The Truth About My 33 Year Career at MATC — and What the Journal Got Wrong
By Dr. Richard A. Busalacchi
Publisher, Franklin Community News
Introduction
Over the past several years, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has published articles that mischaracterized both my career at Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) and my reputation as a person. Their reporting — particularly the March 2021 story following the resignation of Vice President Amir Law, the October 28, 2024 investigation by Tamia Fowlkes, and the January 13, 2025 “What to Know” explainer — told only half the story.
These articles took isolated remarks out of context, amplified accusations from a letter written by the African American Network (AAN), and ignored the findings of independent outside investigations that cleared me of racial discrimination and retaliation. In doing so, the Journal Sentinel created a false public narrative that I was part of MATC’s “culture of racism.” That is simply not true.
The truth is this: for more than 30 years, I served MATC as an innovator, problem solver, and leader dedicated to student success. When difficult problems arose, I was the one called to fix them. My work expanded opportunities for students of every race, religion, and background. And when allegations were made against me, independent investigators found them unprofessional but not racist. The Journal didn’t tell you that part of the story.
This article sets the record straight.
Why This Article Appears in Franklin Community News
Franklin Community News exists to hold public institutions and elected officials accountable, and to give the community access to facts that the mainstream press often omits.
The same forces that mischaracterized me in the Journal Sentinel — taking comments out of context, ignoring exculpatory evidence, and amplifying political agendas — are the same forces that have worked to silence Franklin Community News.
Both Milwaukee County Supervisor Steve Taylor, Franklin Mayor John Nelson along with co-conspirators Mike Zimmerman CEO of ROC Ventures, Joe Russ of Greendale, Grant Johnson formerly of Franklin, and an Executive Director of a local Chamber of Commerce have attempted to retaliate against my First Amendment activity by interfering with my employment, targeting my reporting, and mischaracterizing my journalism as harassment. Publishing this article in Franklin Community News underscores that their efforts to suppress the truth will not succeed.
The Journal’s Narrative
The Journal Sentinel’s coverage — including the March 2021 article following the resignation of Vice President Amir Law, Tamia Fowlkes’ October 28, 2024 investigative piece, and the January 13, 2025 “What to Know” explainer — repeatedly:
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Used the phrase “Who are we hanging today?” to frame me as invoking lynching.
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Highlighted my “dumb as a box of rocks” remark as evidence of racism.
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Amplified allegations from a pending DEI retaliation lawsuit.
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Relied on the African American Network (AAN) as a primary source without balance.
The Use of Amir Law’s Resignation and the AAN Letter
In March 2021, the Journal Sentinel reported on the resignation of Vice President Amir Law, framing it as emblematic of systemic racism at MATC. The article leaned heavily on a letter from the African American Network (AAN), which cited Law’s departure as proof of a toxic racial climate.
What readers were never told is that the AAN’s February 8, 2021 letter specifically named me, Rich Busalacchi, as one of the individuals accused of “racially disparaging remarks.” The letter alleged I had called Dean Equan Burroughs “dumb as a box of rocks,” belittled his competency, and mocked former Vice President Johnny Craig’s integrity.
What the Journal Sentinel failed to report is that these claims were fully investigated by independent outside counsel and found not to be racially motivated, not discriminatory, and not retaliatory. Yet instead of balancing the story with those findings, the Journal amplified the AAN’s accusations — placing my name squarely in the public narrative of systemic racism at MATC.
That omission mattered. It was the first time I was publicly labeled in connection with MATC’s “culture of racism,” and it created a template for subsequent coverage in 2024 and 2025. By repeating the same pattern — printing accusations, ignoring investigative findings — the Journal Sentinel built a storyline that falsely branded me as a racist and damaged my reputation.
My Formal Complaint in Response to the AAN Letter
On March 29, 2021, I submitted a formal written complaint to MATC’s Vice President of Human Resources, Elle Bonds, in direct response to the AAN letter and the Journal Sentinel’s March 10 coverage.
In that complaint, I documented that:
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The AAN letter named me directly and falsely accused me of making racially disparaging remarks.
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The letter had been widely circulated — not only internally at MATC but also to Board members, multiple media outlets, and external partners — ensuring the accusation was spread as broadly as possible.
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The individuals listed on the AAN letter masthead, Equan Burroughs and Michele Lamarre, had both previously filed complaints against me, which were independently investigated by Attorney Denise Greathouse of Michael Best. Both investigations concluded that my remarks were not racially motivated and that allegations of retaliation or discrimination were unsubstantiated.
