Paper trails and transfers
Between late 2024 and early 2025, Merced College experienced a shake-up. Multiple faculty members and staff resigned, another found all of her classes cancelled, and hundreds of students were left scrambling to fulfill graduation requirements.
One dean at the college appeared to be at the center of this turmoil. John Albano was the subject of nearly a dozen complaints filed by faculty and staff who allege he discriminated against women and minority employees. Even though an outside investigation cleared Albano of wrongdoing, Albano was transferred to a dean position in a different school on campus that did not match his subject matter expertise.
In February 2026, he announced plans to step out of his leadership role and back into a faculty position. Albano and college officials maintain the move is unrelated to the complaints – but many faculty and staff still have questions about whether the entire process was handled fairly.
These stories, based on more than one hundred pages of public documents, additional documents obtained from sources and interviews with nearly two dozen campus sources, explore the allegations against Albano, how he and campus officials responded, the impact on students and the employees who filed complaints, and why some say the problems may point to systemic issues.
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In late 2024, at least 10 faculty members and employees submitted complaints alleging discrimination by a Merced College dean. Reporting by KVPR and The Merced FOCUS found all of the allegations were ultimately dismissed, but college officials still decided to move the dean to a different department – before he later stepped back into a faculty role. Some complainants say they’ve been the subject of retaliation. -
The college’s two ethnic studies professors resigned in late 2024. Though their reasons for leaving are not fully known, just a month before, they were among at least 10 employees who filed complaints against the dean, many of whom alleged workplace intimidation and discrimination. -
After a dean at Merced College was transferred to a new school within the campus and later announced a second move into a faculty position, college faculty and employees who lodged complaints against him question whether the move resolves their concerns. -
How KVPR and The Merced FOCUS reported "Paper Trails and Transfers."
