HHC employee charged with criminal mischief fired from IU

Mark Zacharias was fired from his position as scholarship coordinator for Hutton Honors College on Dec. 21, according to an update on the IU Police Department website.

“Performance issues and allegations concerning Mark’s performance (as an employee of the University) were discussed,” according to union steward Peter Kaczmarczyk of CWA Local 4730 in an IUPD update.

Having been suspended without pay since Dec. 9, Zacharias, 54, was charged with institutional criminal mischief, a class-D felony, Dec. 14 for the Nov. 30 vandalism of a glass display case at the Robert A. and Sandra B. Born Jewish Studies Program
office in Goodbody Hall, according to an IUPD press release.

A rock was used to break the glass of an information board in the lobby, according to the press release. The vandalism occurred amidst a series of anti-Semitic incidents on campus.

If Zacharias is convicted, he could face up to three years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines.

On Dec. 17, Zacharias turned himself in and bonded himself out of the Monroe County Jail three days after his arrest warrant was issued, according to IUPD Chief of Police Keith Cash. His bond was $4,000 surety, $500 cash.

On Dec. 21, Hutton Honors College Dean Matthew Auer confirmed that Zacharias, the scholarship coordinator since fall 2003, was fired.

The next day, the prosecutor’s office filed a felony charge of theft against Zacharias for an earlier, unrelated incident, according to a probable cause affidavit. The affidavit states that on Nov. 14, a Dollar General employee in Ellettsville, Ind., reported that $300 had been taken from her purse.

Because Zacharias was a support staff employee who entered data on student scholarships for the Hutton Honors College, Auer wanted to reassure all Hutton Honors College students that this incident did not have any effect on their scholarships.

“It is worth reiterating that Mr. Zacharias had no role in the process of selecting scholarship recipients. He entered data on awards,” Auer said. “While the Hutton Honors College deeply values the free and vigorous exchange of ideas, there is no place here for hate.”

Auer said he and colleagues have re-examined institutional records of awards, which Zacharias had no role in, and the information Zacharias entered.

“In all cases we have examined – including all students with surnames we believe to be Jewish – we have found absolutely no discrepancy between institutional records of awards – again, a process that Mr. Zacharias had no role in – and the data entered by Mr. Zacharias on award decisions,” Auer said.

Auer encourages inquiries by students who want their personal record to be checked, according to his e-mail.

“I have received some requests from students – perhaps a dozen – to determine if their scholarship decisions were handled fairly. In these cases, we found no irregularities in the scholarship process,” Auer said.

The Hutton Honors College is also re-examining even more student records regarding
scholarships.

“Beyond the requests from these students, we have looked at a much larger number of student records as a part of an internal audit,” Auer said.