Support Professor Javedd Khan - Help Maintain His Tenure at HCCC!

My friend, and former professor, Javedd Khan is one of those teachers who pours heart and soul into his profession. He has touched the lives of his students in a myriad of ways. For over 25 years, Professor Khan has always, unfailingly, sought to create the relationships and environment within which students would thrive. He is considered a favorite teacher and positive life influence to many students.

Despite all this, Hudson County Community College's administration has filed Tenure Charges against Professor Khan at the Board of Trustees' August meeting. Now, this devoted instructor stands to lose his tenure, his unblemished reputation, and his life's work.

Professor Khan has been charged with the following:

o The creation of an “unauthorized” or “unsanctioned” chat room on What’sApp. (However, it is neither improper nor prohibited to create this alternate method of communication for students, and the College itself had advocated the use of apps to supplement student learning and communication as recently as August 24th, 2016 during College Service Day. Furthermore, no instruction took place on the App; its sole use was to increase interaction and discussion amongst students.)
 That the chat room was the only or predominant method for students to contact Professor Khan.
 That the chat room resulted in a “hostile, intimidating, or bullying” class atmosphere.

o That Professor Khan led students to believe that their grades were contingent upon attending class dinners and outings. (These informal gatherings were voluntary, there was no “quid pro quo” in attending, and the College itself has sponsored outings for students outside of class hours.)

o Student privacy violations based upon the alleged disclosure of confidential student records. (No student was interviewed regarding these allegations and no research was done to support this claim; an invasion of privacy FERPA violation requires some proof of unauthorized disclosure of a confidential student record. None was given.)

o That the charges above constitute a violation of Title IX. (Title IX is a Federal law designed to protect students from “sexual harassment” such as unwelcome advances, physical touching or groping, sexual commentary or innuendo, etc. Not only did this conduct never take place, but it is found nowhere in the charges brought against Professor Khan.)

If Hudson County Community College is indeed aligned with the stated aims of the New Jersey Center for Student Success and hopes to “promote communities in which students are encouraged to succeed and excel as they work towards achieving their goals of degree and certificate completion,” it should be rewarding and celebrating the work of professors the like of Javedd Khan, not seeking to remove their tenure based on rushed judgment and unsubstantiated allegations.

Please help me request that the Board of Trustees hold the charges in abeyance and instruct the College administration that tenure charges are not the appropriate method for addressing these allegations.

Please help me demand a full and fair investigation, which should include discussions with the purportedly "harassed" students, for the man who has had such a positive influence on so many lives – Professor Javedd Khan.

-Isabel Nieto
Hudson County Community College ‘10
Columbia University '13