Fisler v. State System of Higher Education

78 A.3d 30, 2013 WL 5643162, 2013 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 424
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedOctober 17, 2013
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 78 A.3d 30 (Fisler v. State System of Higher Education) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fisler v. State System of Higher Education, 78 A.3d 30, 2013 WL 5643162, 2013 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 424 (Pa. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION BY

Judge BROBSON.

John C. Fisler (Fisler) petitions for review of an order of the Chancellor of the State System of Higher Education (SSHE), dated January 3, 2013. The Chancellor adopted a proposed adjudication 1 and order of a hearing officer, thereby denying Fisler’s motion for a new hearing and affirming the decision of California University of Pennsylvania (University) to suspend and subsequently discharge Fisler from his employment with the University for poor job performance. In so doing, the Chancellor concluded that the University’s decisions were supported by just cause. For the reasons set forth below, we now affirm.

The findings of fact as adopted by the Chancellor are summarized as follows. Fisler began working for the University’s Development Office as a major gifts officer on October 8, 2007. (Finding of Fact (F.F.) no. 18.) Subsequently, Fisler was named to the position of Associate Vice President for Development and Campaign [33]*33Planning. (F.F. no. 38.) In that position, Fisler managed all of the gift officers and reported directly to the president of the University, Angelo Armenti, Jr. (President Armenti), because the intermediary position of Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations was left vacant. (F.F. nos. 33-34.)

Eventually, it became evident that Fis-ler’s management performance was not positive, in that the general sense was that he was not a leader. (F.F. no. 41.) Because the Development Office was not making the progress he expected in terms of raising money and he and Fisler were not doing well as a team, President Ar-menti sought to fill the position of Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations, which President Armenti had been filling himself. (F.F. nos. 43-45.) Although Fisler applied for this position, President Armenti ultimately hired Ron Huiatt (Huiatt), who started working for the University in November 2009. (F.F. nos. 55, 64.) President Armenti, however, was so impressed with Sharon Navoney (Navoney), another candidate who was already employed at the University as Senior Director of Major and Planned Gifts, that he envisioned a reorganization in which Huiatt was “number one” and Navo-ney was “number two,” which would result in the placement of Fisler elsewhere in the organizational structure of the Development Office. (F.F. nos. 63, 65.)

Upon beginning work at the University, Huiatt and President Armenti discussed how to develop an effective fundraising operation at the University. (F.F. no. 69.) President Armenti indicated to Huiatt that he was generally dissatisfied with the productivity and accountability of the Development Office under Fisler’s oversight, and he directed Huiatt to reorganize the Development Office staff without eliminating any employees. (F.F. nos. 70-71.) After conducting a review of the Development Office, Huiatt made various changes to the organization of the Development Office, including elevating Navoney to Associate Vice President and giving her the majority of the management responsibilities within the Development Office. (F.F. nos. 73, 77-78, 86.) Huiatt also decided to make Fisler a special advisor to Huiatt, naming Fisler Senior Advisor and Senior Associate Vice President for Special Initiatives. (F.F. nos. 79, 87.)

With the reorganization, Fisler’s role in the Development Office changed from overseeing all of the campaign and development activities and staff to providing advice and counsel to Huiatt; serving as primary liaison to the athletic development team; leading various special initiatives at Huiatt’s direction; carrying a small, select portfolio of major gift prospects; and representing the Vice President’s Office when Huiatt was unable to do so. (F.F. nos. 85, 87.) President Armenti approved the restructuring plan effective January 1, 2010, and Huiatt presented the restructuring plan to his staff in January 2010. (F.F. nos. 80, 84.) Fisler was upset -with the changes to his responsibilities and did not find them to be challenging or edifying, because they were consistent with things he had done 25 to 30 years earlier in his career. (F.F. nos. 88, 92.)

In March 2010, Fisler contacted Dr. Lisa McBride, who is the Special Assistant to the President for Equal Employment Education Opportunity at the University. (F.F. nos. 93-94.) Fisler did so because certain members of the search committee for the Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations position communicated that there had been irregularities in the search, and Fisler had his own concerns about age discrimination, retaliation, and being treated unfairly with regard to the most recent reorganization of the De[34]*34velopment Office. (F.F. nos. 94, 96.) Although Dr. McBride initially told Fisler that she had heard some rumors about improprieties in the search, she later told him that that was not the case, and that social equity procedures required Fisler to file a formal complaint. (F.F. nos. 95, 97.) Because Fisler wished to pursue an informal resolution, Fisler and Huiatt engaged in mediation regarding the reorganization and Fisler’s role at the University, but the mediation was ultimately unsuccessful.2 (F.F. nos. 98,106-14.)

Based on Fisler’s general demeanor as to the reorganization and his new role at the University, Huiatt inferred that Fisler was not willing to take on the proposed functions assigned to him as a consequence of the reorganization. (F.F. no. 120.) Because of his concerns regarding Fisler’s recalcitrance, Huiatt, with President Ar-menti’s approval, redefined Fisler’s job description to provide him with very specific information about what was expected of Fisler in his job responsibilities. (F.F. no. 122.) Huiatt provided Fisler a letter dated April 7, 2010, providing that Fisler’s suggestions at the mediation session about his work assignments did not fit the needs of the University’s Development Office, and outlining Fisler’s new work duties as a lead field officer, a position which Huiatt thought would be best suited for Fisler. (F.F. nos. 121, 123-24.) These duties included cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major and planned gifts; managing a portfolio of 100 prospects who had been pre-screened for a gift capacity of $25,000; serving as liaison to the Athletic Department fundraising staff; managing the faculty and staff capital campaign initiatives; serving as a member of the University Development and Leadership Team; overseeing the activities of a Clerk Typist 3 in the Development office; and assisting the Vice President. (F.F. no. 124.) With regard to the management of the prospect portfolio, the job description indicated that Fisler would be expected to make, on average, 12 visits a month with prospects, 3 of which would be solicitation meetings where the prospect is asked for a gift at the rated capacity level, and 2 or fewer of which would be stewardship meetings, and to replace disqualified prospects with new prospects with a gift capacity of at least $25,000 so as to maintain a portfolio of 100 prospects. (F.F. no. 125.) The letter also provided that, although Fisler might prefer to perform other tasks, the tasks outlined in the job description were those that would best serve the needs of the Development Office and the University. (F.F. no. 128.) The letter also provided that Fisler should perform the assigned work duties in a high quality, effective, and efficient manner, and that failure to perform the assigned tasks could lead to corrective action, up to and including termination of employment.3 (F.F. nos. 128-29.)

[35]

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

T. Day v. PA Commission on Crime & Delinquency
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2024
Com. of PA ~ Appeal of: K.M. Robertson
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2024
R.P. Tuerk v. The PA Dept. of Ed.
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2023
A. Abdul-Salaam v. PPB
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2023
P.J. Thiel v. SERB
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2022
The S.D. of Philadelphia v. A. Arnold (Dept. of Ed.)
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2021
C. Haines v. PPB
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2021
S. Justice v. PSP Trooper Lombardo
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2020
L.A. Wilson v. PBPP
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2020
Marshall v. Pa. Bd. of Prob. & Parole
200 A.3d 643 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2018)
D. Marshall v. PBPP
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2018
A.G. v. DHS
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2018
K. Alleyne v. Police Detective G. Pirrone
180 A.3d 524 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2018)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
78 A.3d 30, 2013 WL 5643162, 2013 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 424, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fisler-v-state-system-of-higher-education-pacommwct-2013.