UC Irvine professor files complaint over removal as dean

A prominent educator at UC Irvine is speaking up against what she calls retaliation by school officials.

Frances Contreras was ousted from her position as the former dean of the UCI School of Education. Contreras said that she received the notice March 31 without warning, preventing her from engaging in a five-year review – a process she said is afforded to her peers under University of California policy – and is calling for a formal investigation.

Contreras, who began her role in 2022, became the University of California’s first Latina/Chicana dean to head a school of education in the UC system.

During her three-year tenure, Contreras claims she went through incidents of defamation, intimidation, bullying, “retaliation and outright discrimination” from UCI Provost Hal Stern and leaders across his units – including the former School of Education dean, the former assistant dean, and various faculty members within the Office of Academic Personnel, including the Vice Provost.

On April 29, Contreras filed a formal grievance complaint through UCI’s Whistleblower Office.

“I was repeatedly met with inaction, retaliation and resistance, ultimately leading to my unjustified removal from the deanship,” Contreras said in an interview. She called the move a “further attempt to silence” and harm her reputation.

Contreras said she raised “legitimate concerns about serious misconduct and potential violations of law and policy,” referring to “deeply troubling incidents” at UCI that caused her to request immediate action from university leadership – incidents she said were then further enabled and ignored.

In her formal complaint, Contreras alleges that UCI retaliated against her for reporting “numerous violations of law, university policy and ethics” by School of Education personnel and former faculty. She alleged specific incidents, such as in late 2023, when she learned that a faculty member experiencing a mental health crisis reportedly “purchased and housed firearms on the UCI campus,” stayed on campus, and “behaved erratically” following news that she would be terminated. Contreras – then the education dean – said this was “in reckless disregard” of school safety.   

The complaint also alleged the school’s reported failure to conduct an audit of a $3 million donor gift, after Contreras said she discovered that $225,000 of the grant was allocated to an outside organization “for administrative support.” Repeated requests for an audit were, she said, “flatly refused.” Another alleged incident was experiencing abusive conduct and intimidation from a fellow professor/former School of Education dean, which Contreras reported but “the university failed to fully investigate, and refused to interview witnesses.” That alleged faculty member, whom she named an abuser, had “publicly declared he would destroy Contreras,” the complaint said.

She also alleged threats to her personal safety and that of other school members, computer fraud and abuse, misuse of university funds, differential treatment and “clear diminution of power and authority” as School of Education dean compared with her predecessor.

She claimed conflicts of interest within the Office of Academic Personnel, where she was reporting her concerns – all of which, her complaint said, were ignored or “met with open hostility.” One former faculty member allegedly blocked Contreras’ access to the School of Education’s electronic folders, and instructed staff to restrict her from accessing the school’s listservs.

Contreras called it “a culture of retaliation and silencing” those like herself who spoke out “about serious misconduct” and violations of UC, state and federal policies. She said that there was a “complete refusal” to investigate her alleged concerns by campus management who, rather than “taking accountability and appropriate corrective measures,” instead “enabled misconduct by shielding unethical actors, ignoring potential violations of law and policy.”

In late 2024, a “climate assessment” was begun “in an effort to remove Contreras,” which was “clear pretext for UCI’s retaliatory and unjustifiable removal,” the formal complaint said.

Contreras was “abruptly” terminated from her deanship on March 31, denied a five-year review process, and experienced a substantial salary decrease, the complaint said.

“The timing of her removal, which came shortly after she called for a thorough and impartial investigation into her complaints, illustrates the retaliatory nature of her removal,” the complaint said. “The individuals who made the decision to remove Dr. Contreras from her deanship were the same individuals whose improper conduct Dr. Contreras reported.”

In a statement, UCI officials said they “would not comment on individual personnel matters,” but “takes all concerns seriously.”

UC Irvine is “committed to providing a respectful and inclusive environment, free from discrimination, intimidation, or retaliation,” the statement continued. “Allegations involving university policy or state and federal law are reviewed through established procedures and addressed in accordance with applicable policies and legal requirements.”

