It's more of the same strong-arm tactics.

On Monday, Ave Maria School of Law's Dean Bernard Dobranski attempted to censure and begin dismissal proceedings against tenured professor Stephen J. Safranek, a founder of the school. Professor Safranek was involved with the faculty's complaint to the school's accreditor, has filed a complaint with law enforcement against Dobranski, and recently called for a renewal of the faculty's earlier "vote of no confidence" in governance.

Professor Safranek has worked in prestigious law firms, and clerked for Judge O'Scannlain on the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He has been admitted to practice before federal courts, including the US Supreme Court. He has numerous publications and is the Executive Director and Founder of The True Marriage Project, an extension of Safranek's interest in "helping to ensure the survival and growth of the institution most critical to society, the family".

Safranek is in good company. Recall that another Law School founder, Professor Emeritus Charles Rice of Notre Dame, was also terminated by Dobranski and booted from the Law School Board for questioning institutional governance and the legality of Monaghan's proposed Florida town concept. Ave Maria's history of firing whistleblowers is well-known.

More will be posted as this story develops. See Fumare for commentary here and here.

UPDATE, 6/28 - A friendly hat-tip goes to Mirror of Justice for picking-up this story. It is worth noting that the Mirror of Justice post was made by Mark A. Sargent, the Dean of the Villanova University School of Law for the past ten years.

UPDATE, 8/1 - for a summary of all AveWatch.org posts on Professor Safranek, click here.

Tags: employee-treatment, accountability, dean-amok