Inside Higher Ed: Dean Whose Silence Couldn’t Be Bought
When he felt a student had been done an injustice, David Potter came to her defense. For him, it was a matter of principle. Now, the former associate dean of Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Science says he is out of a job because of it.
Last academic year, when he was the associate dean of student services, Potter helped reopen a sexual assault case brought against three varsity basketball players by a female student. The case, Potter said, was not handled by the university’s Judicial Affairs panel — as is standard practice. Instead, the case was informally resolved among the university and the lawyers of then-freshman basketball players Jonny Flynn, Antonio (Scoop) Jardine and Rick Jackson. The informal procedure was later closed after the female student withdrew from the university. Still, Potter said the student had not agreed to dropping the case with her leaving. Details of this initial resolution are unclear, but Potter said the female student was unhappy with the move. (A grand jury also declined to bring charges against the players, although the woman who filed the complaint stood behind her account of what took place.)
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