LSU board member accused of harassment, retaliation

Yahoo

2 days ago

Clouds pass over Tiger Stadium on Monday, March 20, 2023, on LSU's campus in Baton Rouge, La. (Matthew Perschall for Louisiana Illuminator)
One of Gov. Jeff Landry's appointees to the LSU Board of Supervisors flew into a rage at LSU Health Shreveport when its staff would not perform a house call for her husband, threatening to fire multiple employees, according to a whistleblower complaint. She's also the subject of other complaints that allege she harassed several employees and meddled in the day-to-day operations of the medical school.
Esperanza Moran, who openly rallied for the dismissal of former LSU Health Shreveport Chancellor David Guzick, is the subject of an anonymous whistleblower complaint, at least one Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint filed by top LSU Health Shreveport employees and a separate complaint filed to Landry by a top administrator.
The Illuminator obtained documents cited in this report through a series of public records requests to LSU and the governor's office.
According to an anonymous whistleblower complaint filed with LSU, Moran went to LSU Health Shreveport just days after being appointed to the board and '[caused] a public scene in outrage' that an employee was not permitted to treat her husband at Moran's private residence.
'This incident has caused significant distress within the LSU Health Shreveport community, affecting the staff's health, morale and productivity,' the complaint reads. 'While causing the disturbance, Ms. Moran threatened to terminate staff and said she was the new chancellor and in charge of LSU Health Shreveport.'
The complaint goes on to say that Moran threatened to have Guzick, Sammy Wyatt, LSU Health Shreveport's chief compliance and investigation officer, and Sharon Dunn, vice chancellor for academic administration, fired from the university.
Guzick resigned from his position in April after Moran's months-long pressure campaign and has since accepted a position with the LSU System office. Dunn and Wyatt are still employed at LSU Health Shreveport.
Wyatt asked the governor to intervene, adding Moran's alleged actions are damaging to his personal and professional reputation, disrupting his ability to do his job as well as damaging LSU Health Shreveport's public trust.
'I am writing to request your assistance in resolving an ongoing issue with Ms. Esperanza Moran,' Wyatt wrote to Landry in December. 'She has been consciously, intentionally, and maliciously defaming, harassing, targeting, and retaliating against me, utilizing Power-Based Violence and creating a hostile working environment.'
Power-based violence is a term found in a 2021 Louisiana law approved in the wake of a Title IX scandal at LSU. It is defined as 'any form of interpersonal violence intended to control or intimidate another person through the assertion of power over the person.'
When a reporter asked her about the complaints after her Senate confirmation hearing at the State Capitol last week, Moran requested questions be sent to her via email. She has not responded to the emailed questions.
Landry spokeswoman Kate Kelly and LSU spokesman Todd Woodward have not responded to requests for comment.
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In its public records request to the governor's office, the Illuminator asked for any documents containing Landry's response to Wyatt's letter. No documents were provided.
Moran has not yet received state Senate confirmation. Senators typically vote to confirm governor's appointees in batches and are expected to endorse Moran by the time the legislative session adjourns June 12.
Sen. Alan Seabaugh, R-Shreveport, who represents Moran's district, said he would support Moran despite the complaints, noting that she has Landry's support.
Esperanza Moran lives in Shreveport and is married to wealthy businessman Scott Moran. The couple own several businesses, including Moran Oil Co., and give generously to Republican political campaigns, including Landry's.
The Morans also donate significant sums to LSU athletics, culminating in a plaza outside Tiger Stadium being named after Scott Moran when he gave money toward the 2012 remodel of the facility.
Wyatt referred questions about his complaint to his attorney, Steve Soileau, adding that he is considering suing over Moran's conduct.
'Due to the status of the investigations and referred investigations and possibilities of litigation, we do not feel it would be appropriate to comment on specific items at this time,' Soileau said in response to questions about Wyatt's letter to Landry. 'Mr. Wyatt's letter speaks for itself and he stands by it. His EEOC complaint is still pending.'
The 'referred investigations' involve Wyatt's work as the medical school's chief investigation officer. According to Wyatt's letter to the governor, some of these probes have been into Moran's personal friends, and one has been referred to the FBI, which Wyatt said in his complaint is looking into the incident along with state law enforcement.
It's unusual for a university board member to be the subject of an EEOC complaint, according to several longtime higher education observers. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is a federal entity responsible for investigating workplace discrimination.
'I've seen a lot of supervisors come and go over the years, but I have never encountered anything quite like that,' said Kevin Cope, an LSU professor that has been involved in faculty governance at LSU for multiple decades. He was contacted for reaction to Moran's alleged actions. 'In fact, although the supervisors and I have disagreed, I will say the supervisors usually behave themselves pretty well. So this I will characterize as highly unusual, not only for LSU, but indeed for the nation and for higher education.'
Politically appointed board members are not meant to be involved in the day-to-day running of a university, as it could threaten a school's accreditation. But the complaints allege Moran did just that.
LSU closed its investigation into the anonymous complaint just days after it was filed, according to the case file the Illuminator obtained. A reporter reached out to every individual named in the complaint as possibly involved. Some did not respond, but others confirmed they were not contacted for the investigation. Woodward did not respond when asked why not all of the people named were contacted.
During her Senate confirmation hearing, Moran was asked about the leadership of LSU Health Shreveport.
'There still needs to be some things cleared up,' Moran said. 'When you get the leadership working right, then everything trickles down, so I'm still working on that. I still have a little bit of work left to do.'
Board members do not have sole authority to decide who staffs administrative positions in a university. Though sometimes they are involved in search committees to hire a top administrator, their influence is weighted by faculty, staff, students and community members.
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