AURORA -- A school district investigation into the resume of an Aurora school board member confirms what Denver7 already discovered.
The Aurora Public School Board conducted its own investigation into board member Eric Nelson after reporting by Denver7 and the Colorado Statesman uncovered discrepancies in Nelson's resume and military record.
Nelson, who was running for state representative for an Aurora district at the time, has denied the inaccuracies that have been uncovered.
In June, the Aurora School Board stripped Nelson of his secretary title and asked that he resign. Since he is an elected representative, he cannot be fired. To be removed, he has to resign or be recalled.
The district hired a private investigator to look into Nelson's resume once he refused to resign.
At its board meeting on Tuesday, the board reviewed the private investigator's report.
The executive summary of the 23-page report determined that Nelson:
- Lied about his education/military service
- Falsified his academic history and exaggerated his professional affiliations.
- Did not graduate from four colleges which he lists on his biography/resume
- Provided altered diplomas to defend three of his degrees
- Was an adjunct professor at CSU from August 2012 to May 2013
- Was not an adjunct professor at University of Colorado - Denver
According to Quincy Snowdon of the Aurora Sentinel, the board revealed that the investigation cost the district $18,000.
In June, Denver7 discovered that multiple college degrees on Nelson's resume appeared to be false. He sent the Aurora Sentinel a photo of a diploma for a Masters of Social Work from Northwest Nazarene University. Denver7 checked into the diploma photo and discovered multiple forgeries.
Questions about Nelson’s military service came up after a report by the Colorado Statesman focused on a photograph of Nelson in a decorated Air Force uniform that was reportedly posted on Nelson’s Facebook page. That photograph has reportedly since been taken down.
Denver7 showed the photograph to the Air Force, which tells us the photograph shows Nelson wearing 10 ribbons on his uniform. The Department of Defense confirms Nelson was an active duty Air Force member from April 16, 1998 to June 18, 1998, but said they have no awards or decorations on file for Nelson.