Trial Preparations and Full Explanations
As Tom Monaghan and his
Ave Maria generals (including Collier Co. CEO Paul
Marinielli) prepare to be deposed, a few things
are worth remembering:
In a July 20 2007 interview on Fox 2 News (Detroit),
AMSL Dean Bernard Dobranski said that Tom Monaghan
was informed of what transpired when the Law School
offered computer help to a local priest investigated
for child pornography (see BoysCherries series;
hear audio). According to Fox,
Monaghan's Law School chose not to share the
findings of its internal "investigation" with
police "claiming privacy and no fresh
information".
That said, Mr. Monaghan should be considered by
everyone to be a fully informed participant in
the BoysCherries incident. We give him no wiggle room
for claiming lack of understanding of all that
transpired. We trust that he was fully aware
of the fact that at least one of his Ave Maria
College employees was, according to police reports,
in direct contact with the priest's pornographic hard
drive. In the upcoming trial's fact finding, if
anything comes out showing inconsistency,
falsehood, half-truths, or more extensive involvement
of previously named or unnamed individuals, we will
hold Mr. Monaghan responsible for (a) not offering a
complete explanation of the events and (b) denying
the police their right to investigate matters for
themselves. It will be deeply problematic for
Monaghan if there is any whiff that what
transpired was more than what was publicly disclosed;
given the seriousness of the matter, a cloud of
distrust will hover over Monaghan in all things Ave
Maria, including his Town.
An explanation remains open as to how the priest and
his parish supporter - both of whom lacked computer
technical skill - garnered the instructions and skill
to remove the pornographic drive and to
install/format the brand new hard drive.
Before the trial starts, it is also worth considering
Dean Dobranski's boundless tolerance for the
outrageous public remarks made week after week by his
"buddy" AMSL Chaplain Fr. Michael Orsi (1,2,3,4)...
and compare that to Dobranski's harsh and abrupt
termination
of tenured founding professor Steve Safranek
based, supposedly, on thin
and misleading
reasons. Remember, it was Orsi who
invited the BoysCherries scandal upon the
Law School... and it was Orsi who, according to
reports, never even bothered to tell the Dean
about the incident until after Dobranski
was informed by another source.
Dobranski's seemingly insurmountable task is to put
lipstick on the obviously ugly mug of arbitrary
employee treatment, as typified by where Orsi and
Safranek are today. There isn't enough makeup at a
Marco Island community meeting to coverup that boss
hog.
Eisenberg Resigns from Ave Maria Law
Excerpt of Eisenberg's AMSL bio:
"Professor Eisenberg has also served as an attorney for the administrative office of the Judicial Council of California, and has taught at Golden Gate University School of Law, the University of Michigan Law School, and Hastings College of the Law. Her course offerings include Professional Responsibility, Criminal Law, and Law and Literature. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and Religious Studies from the State University of New York, Stony Brook, a Master of Arts in English and American Literature from Princeton University, and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School."
Hat tip Fumare (comments)
Bromberg Resigns from Ave Maria Law
Excerpt from AMSL bio:
"[Bromberg] worked as an Assistant District Attorney in the Appeals Bureau of the New York County District Attorney‘s Office. He has taught at the University of Chicago Law School, Stanford Law School, Harvard Law School, and the University of Michigan Law School. He served as the founding Director of Ave Maria School of Law‘s three-semester Research, Writing, and Advocacy Program and currently teaches Property, American Legal History, and Origins of the Constitution. Professor Bromberg holds a Bachelor of Arts with high honors from Harvard College, a Juris Doctor with honors from Harvard Law School, and a Master of the Science of Law from Stanford Law School."
Hat-tip to Fumare (comments)
Falvey Resigns from Ave Maria Law
In October 2006, AMSL Chairman Tom Monaghan asked Falvey to submit, in 45 days, a detailed report on the financial future of the Law School in the events leading-up to the Board decision to move the School to Monaghan's Florida real estate development. That document - referred to as "The Falvey Report" - concluded that (1) Monaghan's financial management of AMSL was destabilizing the institution and (2) that it would be in AMSL's best interest to reduce, not increase, his financial involvement, particularly as it relates to American Bar Association accreditation. He was said to be concerned that AMSL was run de facto as a proprietary law school but that de jure it was not.