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Despite these findings, Burroughs and Lamarre revived the same closed matters through the AAN letter in what I described as harassment, retaliation, defamation, and reverse discrimination.
By the time the Journal Sentinel published its March 2021 article, the paper had access to both the AAN letter and the investigative history that cleared me. Yet it chose to amplify the accusations without mentioning the findings.
Independent Findings from the 2021 Investigation
Following my March 2021 complaint, MATC again retained independent outside counsel — Attorney José Olivieri of Michael Best — to investigate both my complaint against Equan Burroughs and his immediate retaliation complaint against me.
In his June 15, 2021 report, Olivieri found:
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I was truthful in asserting that I filed my complaint in good faith to clear my name.
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Filing such a complaint does not constitute retaliation, consistent with court rulings.
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There had been no adverse action by me toward Burroughs.
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Most importantly, he reaffirmed Attorney Denise Greathouse’s 2019 finding: my comments about Burroughs were inappropriate but not racially motivated, and I had not created a hostile work environment or engaged in retaliation.
Olivieri concluded that Burroughs’ April 2021 retaliation complaint against me was “not sustained.”
This means that by mid-2021, two separate independent investigations — one by Greathouse in 2019 and one by Olivieri in 2021 — had both cleared me of race discrimination. Yet the Journal Sentinel never reported these findings, choosing instead to amplify only the accusations.
MATC’s Silence Left Me Vulnerable
By mid-2021, after two separate outside investigations had cleared me of discrimination, retaliation, or hostile conduct, I expected the matter to be put to rest. MATC had the benefit of independent findings from Michael Best showing that my comments were unprofessional but not racially motivated.
Yet while the African American Network (AAN) letter was circulated to Board members, community partners, and the press — and the Journal Sentinel amplified its accusations — MATC chose not to issue a public clarification.
This silence left me exposed. Without acknowledgement that outside counsel had already dismissed the allegations as not racial, the narrative hardened that I was part of a “culture of racism.” That impression was then recycled in the 2024 and 2025 Journal articles.
What could have been clarified with simple transparency instead became a lasting mischaracterization of my reputation.
What the Journal got Wrong
1. Independent Investigations Using Outside Counsel
MATC investigated me on two occasions but deliberately chose to retain independent investigators from Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, a respected Milwaukee law firm, to ensure impartiality.
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2019 Investigation (Attorney Denise Greathouse, Michael Best): She concluded that while I made unprofessional remarks about a colleague, they were not racially motivated. She also found no hostile work environment and no retaliation.
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2021 Investigation (Attorney José Olivieri, Michael Best): He investigated claims of retaliation after the AAN letter and Journal Sentinel coverage. He concluded I filed my complaint in good faith to clear my name, that I was truthful, and that there was no retaliation. Most importantly, he reaffirmed that I had not engaged in race discrimination.
Both times, the college relied on external investigators to ensure fairness. Yet the Journal Sentinel reported only the allegations, while omitting the findings.
2. Context Behind the “Hanging” Remark
The October 2024 article described my question, “Who are we hanging today?” as if I were invoking racial violence. The reality is very different. The comment was made one day while a large branch was being cut off a tree, and I jokingly asked, “Who are we hanging today?” It was never about race. It was a lighthearted remark in the moment, the kind of banter I had shared for decades with colleagues — many of them African American, many of them long-time friends.
Those very same friends often joked back with me, at one point even referring to me as “the crème in the middle of the Oreo.” In that environment, the humor was mutual and understood. When I made the “hanging” comment, the people present laughed — they did not “stare silently,” as the Journal Sentinel falsely claimed.
At the time, no one filed a complaint. The issue was only raised more than a year later, when Florence Truss, an employee, was pressured into submitting a formal complaint as part of a broader vendetta against me. I later learned of this pressure when I was contacted by a building services worker at the West Allis campus, who had overheard the conversation in the staff breakroom where Florence was being pushed to file.
This vendetta stemmed from my being asked to serve as Interim Vice President of Student Services, during which I inherited a major reorganization known as “Guided Pathways.” Many employees were frustrated about not being promoted or about structural changes that were actually directed by the President’s Cabinet, not by me. I became the convenient scapegoat.
Once I became aware of the conversation and the pressure Florence had been under, I immediately took responsibility. I wrote her an apology letter that very same day and reported the situation to Elle Bonds, MATC’s Vice President of Human Resources. Ironically, at the very time this was happening, college administrators were participating in an online seminar about grace, forgiveness, and understanding conflict — and how it is not always about discrimination or race. That principle, however, was not extended to me.
