To the members of the Monterey Institute campus community:

We are writing to share with you the conclusions of the process of intensive research and consultation that the Institute has engaged in since learning of potential issues regarding the academic and military credentials presented to the Institute by one of our workshop instructors, Mr. Bill Hillar.  We thank you for your patience and understanding as the Institute has examined these very serious issues.

We have attached a statement of the findings reached by the Institute in this matter.  These include:

  • That Mr. Hillar claimed an academic credential on his resume (a Ph.D. from the University of Oregon) that he did not in fact earn.
  • That the Institute has been unable to substantiate the military service claimed by Mr. Hillar.

Because Mr. Hillar never applied for a position as an employee of the Institute, serving only as an independent contractor retained to lead a single three-day, one-credit workshop per semester, he was not subject to the pre-employment background checks that the Institute requires of all regular employees, a category that includes all faculty and adjunct faculty.  As a result of this incident, the Institute has made the decision to extend the requirement for a full pre-engagement background check to any person who provides classroom instruction for academic credit at the Monterey Institute, regardless of their employment status.  This change in policy is effective immediately.

These findings of course require us to address the issue of academic credit for the workshops led by Mr. Hillar in the past.  As a consequence of our findings in this matter, the Institute will offer two options to every student who has taken a workshop led by Mr. Hillar at the Monterey Institute:

  • Affected students who met the academic requirements of the workshop may choose to allow the credit to stand on their academic record.  (Students choosing this option do not need to take any action.)
  • Alternatively, affected students may request that the credit from the workshop be removed from their academic record, in which case they will be offered the opportunity to enroll in another one-credit workshop offered by the Institute at no additional cost.  (Students choosing this option should contact Tate Miller, dean of Advising, Career and Student Services, by December 14.)

The Institute is in the process of identifying a qualified instructor to lead a human trafficking workshop in the spring 2011 semester, and will work to make this workshop available both on-site and online.

In the course of our review, we confirmed that most of our workshops are currently led by regular or adjunct faculty.

We recognize that many of you have been anxious to know the conclusions of this process.  We want to assure you that this process has been both very thorough and conducted as expeditiously as possible under the circumstances.  Those circumstances have included both extensive research and information-sharing with similarly affected institutions, and active cooperation with law enforcement.

The public record suggests that a number of agencies and institutions across the country, including law enforcement and other government agencies, non-profits, and educational institutions, have been similarly affected by Mr. Hillar’s actions.  Nonetheless, the ultimate responsibility for the quality and integrity of the instruction received at the Monterey Institute of International Studies rests with us.  We deeply regret this incident and offer our sincere apologies to the students, alumni, faculty, and staff who have been affected by it.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we want to express our profound personal gratitude to the students who brought these issues to the administration’s attention.  We are proud of your service, proud of the integrity you have displayed through your actions, and proud that you chose the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

Sunder Ramaswamy                                             Amy Sands

President                                                                     Provost