Colonel Falvey's brief profile, AMSL website (bio):
"Professor Falvey began his legal career as a Marine Corps judge advocate where he served as either a judge, prosecutor, or defense counsel in more than 280 criminal trials. He later served as Assistant Dean and Associate Professor of Law at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. Professor Falvey served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Ave Maria School of Law from its founding in 1999 to 2006. Professor Falvey is a recognized expert in international criminal law. He has drafted rules of evidence and procedure for the International War Crimes Tribunal for Yugoslavia and has written several articles pertaining to international criminal law. He teaches Criminal Law, Evidence, Trial Advocacy, and National Security Law. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Notre Dame, a Juris Doctor with honors from Notre Dame Law School, and a Master of Laws with honors from the Judge Advocate General‘s School."
[Hat-tip: Fumare]
"More Definite" Motion Denied
Monaghan and the Ave Maria Foundation have 21 days to produce discovery responses. Although no date is scheduled for depositions, late January is the anticipated time frame.
Commentary - Fumare
Tom Monaghan did not have a good week in court. On Friday, the Michigan Supreme Court denied a request by Monaghan in another whistleblower wrongful-termination suit. That suit was filed over three years ago by the former director of federal financial aid at Ave Maria College. Her suit, and the suits of the three law school professors, will now move forward in court as Monaghan and top Ave Maria administrators prepare to be deposed.
Monaghan Files Lawsuit Docs
Lawyers for Tom Monaghan and Bernard Dobranski recently filed responses to the lawsuits of former AMSL professors Steven Safranek, Phil Pucillo, and Edward Lyons (background; series; see also "Dean runs amok" series)
Answers from Butzel Long, filed Nov. 26, 2007 - PDF (3.3 MB)
More Definite Statement Request from Pear, filed Nov. 26, 2007 - PDF (1.6 MB)
Protective Order from Pear, filed Nov. 29, 2007 - PDF (644 KB)
Analysis of the responses will follow in the coming days. A key issue seems to exist over the timing of AMSL's decision to uproot the school to Chairman Monaghan's for-profit Florida real estate development:
+ Butzel Answer, Paragraph 43:
"In September, 2003, in part due to a feasibility study which had been conducted, the Board decided that it was premature at that time to make a decision to relocate. From September, 2003 until late 2005, the issue of relocation was dormant as far as the Board of Governors was concerned."
But this notion that "the issue of relocation was dormant" for the Board between 2003-2005 contradicts the institution's own press release announcing the move:
+ AMSL PR release (Feb. 20, 2007):
"After almost five years of discussions and research about the feasibility of relocating, the Board of Governors determined that moving to Ave Maria, Fla., will give the Law School its best opportunity to thrive..."
+ Chronicle of Higher Education (Feb. 20, 2007):
"Bernard Dobranski, the law school’s president and dean, said in an interview that its Board of Governors had decided on the move after five years of discussing its options."
The timing is important to establish the influence of Monaghan's real estate development decisions on the AMSL Board, and whether the American Bar Association was given an accurate picture of the school's financial health and the events leading to the decision to relocate to Monaghan's Florida development.
+ Butzel Answer, paragraph 44:
"... defendants AMSL and Dobranski deny as untrue plaintiffs' allegations that Thomas Monaghan acted through Dobranski to manipulate faculty, staff or the Board of Governors..."
+ Problem - Judge James Ryan, a Board member of Ave Maria School of Law and Ave Maria College; statement to faculty, Winter 2003:
"We [the Board] are just here to help Tom spend his money... We all need to remember that this is Tom's enterprise."
"We just do what Tom asks..."
+ Butzel Answer, Paragraph 47:
"In the application to the ABA [submitted Sept. 10, 2004] for full accreditation, AMSL presented five year budgets which relied upon Ave Maria Foundation subsidies, but the application did not include specific and firm commitments by Thomas Monaghan or the Ave Maria Foundation to fund AMSL at least through the 2009-2010 academic year."
+ Problem - Sept. 10, 2004 + 5 years = September 10, 2009, which is within the 2009-2010 academic year. Are we to believe that the ABA would have granted AMSL full accreditation if it knew that Monaghan was not giving AMSL a "specific and firm commitment"?
