Category Archives: Legal issues

The Chronicle: 3 Ousted Professors Sue Founder and Dean of Ave Maria Law School

Three faculty members at Ave Maria School of Law have sued the school’s dean and board chairman, saying they were suspended in retaliation for reporting conduct by top law-school officials that they suspected was illegal.

The complaint was filed on Wednesday in a state court in Ann Arbor, Mich., against Thomas S. Monaghan, the law-school’s founder and chair of its Board of Governors, and Bernard Dobranski, the school’s president and dean. The law-school’s foundation was also named in the suit.

The plaintiffs, Stephen J. Safranek, Edward C. Lyons, and Philip A. Pucillo, have been involved in an acrimonious dispute over the Catholic law school’s planned move from Ann Arbor to property that Mr. Monaghan owns in southwestern Florida (The Chronicle, May 18). Mr. Monaghan, who made a fortune selling his Domino’s Pizza empire, holds a “significant financial interest” in the planned community of Ave Maria, Fla., and he has publicly said that the Virgin Mary directed him to develop the town and Ave Maria University there, according to the suit.

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Houston Chronicle: Judge wants ex-TSU president Slade tried in March

Ousted TSU President Priscilla Slade’s attorney said today he’s not sure he’ll be able to represent her again if prosecutors insist on retrying his client on financial mismanagement charges.

Defense attorney Mike DeGeurin said he remains hopeful that prosecutors will dismiss charges alleging Slade spent more than $500,000 of Texas Southern University’s money on personal expenses.

“This case should not be retried,” DeGeurin said. “I hope that when the dust settles, reason will prevail and there will be no need for another trial.”

Prosecutors said they would not consider dismissing the charges.

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Houston Chronicle: Judge declares mistrial in Slade case

The jury ended up split 6 to 6, but stood united Friday and said they cried and prayed while deliberating the fate of ousted TSU President Priscilla Slade before declaring they were hopelessly deadlocked — resulting in a mistrial.

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Tulsa World: Updated: New claims in ORU lawsuit

It alleges documents were destroyed and a “sexual deviant” had access to campus.

Three former Oral Roberts University professors made public on Friday what their lawsuit against ORU describes as “the exact packet of information” that they allege got two of them fired and resulted in one’s resignation.

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The Chronicle News Blog: Professors’ Lawsuit Against Oral Roberts U. Gets ‘More Salacious’

A lawsuit filed this month against the president and first lady of Oral Roberts University just got a little broader — and a little more salacious.

In the lawsuit, three former professors at Oral Roberts assert that administrators harassed and intimidated them after they accidentally came into possession of a sensitive document drawn up by a university official. The document purported to detail dozens of instances of ethical and financial misconduct by the president of the university, Richard Roberts, and his wife, Lindsay Roberts.

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Fresno Bee: Fresno State, Milutinovich settle lawsuit

Diane Milutinovich and Fresno State have reached a settlement in the former associate athletic director’s sexual discrimination lawsuit against the university, lawyers for Milutinovich announced Thursday afternoon in a news conference at Fresno County Superior Court.

Milutinovich will receive $3.5 million and the university will recognize her as an employee emeritus for her three decades of work at Fresno State.

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Houston Chronicle: There could be problems if Slade is retried

With jurors deadlocked in the financial mismanagement trial of ousted TSU President Priscilla Slade, experts point to possible problems with a new trial if the judge declares a mistrial.

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Daily Record: Faculty union sues CWU

The faculty union at Central Washington University has filed a lawsuit against the school seeking time or money for duties its members performed in addition to their classroom teaching. The United Faculty of Central, the union representing teachers, claims its members are owed time for work such as research, advising and participation in university committees.

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CAUT Bulletin: Simon Fraser Announces Settlement, Apologizes to David Noble

Simon Fraser University has acknowledged it made mistakes and expressed “sincere regret” to David Noble over actions surrounding his candidacy for the J.S. Woodsworth Chair in 2001.

The apology was part of an out of court settlement reached between SFU and the York University professor, who was denied the appointment six years ago despite overwhelming support by faculty.

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Chicago Sun-Times: Sexual harassment case divides college

CHICAGO | Northeastern Illinois students bring charges, saying school let accused off easy

Miguel Parra, former president of the International Honor Society in Education at Northeastern Illinois University and a straight-A student, called it an “inappropriate attempt at humor.” But the female student whose breast he touched during class and another who says he attempted to touch her thought it was criminal — not funny.

The case has split faculty and administrators at Northeastern, too. The chairwoman of the department of physical education kicked Parra out of school for a year, but then was stunned when a dean on campus overruled her and ordered him back in class.

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Inside Higher Ed: Settlement on Abortion Signs

Rhode Island College and the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island have settled a lawsuit brought by a women’s group over the college’s censorship of signs supporting abortion rights, the ACLU announced Tuesday. The campus Women’s Studies Organization, a student group, sued the college after a December 2005 incident in which its president ordered campus police officers to take down signs that the group had posted near the college’s entrance that said “Our bodies, our choice” and “Keep your rosaries off our ovaries.” Rhode Island officials argued at the time that the students hadn’t gone through the necessary campus procedures to post signs on campus property. Under the settlement, the college did not admit wrongdoing, but it agreed to cover the student group’s legal costs and to give it $5,000, the ACLU said.

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Columbus Dispatch: OSU must pay O’Brien nearly $2.5 million, court rules

An appeals court ruled today that a lower court was correct in deciding that Ohio State University owes nearly $2.5 million to former men’s head basketball coach Jim O’Brien.

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