I spent most of my career working as a radio astronomer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) headquarters in Charlottesville, VA. The NRAO is a research facility of the NSF receiving over $100 million per year to design, build, and operate state-of-the-art radio observatories such as the VLA. Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) is the nonprofit federally funded contractor that operates the NRAO for the NSF, so the 500+ people working at the NRAO are legally AUl employees. When I retired in March 2021 after four decades of service as a Tenured Astronomer, the AUl Board of Trustees made me an Astronomer Emeritus. Since the AUl Board made my Emeritus appointment at the recommendation of the NRAO Director, only the AUl Board could revoke it after the Director reversed his recommendation. They did so in November 2022 in retaliation for my public opposition to systemic discrimination by race and sex at the NRAO. I sued AUl in federal court for retaliation made illegal by Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and won.

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My hope for this website is that exposure to sunlight will deter future attempts by AUl and the NRAO to stifle or compel employee speech, discriminate by race and sex, or retaliate against whistleblowers who oppose institutional discrimination in any form. I hope it will also encourage others to oppose illegal discrimination by their own employers.

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Jim Condon Email: condonvaui@gmail.com

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While working from home on November 4, 2022, I was surprised to receive a large but remarkably light box from FedEx. It contained only the letter below and a mailing label.