When the comment was finally brought forward, I was suspended for three weeks as discipline. I accepted that penalty. But the true context — the tree, the banter with long-time colleagues, the pressure to file a complaint, and my immediate steps to take responsibility — was ignored by the Journal Sentinel.
3. The “Box of Rocks” Comment
The Journal Sentinel also referenced my “dumb as a box of rocks” remark as if it were proof of racism. The truth is very different. The comment was made at an off-site lunch with Carl Morrency, who at the time was not only my colleague but also a very good friend. Carl and I routinely went to lunch together to talk through MATC challenges. On that particular day, I made the remark to Carl about Equan Burroughs — another African American administrator — in the context of doubting his professional ability, not his race. It was unprofessional, but it had nothing to do with race; it meant simply “there is nothing there.”
That same day, at Carl’s suggestion, I bought lunch for him to take back to his wife, Michele Lamarre, as he put it, “a peace offering.” Michele was upset because under the new Guided Pathways reorganization, her position had not been upgraded as promised by the previous vice president, Johnny Craig.
It was immediately following that very day that a discrimination complaint was filed against me. The timing makes it clear this was not about a single remark in isolation, but about frustration and resentment tied to the reorganization process and unkept promotion promises.
It is also worth noting that there is no proof that other administrators, faculty, or staff at MATC have ever been written up or disciplined for making an unprofessional comment outside of work. The fact that I was singled out for an off-site remark made privately to a friend only underscores the targeted and retaliatory nature of the complaint.
The remark was later investigated by independent outside counsel, and the finding was clear: it was unprofessional, but not racially motivated.
4. Other Complaints Were Unsubstantiated
Two additional complaints, filed years earlier, were also investigated by outside counsel and found unsubstantiated. None of this context made it into the Journal Sentinel’s coverage.
5. The Role of the AAN
The African American Network (AAN) is not an official MATC affinity group. It is an independent employee organization that has acted as a political body, with its own agenda. While it has raised concerns about racial equity, MATC’s Public Relations Director has acknowledged that the AAN is not formally recognized as an institutional group.
Several of its most vocal leaders — Equan Burroughs, Michele Lamarre, and Carl Morrency — were all based in Student Services, the very division I oversaw as interim Vice President. At the time, the college was undergoing the Guided Pathways reorganization, which had been directed by the President’s Cabinet but for which I received much of the blame. Many employees were upset about not being promoted or losing responsibilities they believed had been promised to them.
Adding to this dynamic, Lamarre and Morrency were married, further concentrating their influence within the group. Their involvement was not impartial oversight but part of an internal power struggle, shaped by personal alliances and resentment over structural changes. Despite this, the Journal Sentinel treated their complaints as objective truth, while ignoring my evidence and the findings of independent investigators.
6. Ignored Balance and Evidence
Reporter Tamia Fowlkes interviewed me for 45 minutes before her October 2024 story. I provided her with my apology letter and gave her the names and phone numbers of two African American female administrators who could directly verify my record and version of events. She never contacted them. Instead, she ignored the evidence I supplied and chose to quote only members of the AAN.
Contextual Pressures
The reaction to my remarks in 2020 did not happen in a vacuum. They occurred in the shadow of the George Floyd murder, when racial tensions across the country were heightened and every workplace was under pressure to respond quickly and decisively. While I take responsibility for words that were unprofessional, it is also clear that the interpretation of my comment was amplified by this national climate, not by my intent.
Today, the narrative has resurfaced amid a new wave of political pressure — this time on public institutions to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives under the influence of national politics and statements by President Trump. These shifting political winds have further polarized discussion of MATC’s internal climate, and once again my name has been used unfairly as a symbol.
My Milwaukee Roots
I was born and raised in Milwaukee, growing up on the city’s near northwest side at 43rd and Vliet. I attended St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Grade School at 36th and Brown through eighth grade, where I was immersed in a diverse environment and, in both my neighborhood and parish, I was often the majority minority.
At St. Thomas, I was elected to the Parish Council, where I proudly served for five years until 1987. Those early years in Milwaukee shaped my understanding of community, equity, and responsibility — values that have guided me throughout my life.
I then attended Milwaukee Trade and Technical High School, which was a true melting pot and a representation of Milwaukee’s diverse backgrounds. My experiences there further deepened my appreciation for inclusion, fairness, and the importance of education as a pathway for all students — regardless of race, religion, economic background, or sexual orientation.
