Mesa Community College and Mace Archer: An Examination of Allegations and Institutional Response

Introduction

The Mesa Community College (MCC) theater program has recently been under scrutiny due to allegations of misconduct against its co-director of theater, Mace Archer. This article delves into the details surrounding the allegations, the college's response, and the broader implications for student safety and institutional accountability. The timeline of events, the nature of the complaints, and the actions taken (or not taken) by college administrators paint a concerning picture of how such matters were handled.

Allegations Against Mace Archer

The allegations against Mace Archer span several years and multiple institutions. Before his tenure at MCC, similar concerns were raised during his time at a community theater in Billings, Montana. These allegations include unwanted touching, inappropriate comments, sexualization of students, and other incidents.

Student Complaints at Mesa Community College

After Archer's hiring as co-theater director at Mesa Community College in 2021, students soon began to voice their concerns. Musical theater student Thea Moore warned Puvana Ganesan, the department chair of communication, theatre and film arts, that Archer sexualized her performances, touched her and other women in ways that made them uncomfortable, and made numerous comments on their clothes and appearance. Student Suzanne Olson, who graduated in 2024, created an online file to document student encounters with Archer. She sent it to Ganesan in March when she heard the college was investigating Archer. The document contains more than a dozen mostly anonymous posts from students alleging he encouraged a woman to "dive into" sexual assault and abuse experiences, straddled another woman during a demonstration and showed a video of an orgy with multiple instances of oral sex. The posts cover incidents dating back to 2022. Another student complained about Archer's behavior to Ganesan in March. Theodore McEntire said he sent a four-page letter, detailing multiple instances that disturbed him, including a time when Archer told female students to eat a slice of pizza as if they were performing an oral sex act.

Midterm Performance Incident

Weeks after initial concerns were raised by Moore, Olson, and McEntire, an incident occurred during a midterm performance that brought the issue to a head. Student Gabrielle Monroe described an exercise in Archer's second-level acting class where students were to test the limits of personal fear. According to Monroe, Archer directed three women to undress onstage. Two women stripped down to their underwear, while another removed all of her clothes while the rest of the class was required to watch.

Monroe said she was one of about 16 students in Archer's second-level acting class who met at the college's theater for midterm performances testing the limits of personal fear. Archer positioned himself in the middle of the theater, the director's seat where he often evaluated auditions, Monroe said. The other students scattered among the remaining seats. Attendance was mandatory. As their classmates watched, students one by one emerged on stage. The order was pre-determined. Some sang, some danced and some gave soul-searing monologues built on personal trauma. Three undressed, Monroe said. "On the first day, two women stripped down to their underwear. The person who got naked was on the second day," she said. "We all knew what to expect." The performer didn't utter a syllable as she methodically took off her clothes, folded them on a chair and then removed her underwear under the glow of the stage lights, Monroe said. Then she put on a robe. It was over in minutes. "She was just silent. She just took her clothes off," Monroe said. "People were kind of shocked, but it was silent. No music, no talking, nothing."

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Archer had explained the risk exercise in class and talked about how women have taken off their clothes for assignments in the past, Monroe said. Archer's class discussions were not sexually aggressive or even suggestive, Monroe said. He discussed various ways to complete the exercise, of which undressing was just one example, she said. "We were supposed to do something that made us uncomfortable," Monroe said, adding there were some key rules: "We couldn't harm ourselves, we couldn't harm others and we couldn't harm the space." Archer met with students individually to assess their ideas for the risk assignment. Monroe said the way Archer treated some women made her uncomfortable, but he never tried to pressure her into undressing. "It was mostly the younger, teenage girls in class," Monroe said. "I have heard from other women that their initial idea was not enough of a fear risk, and he suggested that they remove articles of clothing."

Historical Allegations

New York actor and singer Tina Scariano told The Republic that Archer began grooming her at 14 and began a sexual relationship with her in 2006 when she was 18. He was 37. She described him as methodical, calculated and subtle. She also said he was emotionally abusive. Scariano said she decided to speak out against Archer after reading about students speaking out in Mesa. She has joined a group of students in multiple states demanding accountability from college officials, who turned a blind eye to student complaints. They want to make sure Archer never teaches again.

Mesa Community College's Response

The response from Mesa Community College to these allegations has been a source of considerable controversy. The timeline of events, as revealed through investigations, indicates a series of missteps and questionable decisions.

Initial Handling of Complaints

Students said they complained in writing to Puvana Ganesan, the department chair of communication, theatre and film arts. They said she expressed empathy but did not appear to take their concerns seriously. Ganesan has not responded to interview requests.

Conflicting Timelines and Actions

The college offered a confusing and often conflicting timeline for handling complaints against Archer, in which they:

Failed to report the February sexual harassment complaint to school Title IX investigators, who are charged with looking into such allegations. Administrators said the issues "were reviewed through our established process."
Announced May 13 that Archer was no longer teaching, but later acknowledged that was because the spring semester had ended.
Continued to list Archer as an instructor in the fall semester catalog students were using to enroll in classes. The catalog changed May 23 and listed the instructor as "staff" after inquiries.
Confirmed a Title IX sexual harassment investigation was launched around May 29, after Archer was barred from teaching pending the outcome of the previous investigation. Administrators said the Title IX investigation "was prompted by new information received after recent media coverage."

Nothing in Archer's personnel file indicated the college has made any findings related to its March investigation or the subsequent Title IX investigation, which refers to federal laws that require schools receiving federal funds to protect against sex-based discrimination, including sexual harassment. "The faculty member is not teaching during the summer session and will remain on leave pending the outcome of all investigations, at which point the District will take appropriate action based on the findings," Wilson said.

Renewal of Contract and Administrative Leave

Personnel records show that despite the ongoing investigation and sexual harassment complaints, Mesa Community College renewed Archer's contract. Theater director Mace Archer was notified he was being placed on paid administrative leave on June 25, months after students say he encouraged women to strip onstage. The notice came four months after a student submitted a sexual harassment complaint against Archer in February and after students in March said three women undressed onstage at his direction.

The college announced it had launched a formal investigation in March. But personnel records show college President Richard Daniel commended Archer in April for his "commitment to excellence." "Your dedication to MCC is evidenced in the feedback from your students, department chair, dean and your faculty peers," Daniel wrote in an April 29 letter. "We all appreciate your hard work."

"An investigation into conduct that would be grounds for discipline, up to and including termination, is pending," the June 25 notice stated. "During this paid administrative leave, you are prohibited from claiming to represent the Maricopa Community College District or any of its individual colleges."

Title IX Investigation

Title IX investigators for the first time interviewed Moore and Olson after The Republic detailed Archerâs history of complaints in a May 28 article.

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Student Activism and Demands for Accountability

In response to the perceived inaction and mishandling of the situation by college authorities, students have organized to demand accountability. Maddy Brown and Kate Restad invited women and men to talk, to share, "to tell the truth." The group had grown to 130 members by July 16. "Our mission here is to stop Mace from ever teaching again, so that the abuse of young impressionable women will come to an end FOR GOOD!"

They want the group to serve as a hub for people who encountered him at schools and theaters across the country.

Mace Archer's Background

Archer was hired as co-director of theatre at Mesa Community College in 2021. Before that, he was the play director at the University of Tennessee, an assistant professor at Randolph College in Virginia and an artistic director at Mt. Hood Community College. He also directed several plays at Arizona Broadway Theatre from 2008-2014.

Archer on July 14 declined to comment on the allegations against him, citing the ongoing investigation. Archer did not respond to interview requests.

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