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California Polytechnic State University reportedly pushed a chemistry lecturer out of her job after she raised concerns about learning assistants in general, and their inability to set up a safe laboratory.
The lecturer told The College Fix she believes the school in San Luis Obispo hired an H-1B foreign worker to fill the position.
The lecturer, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, worked at the public university for several years beginning in 2021. (The featured image is a stock photo and does not depict anyone mentioned in this story). The Fix reviewed documentation, including emails and a performance review, as part of this story.
She said she lost her job after questioning the ability of her learning assistants.
However, a performance review cited her for supposedly mistreating the assistants by correcting them and asking them to stay late to clean up the lab.
Learning assistants frequently arrived unprepared, violated lab safety rules, and lacked basic training, the lecturer alleged. This created unsafe classroom conditions for her large freshman labs of up to 64 students and meant first-year students were exposed to improper laboratory practices.
“The problem was structural,” the lecturer said. “Instructors were held responsible for laboratory instruction and student outcomes without being given meaningful oversight or accountability authority.”
Reports to the chemistry department and the school’s health and safety team went nowhere. However, the department chair at the time did accuse the lecturer of an inappropriate “tone” in a performance review.
She disputes the complaints made against her.
According to the lecturer, the complaints were “anonymous, unverified, and procedurally improper … None of the allegations described harassment, discrimination, or any violation of university safety or conduct policies. They described ordinary supervisory interactions in a crowded lab setting.”
The complaints also directly contradicted the whistleblower’s established positive record — department leaders praised her for diligence and dedication.
“The only material change in 2025 was that I had repeatedly and explicitly raised concerns about Learning Assistant training and laboratory safety,” the lecturer noted.
The safety team, though, did deem the concerns legitimate and agreed faculty are responsible for safe learning and laboratory environments, the chemist whistleblower said.
The Cal Poly media team responded to a Fix inquiry about the allegations on behalf of the chemistry department saying the university “takes all complaints seriously and addresses them according to university policy.”
The school declined to comment on any ongoing complaints.
University boots Americans, brings in foreigners
The problems with foreign workers reflects a broader issue at the school when it comes to hiring, the whistleblower said.
The chemist believes Cal Poly relies heavily on seemingly higher-paid, non-tenure lecturers while claiming it cannot find enough American workers to fill teaching positions. The school offers a relatively low wage to American workers for the cost of living in the area. However, it offers higher wages to foreign workers.
“The low salaries offered to the US citizens is their main reason that they don’t find any US workers hence opening it to H-1B visa holders,” the lecturer alleged. “Replacing experienced, non-tenure-track U.S. lecturers with entry-level H-1B hires does not address a labor shortage; it replaces incumbent faculty with workers who carry less institutional risk.”
The Fix reviewed documentation showing at least four lecturing positions in the chemistry departments filled by H-1B workers, with the base salary listed as $78,432.
Unlike American faculty, who get academic year contracts that exclude summer, the H-1B hires get paid through the summer. However, H-1B workers are not listed in the system’s employee profile.
The university did not provide data on the salaries of H-1B hires in response to a public records request. However, the California State University system told The Fix there are about 550 H1-B workers among the 63,000 employees across all campuses.
At least one of these may have been used to replace the chemist. She said her safety concerns were never properly investigated and were added to an internal file – the same file that is reviewed during rehire decisions and unavailable to outside applicants, who are evaluated without comparable institutional records.
Then, when the contract came up for rehire, this lecturer was not selected, even though the chemistry department advertised multiple open positions. The lecturer later learned the department hired several H-1B visa holders instead.
The lecturer told The Fix even before the termination “the Chemistry Department was actively issuing H-1B visa offers to foreign hires.”
Despite being a qualified internal applicant, this lecturer seemingly was bypassed in favor of foreign workers who were paid less and more compliant.
Compliant workers preferred than those who will raise concerns, expert says
An expert on foreign worker programs said universities prefer hires who have fewer employment options.
“Since Congress created the uncapped H-1B exemption for universities in 2000, public universities have steadily expanded their use of foreign workers in STEM roles,” Kevin Lynn told The Fix via email. He is the executive director of the Institute for Sound Public Policy and founder of U.S. Tech Workers.
According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ H-1B Employer Data Hub, Cal Poly approved 28 new H-1B workers and 17 continuing workers.
“They are no different in this respect than private corporations,” Lynn said. “Labs under tight budgets may prefer visa-dependent workers who accept lower pay and longer hours, helping faculty stretch limited grant funding further.”
The lecturer said Cal Poly has hired workers from Pakistan, Iran, China, Italy, Bulgaria, and other countries under the H-1B program. Some were paid less and more compliant.
According to the lecturer, the chemistry department’s reliance on foreign labor has discouraged other lecturers from raising concerns.
However, universities have an obligation to investigate faculty complaints, the American Association of University Professors told The Fix.
Spokesman Kelly Benjamin pointed The Fix to its Recommended Institutional Regulations which says faculty have the right to “petition an elected faculty grievance committee with issues of [this] type.”
People “tolerate more risk,” the chemistry lecturer warned.
“Over time, [not being able to raise concerns] creates a chilling effect,” she said. “People document less. They intervene less.”
The Fix contacted all 18 current chemistry lecturers at Cal Poly to ask about H-1B hiring, contract renewals, and retaliation, but none responded.
Editor’s note: The article has been amended to clarify the lecturer’s statements, and a new line added indicating The College Fix reviewed documentation surrounding these claims. The article also now clarifies this is the San Luis Obispo campus, and clarifies comments about an internal file where her safety concerns were placed.
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