know the reporter was recording and asked for the interview to not be used in publication or broadcast. The reporter introduced herself to him, was wearing a media badge with her name and news outlet and held her audio recorder and microphone in plain sight — all of which are consistent with newsrooms’ standards and California laws about recording.
After some discussion, Vitelli agreed to let the reporter quote him in writing but said he did not agree to the news outlets publishing or broadcasting the audio recording.
Trustees, campus community allude to conflict
Following Igo’s comment to the board, two trustees seemed to respond to workplace conflicts during their reports by speaking about media coverage and conflict.
Trustee Mario Mendoza, who represents the areas of Livingston and Delhi in Merced County, spoke about two concepts he said he learned in a sociology class while attending Merced College at the Los Banos campus: the definitions of a personal issue and a social issue.
“When only one person [or] a few individuals raise concern, it is typically considered a personal matter. However, when a group of people or the majority of people experience or report the same concern because of social issues, it becomes a social issue,” Mendoza explained. “With that being said, we don't investigate any personal matters.”
Reporters from KVPR and The Merced FOCUS tried to confirm with Mendoza after the meeting if his comment was directed at Igo’s comment about workplace conflict, but he exited through a back door after saying he’d be right back to speak with them.
Trustee Ernie Ochoa, who represents the city of Atwater and other unincorporated areas on the board, also mentioned the press during his board report. He did not directly address Igo’s comments or KVPR and The Merced FOCUS’s reporting. Instead, he mentioned the power of positive media coverage after sharing an unrelated story about a campus basketball court named after former professional basketball player and Merced College basketball coach Don Reid.
“I think about those stories because the community needs to know of those stories,” Ochoa said. “There truly is a lot of power in positive press…It has a big impact on our children, on our K-12 schools.”
Ochoa could not be reached after the board meeting for further questions about his statement.
John Albano was also in attendance for the board meeting, but he did not make any public comments.
One campus leader did acknowledge Albano. Alfredo Mendoza, the Director of Grants Development, thanked Albano for his service while giving his report to the board.
“Dean [Albano] has done an incredible job over the years,” Mendoza said. “We are grateful for his leadership and the lasting contributions he has made to our college community.”
