Tag Archives: Bethune-Cookman U

4 Former Professors Sue Bethune-Cookman U. Over Their Dismissal

Posted on June 16, 2011 by | Comments Off on 4 Former Professors Sue Bethune-Cookman U. Over Their Dismissal

Orlando Sentinel: 4 Former Professors Sue Bethune-Cookman U. Over Their Dismissal

Four former professors are suing Bethune-Cookman University, claiming they were fired because they confronted the college president about a host of problems on campus, including embezzlement.

They say university president Trudie Kibbe Reed didn’t want them to embarrass her or undermine her authority so she began a course of retaliation that ended with their dismissal.

Reed, however, said the lawsuit is an effort to divert attention away from the real reason the men were let go in 2009 — allegations of sexual misconduct with students.

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Posted in Faculty, Legal issues

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Academic Freedom and Tenure: Bethune Cookman

Posted on October 25, 2010 by | Comments Off on Academic Freedom and Tenure: Bethune Cookman

AAUP Academic Freedom and Tenure: Bethune Cookman

An Association investigating committee report on Bethune-Cookman University in Florida deals with the 2009 dismissal of four professors and the termination of the services of three additional faculty members. The stated reasons for these actions ranged from charges of sexual harassment of students to claims of insufficient academic credentials to the purported need to reduce the size of the faculty for financial reasons. The report concludes that, in each case, the professors were denied virtually all AAUP-supported protections of academic due process. It further concludes that the administration’s reliance in the dismissals on outside investigators, consultants, and attorneys to deal with matters for which the faculty should have responsibility speaks poorly for the climate of shared governance at the institution.

Read the report (.pdf).

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Posted in Academic freedom, Faculty, Tenure & Promotion, Unions, Working conditions

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AAUP Accuses Bethune-Cookman U. of Denying Due Process to 7 Dismissed Professors

Posted on October 25, 2010 by | Comments Off on AAUP Accuses Bethune-Cookman U. of Denying Due Process to 7 Dismissed Professors

The Chronicle: AAUP Accuses Bethune-Cookman U. of Denying Due Process to 7 Dismissed Professors

An investigative panel of the American Association of University Professors has accused Bethune-Cookman University of denying due process to seven dismissed professors, including four men who, the panel says, were fired for sexual harassment based mainly on hearsay and on complaints from unnamed students relayed to administrators by a consultant.

In a report issued on Friday, the AAUP panel broadly characterized Bethune-Cookman, a historically black college in Daytona Beach, Fla., of being “repressive of academic freedom.”

“A pervasive atmosphere currently exists at Bethune-Cookman University in which the administration supports favorites and ignores or punishes those who fall out of favor or who question, contend, or appeal,” the report says. “No adequate mechanism or procedure exists for the impartial or balanced hearing of grievances.”

Officials at Bethune-Cookman said on Monday that they planned to respond to the AAUP report, but were not yet prepared to do so.

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Bethune-Cookman U. Fires 4 Faculty Members for Sexual Harassment

Posted on June 19, 2009 by | Comments Off on Bethune-Cookman U. Fires 4 Faculty Members for Sexual Harassment

The Chronicle News Blog: Bethune-Cookman U. Fires 4 Faculty Members for Sexual Harassment

Four faculty members at Bethune-Cookman University have been fired for sexually harassing female students, university officials announced today.

The university in Daytona Beach, Fla., did not name the faculty members or provide details of the alleged harassment. In a written statement, it said it had hired an independent investigator after a female student confided in a faculty member, who urged her to file a formal complaint with the university’s president, Trudie Kibbe Reed.

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