+ Butzel Answer, Paragraph 45:
"Dobranski does not recall whether he told the ABA that there were no plans to move the Law School at the time AMSL was seeking full accreditation. If he did, it would have been a true statement at the time, since there were no such plans."
+ Problem - This is typical Dobranski lawyer-speak. Dobranski appears to think that his and the Board's "discussing its options" with "almost five years of discussions and research about the feasibility of relocating" does not constitute "plans" to move. This would be akin to me saying that I have no "plan" to move to Ann Arbor even though I've interviewed twice for a job at the University of Michigan, met with a real estate agent, applied for preliminary approval with a local mortgage provider, had house plans drawn by an architect, and completed (but had yet to submit) the forms to enroll my kids in Ann Arbor schools. If, in Dobranski's world, "plans" only means the period after a decision is made, one must revisit the same question that AveWatch asked immediately after the February 2007 announcement of AMSL's move to Monaghan's Florida development - How is it that Ave Maria was able to organize a media blitz in two states, a 48-hour home sale in Monaghan's development, and secure congratulations from the Governor of Florida without any business days after the vote? Within days after the announcement there were snazzy videos, beautiful brochures, and statements released from the likes of Robert Bork promoting Monaghan's real estate development and AMSL's move. No "plans"? Yeah, right.
The same brand of Clinton-esque speak was used in the "Answers" document to address the BoysCherries child pornography incident that AMSL invited upon itself. AveWatch thoroughly dissected Dobranski's weak response to that incident here (background; series).
The most disgusting part of "Answers" deals with the firing of tenure-track professors Lyons and Pucillo:
+ Butzel Answer, Paragraph 78:
".. Dobranski recalls advising plaintiffs Lyons and Pucillo, at the time they were told of their promotion to Associate Professor, that they were making satisfactory progress toward tenure."
When were they promoted? - Lyons in 2005 and Pucillo in 2006. Then, in 2007, AMSL dumped the professors in August, just prior to the semester's start, claiming (paragraph 81) that it was "based on their failure to meet their burden of establishing that they had met the requirements for tenure".
How in the world do faculty members promoted to Associate Professor by the Dean, who are told by the Dean himself that tenure progress is good less than one or two years earlier - and who are endorsed for tenure after review by the institution's Committee on Appointments and Tenure - how do such professors then get denied single-handedly by the Dean in the end?! It should also be remembered that Lyons and Pucillo were not scheduled for an internal appeal-hearing about these matters until after the lawsuit was filed.
In law schools, standard practice is to tell professors of a denied tenure application in February, not August as Dobranski did. A hearing is then typically scheduled within days so that the professors can know with certainty, before the end of the Spring semester, whether the coming year will be their last. In any other reputable institution, it would be the Dean who was terminated in a case like this for not providing adequate warning to professors in a timely fashion such that deficiencies could be corrected. It shows Dobranski as an amateurish Dean who is not beneath the destruction and manipulation of people to send a warning to others who might oppose him. The law school community and Catholic scholars should consider a sanction against Dobranski for such deplorable administration.
On Oct. 23, Deborah Gordon, the attorney for Safranek, Lyons, and Pucillo, filed a Notice of Taking Depositions from Tom Monaghan and Bernard Dobranski on Dec. 17 and 18, respectively. But, to avoid such action, lawyers from Monaghan make an astounding claim:
+ from Motion for Protective Order, Karl Fink, attorney for Monaghan, Nov. 27, 2007:
"... the factual basis for including AMF and Monaghan in this employment case is not readily apparent from the face of the Complaint, other than the obvious publicity bonus that Plaintiffs would like to achieve by sweeping them into the controversy."
So, are we to believe that Tom Monaghan's involvement in AMSL's governance (i.e. employment decisions) and finances - as the AMSL Chairman and principle financier who pulled the school to his for-profit south Florida real estate development - that his involvement in the lawsuit is just a publicity stunt? This is laughable to the point of pathetic. We eagerly look forward to Monaghan answering questions, under oath, about his management of all things Ave Maria, both non-profit and for-profit (including his dealings with the Baron Collier Company).
AMSL Students Act While Deans Ignore
Examples from the student's now-defunct blog can be seen by clicking "More..." below.
