At the start, I could not predict how often I might write, whether I would continue, or if anyone would read it. I know that this journal has caught the attention of some people and that I am not done with this project ... so the experiment continues.
I am a CSU Sacramento alumni (Bachelor 1974, Masters 1977) and went on to earn a Ph.D. in Psychology (CSPP Berkeley, 1983). My primary practice is as a criminal forensic psychologist.
Over the course of a 30+ year career, I have written more than a few thousand case studies and have testified as an expert on more than a hundred occasions.
In the world of scholars, there are oral exams and peer review. In the world of professionals, there is cross-examination.
In a legal proceeding, everything you write is consequential and will be scrutinized. By writing here, I am inviting public scrutiny and I welcome any response.
Aware as I am that there can be consequences for anything one says, I will note here that the following statements include matters of both fact and opinion, as well as characterizations of factual events. It is believed that the following opinions and characterizations are based on reliable evidence.
This journal is itself a consequence of litigation.
My wife is Cici Mattiuzzi, the founding (1984) Director of Career Services in the College of Engineering (ECS). In 2009, she sued Sacramento State.
The outcome was that an engineering professor who threatened to shoot three people and assaulted two others"retired."
The university's investigator concluded that the shooting threats created a hostile work environment. In response, Human Resources closed the case and said there was no evidence of any wrongdoing. That is why there was a lawsuit. The professor's retirement announcement came a few days later.
The other outcome is that a long standing classification dispute was settled. Cici was once again classified as a CFA faculty (student services professional - academic related), as she had been in 1984 at the founding of the ECS career service. That concession came with strings attached. Cici agreed to retire in five years - at the end of Spring 2015.
A few months after the settlement (January 2010), engineering dean Emir Macari dismantled the employment services Interview Room. The room was primarily used by recruiters hiring students, and it was controlled by an online scheduling system. Down the hall, at the same time, the dean opened what appeared to be a faculty lounge. Career Services was substantially hobbled by the loss of space.
Without telling Cici, Macari also took $100,000 she had raised to run her office (it was always a self-funded operation). His bookkeeper then set up recurring charges to the career service UEI account so that another $100,000 would drain out before Fall 2011.
In May 2010, Cici was given two days notice that half her office space was being taken. She did not have a chance to complain or protest -- but she did ask Macari's secretary if this was retaliation. At least two people warned Macari that he could be stirring up trouble.
Macari responded preemptively. His people were upset and he blamed Cici. The dean wrote to Human Resources with multiple accusations that he attributed to "rumor," including: "she has shown very erratic behavior and could be dangerous.”
Human Resources "investigated" and said Cici had nothing to complain about - everything the dean did was OK and nothing was out of the ordinary. In responding, HR took note of the fact that she had sued the University. Later, the University would claim in court filings that Cici suffered from a "delusion."
By the Fall of 2011, Cici had filed a Federal civil rights retaliation suit against Macari and the CSU. By that time, the Career Services operation was no longer sustainable. The dean was taking more money each month than she could raise. Over $200,000 was gone, $12,000 was left, and it would all be gone within a month. The operation was set to collapse.
The story of how ECS career services survived is told in correspondence between Cici and Provost Joe Sheley, and in correspondence between myself and President Alex Gonzalez. The outcome was that the dean of ECS no longer supervised ECS career services and could no longer access its funds.
ECS Career Services continued to operate, but the University had no interest in settling the lawsuit. Their attorney's demand from day one (May 2011) until the end (January 2014) was that Cici retire immediately.
In the end, the case went to a jury trial in Federal court and settled after the plaintiff rested her case. The complexities of the case law are such that there was no money to be gained or lost, other than costs, no matter what the jury decided.
Cici went all the way without backing down. That meant the University had no leverage left to demand her resignation. That was the only principle the CSU sought to vindicate in Federal court. They had offered $50,000 and could have settled at any time, just by dropping the demand that she "retire."
In the end, their attorney walked away after his motions to exclude and limit damaging testimony failed, and without presenting a defense. Cici continued to work. After they had wasted a fortune, attorney David Tyra claimed that the university had "won."
Cici walked away with her pride, her career and her integrity intact.The consequence of the above is that I ended up reviewing thousands of documents and preparing extensive analyses. I also conducted investigations through public record requests.
I published a lot of what I wrote and told the story online in various ways during the course of the litigation.
I began the CSU Independent Observer to consolidate and archive my writing at one url, and to continue watching events as I had come to do while waiting for the troubles to end.
What I write about is what happens to interest me.
My interest in Emir Macari is perhaps apparent at this site.
During the course of the troubles, Macari sued me for libel, blamed me for his bankruptcy, and said I cost him a job as president of CSU Fresno. That was no fun at all.
How the libel case turned out was OK with me.
We reached an agreement, but before my attorneys could enforce it, he was no longer the dean or in a position of authority. That was in November 2013.
Two months later, Cici's lawsuit against the University was done and notice had been given that Macari would not be restored to his position. Riverside Hall Room 2006 was again part of ECS career services, as it had been when the building was constructed.I am still interested in events occurring within the California State University and probably will be for some time.
Not everything that has come to my attention has concluded, and I do not believe that the history of an institution should be forgotten or ignored.
Comments and reactions are always welcome.
If you have a story that should be told, I will publish it.
paul g. mattiuzzi, ph.d.
editor
