Opposition Senator Leonard Santucci is calling for a probe into the Bermuda College?s human resources management practices.

At yesterday?s Senate hearing Sen. Santucci said that he gave Government a failing grade when it came to promotion and employment of Bermudians into senior posts.

He then focused on the Bermuda College using the dispute over Michael Bradshaw?s ?pending termination? as the Director of Accreditation.

?(Mr. Bradshaw is the) only Bermudian person I know with a doctorate in education and community college administration,? he said.

?It seems as if there?s a threat against black males who are educated in this country. The Bermuda College needs a board of inquiry into its human resources practices.

?It seems that if you are black and male you stand a better chance if you are foreign.?

Government Senator Raymond Tannock responded by saying that it was inappropriate to comment publicly on Dr. Bradshaw?s situation.

Asked to elaborate on his comments, Sen. Santucci told that far too many black men, including himself, had left the College in recent years and he was not only concerned as to what this meant to them professionally but also the impact it would have on young black men in the community.

?It could be argued that in the last ten years black men have been either restructured out of the College or challenged as it relates to their continued employment with the College ? myself included,? the Senator said.

?The College would probably argue that persons either retired or resigned, which in essence is the case, but I would argue most had no other choice.?

Citing the prison management report?s recommendation that two senior managers of the Prisons department be axed, he said his observations were not limited to the College but ?that is definitely the case at the College?.

Dr. Bradshaw went public this week with his frustration that he was being axed by the College after working there for over 20 years.

?Michael Bradshaw in my opinion is the type of individual that any reputable institution would be seeking to hold onto,? Sen. Santucci said. ?He?s a first class biologist? who has taught many Bermudians in the applied sciences who now hold their doctorates.

Besides Sen. Santucci and Dr. Bradshaw, about half a dozen black men have had their careers cut short at the Bermuda College in recent years.

The list includes former Dean of Arts and Sciences Roy Wright, former political science lecturer Walton Brown, former activities director Norbert Simons and Kelson Smith, who worked there as the Associate Dean for Applied Sciences and was passed over for the Deanship in favour of Canadian Wayne Wilson.

The College has also come under criticism in some quarters for rejecting applications by highly qualified Bermudians such as Clarence Maxwell and Kim Dismont-Robinson. Both have doctorates and were hoping to teach at the College.

Sen. Santucci points to the College?s ?fiasco? with the Computer Department which had been rocked by mass resignations in recent years.

A Government-commissioned report later found that there was a widely held perception that black men were being held back professionally at the College.

?When you get right down to it, the College is in no position to defend many of its employment practices,? Sen. Santucci said.

?And I think in fairness to applicants and Bermudians in general there should be a review of the human resource practices within the College ? in part because they continuously move the goalpost in the handling of staff and their related grievances.

?But what they tend to do most often is work at frustrating people out of a job. Generally, they try to avoid mediation or arbitration.?

He added that the College was ?famous? for appointing people and not confirming a job description and people are now wary of accepting non-established or new posts, because the College ?does not honour its commitments in many of these appointments?.

?A person like Mr. Bradshaw would be put in a post for two to three years at most during which time the College works to eliminate him.?

He added: ?I think it (an inquiry) is urgent. I think it?s important because it is symptomatic of a degree of unrest within our community. It becomes problematic for a Government to promise to take care of our youth when our youth knows that their fathers and brothers and their elders are being betrayed at their hands.?

He said there was a divide in the society between properly qualified black Bermudians and less qualified guest workers, and that too often the Bermudians? employers imposed a more stringent set of requirements for Bermudians as compared to foreigners.

Touching briefly on the Abdallah Ahad saga, he said he understand the matter was being reviewed but ?it could be argued that, if the College had done its job, the Ministry of Education would not be in the position they are in now?.

College officials did not return calls by presstime last night.