The SBA's representatives ("Senators") accused Hamilton of using vulgarities, misrepresenting another student's position, "an obvious breach of honor code", "the condoning of explicit sexual content", and insulting and offending "countless others". One SBA Senator said: "[Hamilton's] high profile has been read by untold attorneys and judges and has cost the school's credibility and quite possibly student jobs many times". At one time, Hamilton's blog was popular enough to be listed in the blog directory at ABA Journal's Law News Now.
It is not newsworthy to report a law student using indiscretion while making statements, or abusing a new position of authority. Of interest is that AMSL's administration - given their preoccupation with "affirmatively injurious behavior" from alumni and faculty who question Tom Monaghan's governance [see also 1,2,3,4] - for all this, the administration left the headache and labor of dealing with Hamilton to the students themselves. According to the minutes from Monday's meeting, the SBA President said "the Administration has been met with and they have made it clear this is a student problem to resolve".
Would AMSL's Dean Bernard Dobranski have taken such a hands-off approach if the student in question employed the same methods to challenge, rather than promote, Tom Monaghan's agenda? The depth of tolerance that Dobranski seems to find for the pro-Monaghan crowd is again exemplified, similar to the passing-over that he gave to the outrageous behavior and statements of AMSL's Chaplain Orsi (see the BoysCherries series here along with Orsi's views on rape, immigration, and discrimination).
It seems obvious to this observer that the ABA's investigation of the environment under Dobranski's watch is once again justified. Dobranski recently blamed the students themselves for not doing well on the Michigan bar exam. Would it ever occur to him that the environment created by him is to blame... that sticking students with the energy- and time-consuming distraction of dealing with an offensive pro-Monaghan student, and the instability of moving to Monahgan's for-profit Florida development, creates a grossly unhealthy academic environment? How pathetic it is that the student President, rather than the institutional President, is the one to show concern for wasted student time and energy by saying ".. people need to focus on mid terms. You 1Ls do not have time for this, and this is a first in the school's history (referencing a call for removal from office), the same goes for the resignation. I have an entire agenda hanging on my board in my office that we have not gotten to."
Indeed, the entire institution appears to have only one agenda of import - that of Tom Monaghan's.More...
Law School Bar Exams: Top to Toilet
As the 2007 Michigan bar examination scores roll in, yet-unconfirmed reports state that Ave Maria School of Law slipped from top in the state to bottom [see story at Fumare]. Who can argue that the decision to close the Michigan campus and move to Tom Monaghan's Florida mega-development has not objectively destabilized a once-successful institution?
Given the rash of firings, Board resignations, massive drop in alumni confidence [1,2], protest by legal colleagues, and intimidation, it is no surprise that the ABA is investigating AMSL's declining environment under Dean Bernard Dobranski. Tom Monaghan's self-interested management, focused on the good of his for-profit Florida real estate development and his Ave Maria Foundation ministry, continues to breed dysfunction for the students, faculty, and alumni of Ave Maria School of Law.
Dean: Faculty Hired "Very Good" Lawyer
"I went to see Dean Dobranski in early 2004, and he proved to be most receptive. He lamented that there was little he could do about my and my wife's employment situation, nor the breaking of [AMC's] institutional promises. But he did suggest I contact a good labor lawyer, and quietly gave me the names of several of them."
In 2004, when Dobranski offered the advice, he may not have feared Tom Monaghan given the soft hand used with Dobranski up to that point. After that time, Monaghan started to exert strong financial coercion on Dobranski's Law School and, subsequently, force AMSL to uproot from success in Michigan to Monaghan's for-profit real estate development in south Florida. In recent years, Dobranski has not only offered Monaghan unquestioned acquiescence to his every whim, but also ruthless treatment to employees and alumni who dare call Monaghan to accountability. Such treatment lead to a lawsuit recently filed against Dobranski and Monaghan by three whistleblowing professors from AMSL.
Irony of ironies. Guess who was one of the "good labor lawyers" suggested by Dobranski to Dr. Beiting back in 2004... Deborah Gordon, the labor law powerhouse who recently filed the suit against Monaghan and Dobranski on behalf of the three AMSL professors. Earlier this week, Beiting told AveWatch:
"Deborah Gordon was one of the three lawyers suggested to me by Dobranksi when I complained to him about Ave Maria's treatment of my wife and I. Dobranski said she was a very good lawyer."
