Burright listed online degree in seeking promotion in rank

By REBECCA BARRETT
Gazette-Times reporter

Sgt. Jack Burright listed a bachelor’s degree he purchased from a degree mill as part of his application when he applied to be a lieutenant at the Benton County Sheriff’s Office in 2004, investigators looking into the matter said Tuesday.

A degree was required for the management position Burright sought as supervisor of the patrol division. Candidates also could substitute law enforcement experience for the degree requirement, so Burright didn’t need a college diploma, Benton County Human Resources Manager Libet Hatch said Tuesday.

Nevertheless, Burright listed the bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration he bought from Farington University on the job application, in a cover letter and on his resume.

“I received my bachelor’s of science degree from Farrington (sic) University and also took some classes from Southwest University in criminal justice management,” Burright wrote in his cover letter, dated and signed April 29, 2004.

State officials say Farington is a diploma mill and that any diploma issued by Farington is bogus. The same officials, in the Oregon Office of Degree Authorization, say that Southwest University is a legitimate online university.

Burright, who is running for Benton County sheriff, didn’t get that lieutenant’s job in 2004. He has said that he never used the phony degree to further his career or to mislead anyone.

It is illegal under Oregon law to use a phony academic degree as a credential, state officials say.

Burright didn’t respond to a phone message left at his home on Tuesday afternoon. However, Albany attorney Kent Hickam, who said he was responding on Burright’s behalf, said Burright had done nothing wrong.

“He has never represented that it was anything other than an online degree,” Hickam said.

Burright submitted his transcript from Linn-Benton Community College, where he also took some classes, and his certifications of training from the Department of Public Safety and Standards Commission to Farington, which sent him a degree. Hickam said he didn’t know how much Burright paid for the degree.

“He has been very honest ... that he doesn’t know who evaluated that information or how exactly it was evaluated, but based on submitting that information and what evaluation was done, he got his diploma,” Hickam said.

In a statement he made this week to the Albany Democrat-Herald, Burright said he submitted a copy of his Farington degree to the county’s personnel department.

 “I knew it was just a diploma from a Web site university. I have never suggested otherwise,” Burright wrote.

“I have always been open, honest and forthcoming in regard to my suspicions about this diploma,” Burright wrote.

Sheriff Jim Swinyard said last week that Burright had not attempted to use the Farington degree to advance his career. But on Tuesday, he said that additional investigation had revealed the 2004 application from Burright.

The county’s employment application, which Burright signed when he applied for the lieutenant position, informs job candidates that misrepresentations, falsifications, or omissions “shall be cause for cancellation of this application and/or dismissal from subsequent employment.”

Swinyard and Benton County District Attorney Scott Heiser turned over county documents in which Burright used the Farington University degree to the Oregon State Police, at that agency’s request.

The State Police launched an investigation of Burright last week after stories about Burright’s credentials appeared in the Gazette-Times. Swinyard said once the criminal investigation is complete, an internal investigation of Burright will be conducted.

Burright was placed on paid administrative leave last Thursday, pending the criminal investigation. While he is on leave, Burright can have no role in law enforcement activities, including testifying in court, Swinyard said.

Retired State Police and Benton County Sheriff’s officer Lt. Andy Olson was Burright’s supervisor in 2004, and served on the panel of law enforcement professionals that screened candidates for the lieutenant’s position.

Olson, who’s now a representative in the Oregon Legislature, said Burright told him at that time that he had a degree. In early 2004, Olson said, both men signed Burright’s performance evaluation, which said that Burright had completed his bachelor’s degree.

“I take that at face value when someone says that to you,” Olson said Tuesday.

Olson said he doesn’t recall Burright telling him that his degree wasn’t valid.

“I do believe I would have recalled that,” Olson said.

Meanwhile, an investigation by the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office over complaints that Burright knowingly made false statements on his candidate filing form about his academic credentials is pending, as is an investigation by the state Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, the law enforcement licensing agency.

Rebecca Barrett covers public policy and education for the Gazette-Times. She can be reached at rebecca.barrett@lee.net or 758-9510.