The views and comments expressed in Letters to the Editor are those of the writer(s) alone and do not necessarily reflect those of The Argus as an institution nor those of any of its staff. Letters to the Editor are not subject to the same editorial process and standards as regular Argus content. 

Dear Friends,

Many of you have been asking what happened to Father Bill. The answer is that after serving for seven years as Catholic chaplain in the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life (“ORSL”) I was fired. School administrators terminated me on June 8, 2022 from my position as University Catholic Chaplain.

The decision to fire me and its timing was deliberately calculated and executed. It came after the Class of 2022 Commencement when students and faculty had left campus; after The Argus newspaper had stopped publishing; and after the administration asked — no, used — me to offer the Commencement Blessing (which many claimed was a highlight of the Commencement ceremony). 

I was immediately asked for my laptop, keys, and identification. I was locked out of my email and documents, including photos, newsletters, homilies, letters of recommendation, and important ecclesiastical records, and told to vacate my office. References to me and my ministry were quickly removed from the ORSL website. 

To be clear, I did not voluntarily resign or depart as an email many of you received suggests. I was fired — despite what I believe can be objectively characterized as an outstanding professional record and significant contributions to the entire Wesleyan community, not just the Catholics.

My record of expertise and experience includes multiple graduate degrees in theology, psychology, and law; 48 years of priestly ministry and teaching in both parish and college settings (Merrimack College, Villanova University, USMA West Point); and nearly 30 years of criminal litigation experience in New York as a bureau chief, senior assistant district attorney, special assistant attorney general, and team leader of numerous high-profile investigations and prosecutions of felony cases involving major street crime, white collar crime, personal and corporate fraud, elder abuse, and government corruption. It encompasses a long list of significant and singular achievements at Wesleyan that includes creative liturgies, ski retreats, weekly newsletters, Christmas videos, staff tributes, and interfaith service projects, as well as a highly visible presence on campus and in the local community with extensive outreach to students and people of all faiths, or no faith, as well as people of all classes, categories, genders, orientations, and preferences. 

I was fired as University Catholic Chaplain for having the temerity to question the status quo; for being bold enough to stand up and challenge the powers that be on issues of effective ministry, sound management, moral judgment, support for the students, and real leadership. It would take a willing suspension of rational thinking or intentional ignorance to conclude otherwise. I was fired by the same people involved in, and responsible for, a long string of unimaginable blunders, horrendous decisions, and predictable problems that were handled with all of the skill and dexterity of a skating giraffe. No one dared to question or challenge those responsible. But, I did, and I was penalized for it. 

The real reasons for my firing have nothing to do with a lack of teamwork, job performance, or competence. They are much more disturbing and should be a source of concern for every Wesleyan student, faculty member, staff employee, and alumnus(a). The real reasons for my firing have everything to do with: exercising my prophetic ministry as a priest and chaplain; speaking truth to power; holding people accountable for not only a complete lack of communication, but an abject refusal to communicate; and calling out supervisors and administrators for a consistent pattern of misguided decision-making, exclusionary and discriminatory behavior, failure to do the right thing, and a dereliction of responsibility and leadership that have had adverse consequences upon the students, especially members of the Muslim community. 

The most significant misadventures affecting ORSL over the last several years were the direct result of decisions and actions made by management. Among them:

• The termination of Imam Omar, our former Muslim chaplain, who was never told he was terminated—he learned of it from a public email—and not a single supervisor or administrator had the decency to reach out and say, “Sorry, we dropped the ball…”  even after being encouraged to do so.
• The unilateral decision to dismantle ORSL, permanently phase out the chaplains, and send students off campus for their spiritual needs to clergy with no experience or expertise in dealing with the issues, concerns, and problems of college students, and to houses of worship that often were culturally insensitive and unwelcoming — in the middle of an unprecedented pandemic.
• Hiring a temporary chaplain/facilitator who rarely showed up for work and, when the students complained, abdicating responsibility and telling the students to call him up and ask him to come to do his job.
• Engaging in deliberate exclusion in the formation of a search committee for a new Muslim chaplain, over the objections of the Muslim students; then, failing to do proper and timely due diligence in conducting a six-month search that ended last March in a cringeworthy failure when the initial job offer was extended to a person who previously had been arrested by the police in his underwear up a tree for assaulting a student.

