MATC has faced a wave of complaints from employees of color. Here's what to know.

Milwaukee Area Technical College — one of Wisconsin’s most diverse higher education institutions — has faced years of concerns about its racial climate for employees of color.

Allegations made by former and current staff members have ranged from barriers to hiring, cultural insensitivity, race discrimination, pay inequity, a slow investigative process for complaints and infighting among the school's executive board. Most of the complaints describe incidents during the tenure of the college's previous president, who retired last summer.

The allegations include a federal lawsuit filed earlier this month by the school’s former chief DEI officer and public statements made by staff at recent board meetings.

MATC has largely denied the complaints, saying that it has introduced of variety of new programs to support faculty, staff and students of color. The current president, Anthony Cruz, has said he is committed to improving inclusivity and equity at the college.

Here's what to know:

What are the types of concerns that MATC staff are raising?

Most of the complaints are related to discrimination, retaliation, and improper hiring practices at the college.

Last October, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reviewed a collection of documents from a dozen discrimination complaints between 2019 and 2024. Some employees involved in those complaints told the Journal Sentinel they were unsatisfied with the outcomes.

In June 2020, for example, three Black employees reported that the director of MATC's West Allis campus, Richard Busalacchi, approached the group while they were cutting down trees and asked "Who are we hanging today?"

They detailed that the comment made them uncomfortable and felt like an allusion to the hanging of Black people. The investigation into the employees' experience took over a year, records showed. MATC ultimately gave Busalacchi a three-week suspension and he issued a formal apology to the involved staff members.

In another complaint from 2022, a former HR employee contacted the college's Board of Directors saying she would be leaving her role within the HR department due to her feelings that the college had "marginalized (her) and dismissed (her) concerns about retaliation and ethical problems.”

Darryll Fortune, an MATC spokesperson, said: “We investigate these complaints thoroughly and fairly and we take action that is appropriate based on the facts of each individual case."

Meanwhile, at recent board meetings, Latino employees have raised concerns about non-Spanish speaking instructors teaching bilingual classes and unfair hiring practices.

How long have these concerns persisted?

Employee concerns spilled into public view in 2021, after Amir Law, MATC's former vice president of enrollment management, resigned from the college.

In his resignation letter, Law wrote: "The lack of respect, empathy, and acknowledgment of the adverse treatment of Black employees on campus is what led to my resignation."

After Law's departure, Vicki Martin, the then-president of MATC who resigned in June 2024, said the college would focus on supporting current and future employees at the college.

The majority of issues being raised by faculty and staff took place during Martin's tenure.

Members of the African American Network, an organization representing the interests of MATC's Black employees, have continued to push executive leaders at the college to address "a lack of resolution to racially-based complaints."

What has MATC done to address discrimination and harassment complaints?

In 2022, the college launched a five-year Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan. The plan established employee affinity groups and mandated anti-bias workshops for all employees.

As of September, 40% of employees identify as people of color, including more than 50% of administrators and 44% of the executive leadership team, according to Fortune, the MATC spokesperson.

In 2023, more than half of the college's promotions and position changes were given to employees of color, Fortune added.

Fortune also said, in recent years, the college has improved its complaint investigation process to address most concerns within 90 days. More complex cases, he said, could take more time.

Cruz, MATC's new president, has vowed to work with the college's executive leadership team to ensure the academic environment is free of discrimination.

In recent months, Cruz has met with the college's employee affinity groups to address concerns. A new “restorative practices" program encouraging community conversations and listening sessions was also introduced on campus.

What is the former chief DEI officer's lawsuit about?

Eva Martinez Powless — MATC's first-ever vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion — filed a federal lawsuit in December against the college alleging that members of the executive leadership team retaliated against her for calling out discrimination.

Martinez Powless was fired in April 2024. At the time, she had taken on a new position as vice president of enrollment and retention, Law's previous position.

In her complaint, Martinez Powless claims that her firing was prompted by the filing of a complaint against then-president Martin, MATC executive vice president Phillip King, and vice president of human resources Elle Bonds-Jones. In her complaint, she accused them of purposely denying an Afro-Latina employee at the college a disability accommodation.

“I am one of many victims of what I believe is a discriminatory culture that has been allowed to perpetuate at MATC but I cannot stand by and allow it to continue without demanding accountability," Martinez Powless told the Journal Sentinel. "That is why I filed this case. Something must change.”

In response, MATC stated that Martinez Powless' allegations were "unfounded." The college cited the findings of a third party investigator who found that Martinez Powless' complaints were unsubstantiated.

In an October letter to MATC's community, Cruz wrote: "No employee is terminated for raising a concern or filing a complaint."

Tamia Fowlkes is a Public Investigator reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be reached at tfowlkes@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know about allegations of discrimination, harassment at MATC