When Honesty Becomes Dangerous  

Dear Members of the Board,

I am submitting this anonymously because honesty at Wenatchee Valley College has become dangerous. The president has created a climate where employees are treated as adversaries and where truth is simply whatever he needs it to be in the moment.

I have personally watched him lie without hesitation. Only days ago, he denied any knowledge of an issue I raised, even though I had verifiable proof of him discussing it. This is not an isolated incident. It is a consistent pattern. When the truth threatens his image, he denies it. When accountability is required, he redirects it. His public persona and his private conduct are not the same, and more people across the college have begun to see the gap.

He behaves in a way that centers only himself. Every decision hinges on what makes him look better. He has even said that no one at the college can be trusted. This is not leadership. It is paranoia. It is self-preservation at the expense of everyone else.

He, personally, is the problem. His conduct has eroded trust to the point that staff and faculty no longer believe he is capable of leading with integrity. He presents himself as the victim in every situation, talks endlessly about himself, and treats employees as if we are obstacles rather than the people who keep this institution running. He views us as his enemy. That is the culture we are living in. This is not a response to a change in leadership or a financial crisis, it is a direct response to Dr. Faimous Harrison himself. 

Despite the financial crisis and the accreditation warnings, employees are willing to do whatever is necessary to stabilize this institution. We are not afraid of hard work or difficult conditions. What we refuse to do is endure those challenges under a president who lies repeatedly, avoids responsibility, and treats his own people with suspicion and disdain. No institution can function under a leader who cannot be trusted.

He has also continued pushing the contradictory story about the financial crisis. He states publicly that it was unavoidable, while simultaneously blaming the former Vice President of Administrative Services and using that claim as grounds for firing him. Both statements cannot be true. This contradiction exposes the larger truth about his leadership: when he needs a scapegoat, he creates one. The only question we have is, "Who is next?" 

The Board of Trustees has a responsibility to act in the best interest of Wenatchee Valley College. Renewing his contract would be a failure of that responsibility. It would signal that dishonesty, retaliation, and self-preservation at the top are acceptable.

WVC deserves leadership grounded in truth. Students deserve it. The community deserves it. The employees who have held this college together through crisis deserve it. 

Sincerely,

Employee of WVC