If Gordon made Dobranski's top three for labor lawyers, then he and Tom Monaghan will look awfully silly if they attempt to denigrate her background or integrity as a means to pull growing support for the professors (1,2,3) from fellow Catholics.
Catholicism's Oral Roberts
A central charge against
Robert Roberts, President of ORU, is misuse of
university funds for personal interests. "University
funds" are donations made to a non-profit institution
by supporters; except for some guidelines, donors
relinquish control of their money to a university. It
becomes a university asset.
That is not how Tom Monaghan "gives". In fact, he
does not "give" because he fails to relinquish even
the smallest bit of control. Tax-exempt money from
Monaghan's Ave Maria Foundation is circulated back
into his direct control as Chairman/Chancellor at Ave
Maria University (AMU) and Ave Maria School of Law
(AMSL). He even shares the same CFO between the
Foundation, AMU, AMSL, his Florida bank, and his
multiple for-profit Florida businesses (via Nua
Baile). It would be difficult to imagine a
more egregious example of personal interest
driving the misuse of a non-profit than for a
person to shut-down a highly successful school
under his chairmanship in one state (AMSL in
Michigan) and uproot it to his for-profit real
estate development in another state (south
Florida's Ave Maria Town) - a move that directly
benefits his other Florida businesses and his
chairmanship in a pre-existing non-proft
(Florida's AMU) - all while causing chaos for the
once-successful institution and its alumni
(Michigan's AMSL). AMSL's shutting-down in
Michigan and starting-up in Florida may means
millions for Monaghan, from condo sales, to land
appreciation, to more utility hookups (Monaghan
even has a stake in Ave Maria Utilities in Ave
Maria Town). It makes the $800 bathtub that ORU
put into Richard Robert's house look like peanuts.
But given the recent bubble burst in Florida real
estate, Monaghan's land speculation might not make
much in the end. The success of AMSL's move from
Michigan to Florida is predicated on cash from home
sales, not on the Law School's internal success.
Chaining the school's future to unrelated businesses,
a single decision maker, and unrestrained market
forces is the game that this billionaire is playing.
The volatility for AMSL is compounded because
Monaghan has yet to show any hard guaranteed
financial commitment for the school when it gets to
Florida. Institutions of higher education should not
be the toys of an uber-wealthy businessman with a
high school diploma.
Some have argued that Monaghan should be allowed to
"spend his money as he pleases". To do so is to
disregard restrictions on non-profit and for-profit
governance, and the fiduciary obligation to avoid
conflicting interests. Tom Monaghan's giving back to
himself (i.e. from AMF to AMSL), and his use of
non-profits to directly benefit his for-profits, make
him a rogue philanthropist of the highest order. He
demonstrates nicely why a model founded in
self-interest breeds abuse, unaccountability,
dysfunction, and failure.
Commonalities Between
Monaghan/Roberts:
+ At ORU, Richard Roberts is President; the school's
founder, Oral Roberts, serves as Chancellor. Richard
Roberts is also Chairman and CEO of Oral Roberts
Ministries. Tom Monaghan is Chairman of the Ave Maria
Foundation (AMF), an organization that is also run
like a one-person "ministry". Monaghan also serves as
founder/Chancellor of his Ave Maria University, and
as founder/Chairman of Ave Maria School of Law. The
Ave Maria presidents are lawyers under Monaghan's
direct control; these president-lawyers assume an
attorney-client relationship with the Chairman of the
supporting "ministry" (Monaghan-AMF).
+ The recent suits against Roberts and Monaghan were
each filed by 3 fired professors claiming
whistleblower retaliation and breach of contract.
+ The Roberts and Monaghan suits each claimed that
their respective institution's nonprofit status was
violated. Roberts' case involves a political campaign
while Monaghan's involves abusing a Michigan
non-profit (i.e. Ave Maria School of Law) to benefit
Monaghan's other Florida non-profits (i.e. Ave Maria
University), for-profits (i.e. Nua
Baile and Ave Maria Development), and personal
interests (i.e. Monaghan's private
land holdings). See also "Non-profit
Watchdog Aims At Ave").
