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BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (March 28, 2014) — Dr. Dennis Bona, president of Kellogg Community College, talked with FOX 17 on Friday. He’s currently being investigated for an unspecified allegation.
FOX 17 also spoke with school representatives to find out what the accusation against Bona is.
“He is on leave during an investigation into his interactions with college personnel,” Eric Greene, KCC spokesperson’s said.
FOX 17 asked what “interactions with college personnel” meant.
Greene replied, “To answer that question gets into the scope of the investigation which I’m not authorized to speak about.”
Greene said it’s not a criminal allegation.
According to Bona’s biography, he has been employed by KCC since
1979 and made his way to the top job in 2010.
FOX 17 asked Greene if Bona had ever been investigated in the past for anything.
Greene replied, “Not to my knowledge.”
FOX 17 went looking for the school president to get his side of the story.
Dr. Bona let us in his home and agreed to talk to us off camera. The chat lasted about 10 minutes.
Bona said the board notified him that an employee made an allegation. What that allegation is, he said he’s not sure.
He said Kellogg Community College thought that Bona’s presence on campus has the potential to influence the investigation.
So Bona was placed on paid administrative leave. However, as the school has indicated, it’s not a criminal allegation.
Bona said the unspecified allegation isn’t even a violation of school policy.
He shared with us that he had been investigated last year and was falsely accused for misappropriating funds. However, he didn’t have to go on leave.
Bona said the school audited everything and found no wrong-doing.
With this latest accusation, he expressed to us concerned about his ability to be a good leader going forward. He said he doesn’t expect this investigation to last longer than 2 weeks.
As a side note, Bona said there’s a contract negotiation with the union coming up. He said his contract as president expires in June of 2015, but he doesn’t foresee anything cutting that term short.
The board of trustees scheduled a special closed session meeting for Monday.
