Help me get a fair hearing of my grievance for wrongful denial of my right to teach in the UVM’s economics department


John is a huge asset to UVM...exceptional, approachable, fair and challenging…students enjoy his teaching.” —  Associate Dean Patricia Corcoran, Director of UVM’s Student Affairs Division.

The above words were taken from a letter written by Dean Corcoran in support of my reappointment as lecturer in the University of Vermont’s Department of Economics, where I successfully taught more than 75 courses, including two Honors College seminars, to over 2,500 students between September, 2009 and May, 2017.  I began my teaching career in 1989 in Connecticut, where I was raised.

But the Chair of my department and some faculty reviewers, using exaggerated and false claims, convinced the Dean to deny my reappointment during a review in late 2016.

Despite proving there was no factual basis for the key claims against me, my grievance before the Vermont Labor Relations Board (VLRB) was dismissed earlier this year following a two-day hearing in February. Now I’m taking the next step required to seek justice — I’m appealing the VLRB’s decision to Vermont’s Supreme Court. But I need your help. View my gofundme.com campaign to learn how you can help.