Ave Maria Helps Democrat Financier
Fri, Dec15, 2006 - Category: Foundation
Students and parents of Ave Maria
University/College/School of Law might be interested
to know how profits from their federal student loans
landed in the campaign coffers of Hillary Clinton,
Ted Kennedy, and the DNC. It happened thanks to AMU's
Nick Healy and Fr. Fessio, who allowed one of their
long-time banking associates to turn Ave Maria into a
lender's playground for his Miami-based finance
company.
In 1999, the University of Mobile (Alabama) was
looking to sell its branch campus in San Marcos,
Nicaragua. Together, three people lobbied the
Catholic charismatic Franciscan University of
Steubenville to buy the Latin American
institution - Fr. Joseph Fessio, Nick Healy, and
Henry Howard, President and CEO of US Education Finance Corp. When
the Steubenville Board declined the threesome's
lobby, they then went to Tom Monaghan, who
ultimately acquired the Nicaraguan institution
in July 2000.
The threesome reaped the benefits. Healy left his post on the Board at Steubenville to work for Monaghan as President of Ave Maria College (Michigan) and, currently, as President of Ave Maria University (Florida). Fr. Fessio was given the Chancellor, then Provost, posts at AMU. The two will oversee the Nicaraguan institution as "Ave Maria University, Latin American Campus". But what about Henry Howard?
Howard and his Miami-based company had the most to benefit in financial terms. US Education Finance Corp is a well-connected provider of federal student loans (The Federal Family Education Loan Program). Not only is the profit margin high for lenders in this federal program, but it is also virtually risk free due to government guarantees. According to the federal Higher Education Act, colleges must offer a wide range of potential lenders for students to choose from. It also forbids "pay-for-play" deals or the offering of incentives for student-loan business.
But even the leaders of these finance companies admit that lenders offer college revenue-sharing deals, percentages of loan profits, gifts, and trips to college officials in exchange for being the institution's "preferred provider". Students are often told that these "preferred providers" are more trustworthy and speedy in processing aid applications, even though the student may end-up paying more for that provider's loan. On the subject of corruption in federal student loans, Howard recently said "The preferred lender lists are at the root of all of the allegations regarding these improprieties. The preferred lists are no longer necessary and should be eliminated." (July 31, 2006 - Bloomberg News)
But that sharply contradicts Howard's alleged interaction with Ave Maria institutions. Court documents from the sworn testimony of AMU's former Chief Financial Officer make the following allegations:
- that Howard served on the advisory board for the Nicaraguan campus and was intimately involved in the financial aid applications of their students
- that Howard was a "principle benefactor" (donor) to the Nicaraguan campus, using this status to obtain preferential treatment
- that Howard told Ave Maria University who to hire as a financial aid officer, indicating that he wanted to be the preferred lender for the Nicaraguan campus, Ave Maria College (Michigan), Ave Maria University (Florida), Ave Maria School of Law (Michigan), and St. Mary College (Michigan) - all of which were run by Monaghan's Ave Maria Foundation at the time.
- that Howard's employees violated FERPA law by having direct access to student files
- that Howard boasted about his family ties to the Nicaraguan police, that he could get individuals off-the-hook or in-trouble
- that other banks (i.e. PNC) knew of Howard's claim on Ave Maria student loans, and would report to him as such; that Howard would personally reprimand Ave Maria financial aid employees if he caught loans being sent to another lender
- that Nick Healy became very upset with AMU employees when they voiced concern about Howard's potentially illegal behavior
It gets more strange. According to various campaign finance databases, including the Florida Department of State, AveWatch has uncovered that Henry Howard is a big-time exclusively-Democrat financier. Since 2000, Howard gave $259,750 to the state and federal campaigns of Democrats such as John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Ted Kennedy, Tom Daschle, Bob Graham, and Bill Nelson. Howard even made contributions as large as $25,000 directly to the Democrat National Committee (DNC).
What were the supposedly ultra-conservative Fr. Fessio and Nick Healy doing by running-around with Henry Howard as far back as 1999? How much money has Howard made from Ave Maria student loans? What benefits have Fessio, Healy, and Monaghan reaped over the years in their relationship with Howard?
The threesome reaped the benefits. Healy left his post on the Board at Steubenville to work for Monaghan as President of Ave Maria College (Michigan) and, currently, as President of Ave Maria University (Florida). Fr. Fessio was given the Chancellor, then Provost, posts at AMU. The two will oversee the Nicaraguan institution as "Ave Maria University, Latin American Campus". But what about Henry Howard?
Howard and his Miami-based company had the most to benefit in financial terms. US Education Finance Corp is a well-connected provider of federal student loans (The Federal Family Education Loan Program). Not only is the profit margin high for lenders in this federal program, but it is also virtually risk free due to government guarantees. According to the federal Higher Education Act, colleges must offer a wide range of potential lenders for students to choose from. It also forbids "pay-for-play" deals or the offering of incentives for student-loan business.
But even the leaders of these finance companies admit that lenders offer college revenue-sharing deals, percentages of loan profits, gifts, and trips to college officials in exchange for being the institution's "preferred provider". Students are often told that these "preferred providers" are more trustworthy and speedy in processing aid applications, even though the student may end-up paying more for that provider's loan. On the subject of corruption in federal student loans, Howard recently said "The preferred lender lists are at the root of all of the allegations regarding these improprieties. The preferred lists are no longer necessary and should be eliminated." (July 31, 2006 - Bloomberg News)
But that sharply contradicts Howard's alleged interaction with Ave Maria institutions. Court documents from the sworn testimony of AMU's former Chief Financial Officer make the following allegations:
- that Howard served on the advisory board for the Nicaraguan campus and was intimately involved in the financial aid applications of their students
- that Howard was a "principle benefactor" (donor) to the Nicaraguan campus, using this status to obtain preferential treatment
- that Howard told Ave Maria University who to hire as a financial aid officer, indicating that he wanted to be the preferred lender for the Nicaraguan campus, Ave Maria College (Michigan), Ave Maria University (Florida), Ave Maria School of Law (Michigan), and St. Mary College (Michigan) - all of which were run by Monaghan's Ave Maria Foundation at the time.
- that Howard's employees violated FERPA law by having direct access to student files
- that Howard boasted about his family ties to the Nicaraguan police, that he could get individuals off-the-hook or in-trouble
- that other banks (i.e. PNC) knew of Howard's claim on Ave Maria student loans, and would report to him as such; that Howard would personally reprimand Ave Maria financial aid employees if he caught loans being sent to another lender
- that Nick Healy became very upset with AMU employees when they voiced concern about Howard's potentially illegal behavior
It gets more strange. According to various campaign finance databases, including the Florida Department of State, AveWatch has uncovered that Henry Howard is a big-time exclusively-Democrat financier. Since 2000, Howard gave $259,750 to the state and federal campaigns of Democrats such as John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Ted Kennedy, Tom Daschle, Bob Graham, and Bill Nelson. Howard even made contributions as large as $25,000 directly to the Democrat National Committee (DNC).
What were the supposedly ultra-conservative Fr. Fessio and Nick Healy doing by running-around with Henry Howard as far back as 1999? How much money has Howard made from Ave Maria student loans? What benefits have Fessio, Healy, and Monaghan reaped over the years in their relationship with Howard?