The great American novelist, short story writer, and essayist Flannery O’Connor, who frequently explored questions of morality and ethics, said: “When you can assume that your audience holds the same beliefs you do, you can relax and use more normal means of talking to it; when you have to assume that it does not, then you have to make your vision apparent by shock—to the hard of hearing you shout and for the almost-blind you draw large and startling figures.”

For at least the last two years I have had to “shout” and “draw” large and startling figures  because people—students in particular—were being hurt, and because doing the right thing matters. I have done my job and I have done it very well, despite being subject to a persistent refusal to communicate and stonewalling; deliberate exclusion; nightmarish decision-making; a snowstorm of excuse-making, blame-shifting, and scapegoating; and repetitive management chaos and dysfunction that resemble a remake of Groundhog Day.

Those things are not on me or my job performance. I am unaware of any complaints about the nature of my ministry or the way in which it is done. The number of recent emails and letters to President Roth in support of me and my work product are but a mere reflection of the widespread positive reputation I have earned. That support comes from students, faculty, staff, and alumni, as well as people in the local area. Most disturbing about my firing and absence from campus is how this will affect Wesleyan students, who have always been my first priority. I have made no secret of the fact that as chaplain I work for the students, not the people in the ivory tower. As others put dollars before persons, moved on, and remained silent when ORSL and ministry on campus were being threatened, I stood up, spoke out, and fought for the department and the students. Sadly, my firing will have its greatest negative impact upon them. Moreover, it comes at a time when students need all of the emotional and spiritual support they can get, not less. 

If what is past is prologue, Wesleyan should be very concerned and very embarrassed. Firing Wesleyan’s Catholic chaplain, who was an outspoken advocate for students, especially the Muslim students, is not a good look, particularly for a school like Wesleyan. The optics could not be worse. Moreover, there have been other recent terminations and resignations that raise a host of questions that need to be answered. Healthy organizations that credit themselves as being caring communities who value and champion fairness and social justice avoid terminations based on pretextual reasons, personality differences, coercion, or as cover for inept, misplaced supervisors. Real leaders take seriously their responsibility to care for all of their employees equally, especially in difficult economic times. Real leaders strive to maximize the talents of their employees and help them grow in their jobs, not out of bullying or fear of reprisal, but through encouragement, example, and inspiration. 

Firing an employee can be a sign of failure, both on the part of the supervisor and the employer. It often betrays management’s inability to recognize and direct the unique talents, ideas, and experience that each employee brings to an organization. Furthermore, as recent cases involving Fox News and the Weinstein Company have demonstrated, firing someone and then hiding behind a non-disclosure agreement containing a confidentiality clause does not absolve the employer from conduct that is illegal or that contributes to a toxic workplace environment. 

I want to unequivocally state that I am very proud of my ministry to the Wesleyan community over the last seven years. I am equally grateful for the opportunity I had to work with such terrific students and many wonderful colleagues I consider friends. I have been a very visible presence on campus and have worked hard to earn the trust and serve the needs of the entire University. I am also proud of my success in enhancing the reputation of Wesleyan students to the local Middletown community where I am often called upon to speak, preach, and minister. 

I have no regrets. I have nothing to hide. I have spent considerable time and effort documenting these issues, bringing them to the attention of senior management and Human Resources, and offering meaningful solutions, only to be ignored or excluded and now canceled or fired. Perhaps, by bringing these matters out into the open and into the light of public scrutiny, effective and long overdue change will come about. For me, truth matters, and doing the right thing — especially for students — comes first. I want the public to know the truth — and the consequences — of yet another misguided and foolish decision by some of the very privileged people who occupy Wesleyan’s ivory tower. 

Respectfully and truthfully,

Father Bill

Rev. William J. Wallace, O.S.A., J.D. can be reached at wjwallace737@gmail.com

 

For more on Wallace’s departure from the University and the recent reorganization of the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, read “The Firing of Catholic Chaplain William J. Wallace Prompts Controversy and Reflection on Campus” by Anne Kiely, Chloe Duncan-Wald, and Ulysses Conrad in the Features section.