West Point faculty member Gary Solis alleged in December 1999 that Col. Henry A. Zimon had attempted to intimidate him on a grading matter involving a student. Here is the full text of the letter to an Albright faculty member. I am an associate professor of law at the U.S. Military Academy, at West Point. I have watched recent faculty issues at Albright with interest, wondering how your new President, Colonel Zimon, might fair.
At West Point, a year and-a-half ago, I had as a student ***. *** ultimately passed my course. However, on the same day I assigned her final grade and met with her to explain it, Colonel Zimon, then an active-duty colonel assigned to the Pentagon, and someone I'd not met, phoned me at home at 10:45 p.m., awaking me. In highly intemperate, rude, and aggressive terms, he berated and threatened me, told me he was writing to the Academy's Superintendent and to the Dean, to demand termination of my employment. He also threatened to pursue my law bar membership. His complaint was that, in his view, I had wrongfully accused *** of having cheated in completing my class.

The merits of *** case are irrelevant. My point is that he is an individual demonstrably willing to act rashly, and on an uninformed basis. As a result of his call I wrote a letter to his Pentagon commanding general, informing him of Zimon's behavior. Before sending that letter, I vetted it through my academic chain-of-command, all of whom were only too familiar with Colonel Zimon as a result of his similar intemperate behavior toward them on other matters. Did Colonel Zimon make known to Albright (or to the search committee) any problem he had with his Army seniors regarding my letter? More significantly, did he make known any problem regarding his repeated accusations of unrelated wrong-doing regarding West Point's senior leadership, which accusations - shortly before his retirement - resulted in his involvement with high echelons of Army command?

I also note that Colonel Zimon asserts that, when assigned as a West Point instructor, he gained tenure in record time. Has he somehow squared that assertion with West Point's lack of a tenure system? No military instructor, no civilian professor, presently or previously, has ever had tenure.

I'm sure that Albright will fairly resolve all allegations concerning Colonel Zimon and he will receive that which he merits.

Gary Solis, J.D., Ph.D.
*The identity of the student has been made known to the Albright faculty.

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