Internal formal reviews are part of the UC employee dismissal process, according to UC policy, and employees may file a complaint.

According to UC policy, deans are appointed for a normal five-year period and are subject to reappointment, made on a five-year basis. The UC chancellor may also consider a salary increase after a five-year review results in a recommendation to reappoint the dean, identifying “significant achievements and/or sustained excellent administrative performance.”

Contreras, a first-generation Latina college student from Norwalk, said that equity for underrepresented communities was the crux of her work in education. Being a leader in education carries with it a responsibility “to speak out (and) stand up against bullying and intimidation.”

“Being a leader fearful of speaking truth to power is not leadership,” she said.

Prior to her post as dean, Contreras served as the associate vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion, and as a professor of education studies at UC San Diego, where she has more than 15 years of administrative leadership experience. She helped to launch a Latinx academic experience program and spearheaded UCSD’s efforts to become a Hispanic-Serving Institution. She also served as a co-chair and founder of the Chicano/Latino Advisory Council to the UC President.

Outside of the UC, Conteras worked at the University of Washington’s College of Education, where she led higher education programs and researched learning opportunities for Latino students.

At the time of her appointment in 2021, UCI officials – including Stern and Chancellor Howard Gillman – called Contreras “perfectly aligned with the strengths and far-reaching impact of the school,” and “an accomplished administrator with a record of driving equity and diversity.”

In late December, the school honored her on its social media pages for “her unwavering advocacy for equity and diversity, making an impact that inspires communities near and far.”

“I saw this role as an opportunity to utilize my background and skills to support the faculty and students as well as to serve as a leader and mentor in a field where Latina academics and leaders remain dramatically underrepresented,” Contreras, who remains a faculty member at UCI, said.

A number of Latino civil rights organizations, UCI faculty and alumni backed Contreras in her quest for an internal review under UC policy.

Tonia Reyes Uranga, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council #3309, wrote in a letter of support that she was “concerned that speaking out about violations is not seen as an exercise in free speech by UC Irvine.”

Latinx faculty and alumni groups within the UC system also demanded swift answers from management.

In a March 31 group letter,  a group of Latinx professors – hailing from UC Santa Cruz, UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Merced and UC San Diego – agreed that “without prejudging the merits of the case, we think there are enough red flags to require an immediate formal independent investigation.”

Neptaly Taty Aguilera, co-chair of the UC Chicanx Latinx Alumni Association, recommended that Latinx representation be part of any formal review process. She recognized Contreras for her leadership and academic excellence, especially in uplifting the Latino community.

“We want to ensure that the UC system is transparent regarding how Latino students, faculty, leadership and alumni are treated,” Aguilera wrote in her letter to the UC Board of Regents and UCI leadership.

Jose F. Moreno, president of Los Amigos of Orange County, which has many active UCI alumni, said he was “proud and thrilled” when Contreras was named the dean of the School of Education. He called for a full, independent investigation so that Contreras’ “willingness to raise her voice to bring attention to these disturbing acts will not be cause for retaliation or isolation against her.”

Moving forward, as she awaits a response from the UC, Contreras is confident in her quest for justice that “the truth will come to light.”

But she also worried about the “broader efforts of this injustice on other women and leaders of color who choose to stand up when confronted with wrongdoing… I fear that UCI’s retaliation may have a chilling effect.”

She connected her experience with the Trump administration’s ongoing campaign to end “DEI” initiatives in public schools, saying she was “disheartened” by the “vigorous attacks on DEI and concerted efforts to roll back progress for underrepresented groups.” She said these actions will have “devastating reverberations in all corners of society.”

Women of color in academia have been “targets of some of the most egregious attacks” – especially women leaders seen as a threat to “longstanding power imbalances and structural inequalities,” Contreras said.

“We see pervasive attacks against women who write about structural oppression, who challenge systemic power dynamics, and who battle against having their identities and contributions erased from history,” she continued. “The next generation of women and scholars of color are watching with hope and anticipation that we use our voices to advocate for their rights and a place in the academy and positions of leadership.”