InsideHigherEd: Purge at Ave Maria Law
Thu, Aug09, 2007 - Category: School of
Law
The mainstream press is picking-up our "Dean Runs
Amok" stories. "Inside Higher Ed" is a
popular source for news in higher education.
They released this today.
Excerpts:
Safranek said that the law school’s leadership has abandoned not only academic freedom, but Catholic teachings about the dignity of individuals and the importance of treating one another with basic respect. “They are the ones who don’t believe what the faith has to teach,” he said. “We are really the ones trying to maintain the Catholic identity of the institution. They want it to be an offshoot of the Republican Party.”
It’s not only Safranek who has felt punished for speaking out. Richard Myers, a professor of law who was also among the original faculty members, said that when professors voted no confidence in the dean last year and disagreed on the move to Florida, retribution started quickly. Myers was removed from his committee chairmanships and replaced with non-tenured faculty members, even though the posts had traditionally gone to senior scholars. His salary was frozen.
Myers said that one question the ABA and others should consider is the role of the faculty — in whatever state Ave Maria resides. “Is the school a real academic institution where faculty have a role, or is it run on a corporate, sole proprietorship model, where the school is run from top down and faculty are interchangeable employees?”
UPDATE, 8/9/2007 - The Wall Street Journal's law blog picked-up the story late this afternoon.
Excerpts:
Safranek said that the law school’s leadership has abandoned not only academic freedom, but Catholic teachings about the dignity of individuals and the importance of treating one another with basic respect. “They are the ones who don’t believe what the faith has to teach,” he said. “We are really the ones trying to maintain the Catholic identity of the institution. They want it to be an offshoot of the Republican Party.”
It’s not only Safranek who has felt punished for speaking out. Richard Myers, a professor of law who was also among the original faculty members, said that when professors voted no confidence in the dean last year and disagreed on the move to Florida, retribution started quickly. Myers was removed from his committee chairmanships and replaced with non-tenured faculty members, even though the posts had traditionally gone to senior scholars. His salary was frozen.
Myers said that one question the ABA and others should consider is the role of the faculty — in whatever state Ave Maria resides. “Is the school a real academic institution where faculty have a role, or is it run on a corporate, sole proprietorship model, where the school is run from top down and faculty are interchangeable employees?”
UPDATE, 8/9/2007 - The Wall Street Journal's law blog picked-up the story late this afternoon.