Dana H. Born - Controversies

Controversies

In an interview with Colorado Springs Independent reporter Pam Zubeck on December 16, 2010, Born stated that "All the instructors we have, have graduate degrees in the areas they're teaching or a related field." In concluding a year-long investigation of United States Air Force Academy faculty credentials, the Air Force Inspector General stated in a letter dated, February 10, 2012, that "Brig. Gen. Born was negligent in making an absolute statement to a local newspaper regarding the military faculty's specific academic credentials as they related to teaching disciplines without first confirming the accuracy of the supporting data." Or in other words, her statement was factual but that she had not researched each individual instructors credentials before responding to the question. On February 17, 2012, the Pentagon released a statement: "Commanders are given broad latitude to administer punishment appropriate with the offense. United States Air Force Academy Lt Gen Gould has reviewed the report and will be the officer who decides what, if any, command action will be taken." In a letter from the SAF/IGS to Mullin, dated Feb 10, 2012, it stated, "..our investigative work found no evidence supporting any allegation or claim that the USAFA faculty is not "qualified" to teach at USAFA....The HLC accreditation report found USAFA's faculty to be fully qualified to teach an undergraduate curriculum that results in the awarding of Bachelor's Degrees. We found no evidence to dispute that conclusion.."

Born was deposed on December 9, 2011, as a respondent in an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission case of alleged disability discrimination filed by former United States Air Force Academy economics professor David Mullin, who was also a client of the U.S. Civil Rights organization, Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF). During the deposition, Born was asked if she ordered a subordinate, Colonel Thomas Drohan, to conduct counter-insurgency analysis against MRFF and its clients. Under oath she denied that she did. Mullin's lead attorney, Robert Eye, wrote, on both February 1 and 29, letters to Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley requesting with acknowledgement a formal investigation into the matter. On March 15, 2012, Eye received a response from Air Force Deputy General Counsel W. Kipling At Lee Jr.. He said it would not be appropriate to comment about the status of any investigation, but “I can advise you that the allegations . . . are being given appropriate consideration.”