My Roots as a Student Advocate
Before I was ever an administrator, I was an MATC student (1989–1991). I began my journey here as a proud first-generation student leader, serving in Student Senate at MATC, as Resource Director for six years with Wisconsin Student Government for the entire Technical College System, and as a board member and later President of the National American Student Association for Community Colleges.
My advocacy has always been student-centered. For more than three decades — as a student, state-level organizer, national board leader, and later as an MATC dean and vice president — my work has been about expanding opportunity, amplifying student voices, and ensuring that those from all backgrounds could succeed.
My Educational Journey
After graduating from MATC with an Associate’s Degree in Marketing Communications, I stayed on for an additional year to complete a full slate of liberal arts transfer courses. I then transferred to Cardinal Stritch University, where I earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration.
My commitment to education did not stop there. I went on to the University of Wisconsin–Stout, where I earned a Master’s Degree in Adult and Vocational Education, and later to Nova Southeastern University, where I completed my Doctorate (Ed.D.) in Educational Administration, Instructional Technology, and Distance Learning.
This educational journey — starting at MATC and continuing through graduate and doctoral studies — reflects the same values I have always championed for students: that access to education creates opportunity, upward mobility, and lasting impact.
From Student Senator to Associate Dean: A Legacy Built From the Ground Up
An early indicator of my leadership came in 1989, when as Day Student Senate President I spearheaded improvements to our campus’s student governance space. That same drive and vision would later define my professional career.
Colleagues praised my open-door policy and my ability to bring ambitious ideas to life. But I have always believed it is about collective effort, not individual glory. As I told the MATC Times: “It’s not all me … we can build the very best labs … but if we don’t have the faculty to put into the labs, it’s meaningless.”
In Italian, I called this journey “Destino” — destiny. Sometimes, dedication and community alignment create momentum stronger than any singular plan. My path from student senate leader to dean wasn’t chance — it was built on decades of service, humility, and trust.
My Record of Service
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Equity in Practice: As Acting VP of Student Services, I led MATC Start Fresh, forgiving student debt up to $1,500 to help returning students continue their education.
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Program Innovation: I spearheaded degree programs in Culinary Management, Baking & Pastry Arts, Meeting & Event Management, and Creative Advertising — opening pathways for diverse students.
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Workforce Diversity: I secured $400,000 in grants to expand statewide workforce programs, enrolling over 125 students with strong participation from underrepresented groups.
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Technology & Access: I pioneered MATC’s distance learning program, assisted in the launch of Blackboard, and revived “College of the Air,” which extended education to incarcerated youth offenders to earn an Associate of Arts Degree.
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Community Impact: I assisted in the design of curriculum which included student-run restaurants, labs, and bakeries, raised hundreds of thousands for scholarships, and served in leadership roles with the Greendale Lions Club, Festa Italiana, and the Greendale Education Foundation.
Even the president of the AAN attended my retirement party in 2024 — a clear contradiction to the image of me as a racist pariah.
Pattern of Retaliation and Transparency
At the same time the media misrepresented me, officials like Steve Taylor and John Nelson interfered with my employment. When MATC withheld records, I filed a writ of mandamus, which remains active today, to ensure transparency.
Attacks on My First Amendment Rights and Franklin Community News
My work with Franklin Community News has drawn retaliation from Milwaukee County Supervisor Steve Taylor, Franklin Mayor John Nelson along with co-conspirators Mike Zimmerman CEO of ROC Ventures, Joe Russ of Greendale, Grant Johnson formerly of Franklin, and an Executive Director of a local Chamber of Commerce, who have tried to silence me by labeling journalism as harassment. The same tactics used at MATC — taking words out of context, ignoring independent findings, suppressing truth — have been used against my press work.
The Larger Truth
Yes, MATC — like many institutions — has faced cultural challenges. These need to be addressed with empathy and reform. But scapegoating me through selective reporting is unjust.
Two independent investigations by Michael Best — commissioned by MATC — concluded that my conduct was not racist, not discriminatory, and not retaliatory. Those facts matter. The Journal Sentinel omitted them, while amplifying allegations from individuals with a political agenda.
My record, both as a student and administrator, has been about creating opportunity for everyone — students and colleagues of all races, religions, economic backgrounds, and LGBTQ identities. That is my legacy.
Conclusion
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s portrayal of me as a racist is false. My life’s work at MATC was about innovation, accountability, and opportunity. Allegations were reviewed and dismissed by outside investigators.
What remains is my true legacy: serving vulnerable students of every background, creating programs that opened doors, and leaving MATC stronger than I found it. That — not sensational headlines — is the truth.
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