+ The Roberts suit involves accusations of
inappropriate sexually-related activity on university
grounds, using university resources. The Monaghan
suit involves worse accusations: "In 2006,
Plaintiff Safranek discovered even more disturbing
activity. Based on discussions with law school
employees and reports prepared by the Michigan State
Police, he concluded that certain staff at Defendant
Ave Maria School of Law used their positions and law
school resources to obstruct a criminal investigation
into a priest’s alleged involvement in sex
offenses, including possession of child pornography.
At the time of this involvement of law school staff
and resources in assisting the accused priest, the
matter had been under investigation by the Livingston
County Prosecutor’s Office, the Michigan State
Police, and/or the Michigan Attorney General’s
Office. Defendant Dobranski became aware of the
issue, but refused to alert any law enforcement
agencies of the role Defendant Ave Maria School of
Law had played in possibly obstructing an ongoing
criminal investigation. Plaintiff Safranek filed a
report with various law enforcement agencies
regarding his knowledge of the efforts to obstruct
the criminal investigation into the priest’s
alleged involvement in sex offenses. The actions of
Plaintiffs have led to ever-increasing retaliation,
including disgusting and false smears upon Plaintiff
Safranek’s character." See AveWatch's
BoysCherries story - background,
details,
series
+ Both Roberts and Monaghan have an odd obsession
with money and a personal Divine calling for their
academic enterprises. In 1987, Oral Roberts claimed
that God would kill him if he didn't raise $8 million
for ORU. The recent complaint filed against Monaghan
alleges that a justification for the uprooting of
Michigan's Ave Maria School of Law to Monaghan's
south Florida Ave Maria Town is that "the Virgin
Mary, whom Catholics revere as the Mother of God,
personally directed him to develop Ave Maria Town and
Ave Maria University in Southwest Florida." See
also "Give
For the Good of Your Soul" and "Ave
Maria Cult of Personality".
+ Both Roberts and Monaghan foster charismatic
Christian experiences (public healings through
channeling; being "slain in the spirit"; speaking in
tongues; happy clappy music at liturgy/worship).
+ Despite the small size of their respective
universities, both Roberts and Monaghan conduct
school business using a private jet.
+ Both Roberts and Monaghan appear to lack financial
accountability. The Roberts suit cites many
accusations of university misappropriation for
personal interest - i.e. "The Roberts home has been
remodeled 11 times in the last 14 years. Each time,
Mrs. Roberts demands more changes." Similarly, the
former CFO of AMU said, under oath, "Mrs. Healy [wife
of AMU President Nick Healy] had spent $90,000 using
the College’s credit card in order to furnish
the [President's] house without prior authorization
or knowledge by me." This same CFO also brought to
light a questionable
payment of $240,000 made to AMU's then-Provost
Fr. Joseph Fessio: "When I inquired as to why
there was no liability on the financial statements
for that, I was told [by Ave administrators] that
the liability was, quote, off balance sheet." What
else does Monaghan keep "off balance sheet"? More
on the former CFO's testimony can be found here;
there are stunning accusations of FERPA violations
and preferential treatment given to a
banker-friend to manage Ave Maria student
loans. Many unconfirmed reports of wasteful
spending have been sent to AveWatch, including
multiple reports from former AMU employees that
$30,000 was spent on a dog house for AMU's bulldog
mascot.
+ Within their respective entrepreneurial fiefdoms,
both Roberts and Monaghan appear to have excessive
control over their institution's Board. In the suit,
Roberts is quoted as follows concerning ORU's Board:
"I have the deck stacked - I am elected to three year
terms and if a Regent appears to give me trouble, I
remove him. I stack the deck..." AveWatch readers
will recall AMSL cofounder and former Board member
Charles Rice's controversial removal (1,2,3), as
well as Monaghan's other Board manipulations
(1,2,3,4),
including his use of a small "Executive Team" at
the Ave Maria Foundation to make decisions
for one school based on factors involving another
school.
+ Monaghan and Roberts share tastes in architecture.
ORU has its futuristic Prayer Tower while Monaghan
has his giant Oratory shaped like a salmon steak.
