Santa Rosa Junior College students and faculty feel uneasy on campus following the arrest of Jordan Mead, an information technology employee who faces felony charges for allegedly stalking SRJC Vice President Kate Jolley.
A temporary restraining order is currently in place forbidding Mead from stepping foot on campus.
Starting in December, Mead sent emails to SRJC faculty, management and Board of Trustees members in what he calls a whistleblowing campaign. The campaign centers around the illegal routing of emergency 911 calls on campus to the SRJC police dispatch instead of the Santa Rosa Police Department. His efforts escalated into emails containing violent song lyrics that some employees found threatening and culminated in his March 19 arrest outside of Jolley’s house in Rohnert Park.
Nancy Persons, a public services librarian at SRJC, was initially on the email chain Mead sent to all faculty. “They certainly were making people edgy and uncomfortable,” Persons said.
Roy Gattinella, business department chair, said Mead sabotaged himself with the methods he used to make his point. “He was determined to have his voice heard,” Gattinella said.
Although disappointed and disturbed by the incident, Gattinella expressed empathy towards Mead, “If you have a heart at all, you feel for the guy.”
Gattinella, however, said he does not feel threatened during his daily routine as a professor on campus.
Greg Drukala, SRJC research analyst and former colleague of Mead’s, both serving on SRJC’s chapter of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1021, said he was “shocked and saddened” after he read The Oak Leaf’s article on the incident.
In their time together on the negotiations team, “[Mead] was always very kind and always well-prepared as a negotiator,” Drukala said.
Drukala began his position in 2019, right before the pandemic hit, and all interaction went online via Zoom. Drukala said he didn’t interact with Mead much beyond their online meetings. “Programmers, we are not very social people,” he joked.
An instructor who asked to remain anonymous detailed how the emails Mead sent in December and January escalated.
“What is this?” was her response to the initial emails containing song lyrics. Now she feels uneasy being on campus as “the person is not containing themselves,” the instructor said. “I feel like it went on too long.” She reiterated feeling uneasy and unsafe as the SRJC schedule of classes is public knowledge.
Most students were not aware of the recent incident.
“Oh no, I had no idea,” Maria Dunco, 20, said. Similarly, her friend Veronica Ramirez, 21, said, “This is the first time I’ve heard of it.”
Ramirez was shocked when she learned of the event. “That’s horrible,” she said.
Julian Cook, 18, was concerned that the administration had not released a campus-wide statement as of April 1. “I’m confused why I haven’t heard about any of this,” Cook said.
Tiffany Nguyen, 20, student vice president of marketing at the Santa Rosa campus, was familiar with Jolley as they had worked together on a Student Government Assembly (SGA) project.
“I was surprised,” Nguyen said. “I was in shock. I didn’t know she was going through that terrible thing.”
Nguyen reiterated that campus safety for all students, student workers and faculty is important to SGA. “I just feel that safety on campus should be one of the biggest concerns that the Board of Trustees should address,” she said.
Another student, Heather Alcaide, 52, was not aware of the incidents but is looking for the college’s input on the matter. She is giving college officials the benefit of the doubt and said she understands the administration may not be able to give the public access to all the information right now, given this is an ongoing matter.
“Kate is probably the most unanimously liked person in the district,” said SRJC Student Trustee Anthony Spinozzi, 19. “I mean, she’s the VP of Finance, so it’s easy to fall into a controversial category because you’re the person handling the money. But even the negotiators for the AFA, the SEIU, they all speak highly of Kate. So I think it hit everyone pretty hard to see that someone was going after Kate.”
“To anyone that feels uneasy on campus after my emails and arrest, I would ask you the following: What have you done to demand answers from The District? Are you interested in the truth of what happened or do you just want to react to what has been reported?” Mead asked in regards to his whistleblowing campaign in an email with The Oak Leaf. “I am a loyal, dedicated, defender and guardian of everyone at Santa Rosa Junior College, and that is who I will always be.”
Sarah Pew, SRJC’s senior director of marketing, communications and public affairs, said, “The District remains committed to the safety and well-being of our entire community and to maintaining transparency through responsible and appropriate communication.”
Mead pled not guilty to the stalking, harassing and trespassing charges at his arraignment on March 27. He was remanded on $1 million bail after the deputy district attorney, Lauren Giles, said he allegedly contacted Jolley on March 20 and 21 in violation of a court protection order. Mead posted bail later that day.
The SEIU filed a workplace violence restraining order against Mead, prohibiting him from stepping on campus through June 3. A civil harassment hearing is scheduled for June 3 to reassess the restraining order. Mead’s preliminary hearing regarding allegedly stalking and harassing Jolley is set for May 23 at Sonoma County Superior Court.
