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NEWS
| february 10, 2004
Liberal Arts
Fired law lecturer has record
Officials say the part-time position
was not subject to system policies on screening.
By Brad
Rollins
The Shorthorn Managing Editor
A background check would have revealed that a former communications
lecturer was arrested in 1998 on charges of assault and battery.
But the university hired Ronnie Robert Molina for a part-time lecturer
position administrators say are not subject to screening policies
that include criminal history checks.
Police records show that Molina was arrested December 10, 1998 in
Norman, Okla., where he was a law student at the University of Oklahoma.
Records do not indicate if Molina, who was 28 at the time, was convicted
of the misdemeanor offense. A clerk for the city judge said misdemeanor
records were not computer archived then.
Molina, reached at his home on Monday, would not discuss the arrests
or his short-lived employment here. He threatened a reporter with
harm if a story was published.
“I have nothing to say to you except: Think twice before you
get yourself hurt,” he said.
Molina graduated law school in 2000 and passed the Texas Bar Exam
in 2002. He worked for brief stints at a Dallas law firm and then
the city attorney’s office before being hired to teach a communications
law class.
Molina was dismissed Jan. 20, his first day, after students complained
that he was 25 minutes late, wept openly and disturbed them with
a monologue on sex and Satan. Students said his discourse included
reminiscence about experiences as a prostitute and discussion of
a drug addiction.
A background check would have uncovered the Oklahoma arrest, and
an employment history would have revealed that he was fired as an
assistant city attorney in Dallas for angry outbursts in courtroom
and his office.
“In the case of a part-time lecturer, he wouldn’t be
subject to the normal screening process,” interim Provost
Dana Dunn said at the time. “But it’s still very disturbing.”
UT System policy defines “security-sensitive positions”
as those that bear financial responsibilities or have access to
records or property.
“The institution shall conduct the criminal history record
information or criminal conviction record information investigation
before the hiring official makes the employment decision,”
the policy states. “If circumstances require that an offer
be made before the completion of an investigation, the offer must
be in writing and state that the offer is contingent on the completion
of a satisfactory criminal background investigation.”
Dr. Dunn said Molina only taught one class, which was during regular
building hours, and did not have after-hours clearance for the building.
The interim provost has said she cannot discuss details of his employment
or provide his application material or other documents. Liberal
Arts interim Dean Beth Wright has referred questions to Communication
Chair Karin McCallum, who hired Molina. Dr. McCallum has declined
to be interviewed.
Correction
This article included information that should
have been attributed to the The Dallas Morning News. The newspaper
reported that Ronnie Robert Molina was fired in August 2003 from
his job as a Dallas assistant city attorney. A spokesperson confirmed
the information on Tuesday.
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| “He
wouldn’t be subject to the normal screening process.”
Dana Dunn interim Provost |
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