Press Release. Nov. 3, 2024. For Immediate Release.

Contact:  Texas AAUP-AFT Office of Faculty Representation,  txaaup-pressinfo@pm.me

Trinity Valley Community College (TVCC) was sued in Federal Court on October 18, 2024, by former full-time instructor of Anatomy and Physiology, Michael Harman. The suit alleges that Harman was targeted and retaliated against by the college for being a “gadfly” in raising concerns to administrators of violating his Academic Freedom, not following their own procedures with regards to certification of an Open Educational Resource course, underpayments of overload wages to himself and other faculty, and filing open records requests. According to the lawsuit, as a result of his protected activities, TVCC ultimately ended Harman’s employment and threatened to arrest him should he enter college property within the next two years. Harman is suing TVCC for violating his Constitutional rights under the 1^st, 4^th, and 14^th amendments, breaching his contract, and violating his rights under the Texas Public Information Act.  

According to the suit, after 12 years of employment with the college and always having excellent evaluations, Professor Harman was non-renewed on May 31, 2024, and initially not given a reason for the non-renewal. However, the non-renewal came just 8 business days after Harman filed a formal grievance to the TVCC Board of Trustees, alleging the college had violated his Academic Freedom by refusing to honor his syllabus policy of failing a cheating student. The suit alleges that the college eventually cited that TVCC non-renewed him because he had violated a 2022 “Memo of Counseling.” According to the suit, that memo was made in retaliation for Harman exercising his protected rights in speaking-out about college administrators not following their own policies, underpaying him and other faculty, because he filed grievances, and because he requested open records requests to the college under the Texas Public Information Act (TPIA).  

The suit cites that through open records requests, Harman was able to obtain communications among TVCC administrators that showed they were attempting to establish a legal file against him to end his employment for making his open records requests, inquiring into potential pay issues, and for advancing “conspiracy theories” surrounding actions by the administration. The suit exhibits multiple emails Harman discovered through open records requests, including one email in which a supervisor wrote to other administrators “He’s a lunatic!”, and “Have a Harman-free weekend.” One email among administrators cited in the suit had a subject line of “The Harman Effect.” 

According to the lawsuit, on the day Harman was non-renewed, he was given a criminal no trespass warming by the campus police chief, declaring that if he remained on or returned to TVCC property without permission within the next two years, he could be arrested and charged with criminal trespass. Harman’s suit alleges that in issuing him the criminal no trespass warming, the college violated his 4^th amendment right under the Constitution because it deprived him, without due process, from being able to engage in activities on campus he enjoyed as a private citizen, such as attending sporting events and the Farmer’s Market. 

The lawsuit is entitled Harman v. Trinity Valley Community College. Michael Harman is being represented by Hill Gilstrap, PC.