Neither structure is formally recognized as a
Catholic Church. Monaghan wants to build the world's
largest crucifix on his campus while Roberts has the
largest (60-foot-tall) praying hands statue on his
campus. The estimated value of ORU's buildings is
over $250 million, the same amount that Monaghan
claims to be investing into AMU.
Differences Between
Monaghan/Roberts:
+ The ORU Board is not chaired by Roberts
(Oral or Richard). In fact, the ORU Board Chairman is
actively investigating matters using independent
third parties - lawyers and accountants - to review
and audit the allegations. President Richard Roberts
was put on a leave of absence, with his duties given
to a Board member. The ORU Chairman is also communicating directly to
constituents and the local community, recognizing
that "our precious students, faculty, and staff
have all suffered". In contrast, Ave Maria
Foundation, Law School, University, etc. are all
Chaired by Monaghan. His Boards have ignored
multiple faculty and alumni votes of
no-confidence against the AMSL President. In
fact, Ave Maria administrators have initiated a
contemptuous campaign of disengagement
and intimidation (1,2,3,4,5,6,7)
against constituents.
+ ORU is showing transparency by releasing
statements from all involved (including the
allegations) and by hiring independent third party
investigators. ORU's governing board has become
"hands-on". Ave Maria, on the other
hand, ignores calls for independent outside
investigations, releases few details to the
public, and lets Monaghan and his lawyer-president
run unchecked. This includes the crushing of
students
and
alumni who publicly ask for answers and state
opposition to Monaghan's governance and treatment of
employee. Requests from a former AMSL Board member to
secure new
independent investigators for the BoysCherries
scandal were denied.
+ The ORU "Golden Eagle" mascot is related to the
university's location/wildlife on the Oklahoma
prairie. It makes sense. In contrast, AMU's mascot
relates to, and makes sense to, just one person - Tom
Monaghan. The Ave Maria Gyrenes (short for GI
Marines) reflect Monaghan's three years of military
service immediately after high school, 50 years ago
(1956-1959). Of that service, Monaghan said:
"When I was in the Marine Corps, I was aboard a
ship in the Pacific doing something I've always done
a lot of: day-dreaming. I was thinking about my
future, the lifestyle I was going to have, all the
cars and the beautiful home and the yachts and the
airplanes. I wasn't sure it was going to happen, but
it wasn't any fun doing this daydreaming if it wasn't
possible. I saved half the money I made in the Marine
Corps, but it went to a con artist with an
oil-drilling scheme." (Fortune Small Business,
September 2003)
+ It is only a matter of time until Monaghan, like
Roberts before him, goes on the Larry King show to
"set the record straight" (Richard Roberts interview
here and here).
A former insider in the Roberts ministry recently
said "What others may call extravagance, he (Richard
Roberts) may not see as extravagant." (CNN, Oct. 10,
2007). How much more distorted is the perspective of
a billionaire and his ministry?
Benjamin Franklin wrote "Sell not Virtue to purchase
wealth, nor Liberty to purchase power." When will
conservative Catholics stop giving their virtues as
cheap barter to access Tom Monaghan's wealth? When
will students and employees stop giving their
liberties as cheap barter to access his idiosyncratic
self-interested power? Whatever degree of
disconnected megalomania and kookiness that
conservative Catholic supporters of Tom Monaghan
might see in Richard or Oral Roberts, they fail to
see in their own man Monaghan - another entrepreneur
of religion, but with significantly more money, more
control, and less charisma.
Ave Maria Law: Background for Suit
Naples Daily News (Florida) excerpt from article last week:
"The heart of the suit, Gordon said, is Monaghan’s involvement in multiple organizations including those in which he has a financial stake. That involvement violates the law school board’s independence from Monaghan’s “tentacles.”
“We think we can prove the illegal acts by showing the connections between Monaghan, the board and his other organizations,” she said. Gordon said she planned to depose Monaghan, Dobranski and various past and present members of the school’s board, which currently includes high-ranking Catholic Church officials such as, Cardinal Edward Egan, the archbishop of New York and Cardinal Adam Maida, the archbishop of Detroit."
Finally.
This is the itch that AveWatch has been scratching for over a year, and the big story that nobody in the main stream media will mention. Ample evidence demonstrates that, for years, Tom Monaghan has coercively used the Ave Maria Foundation to improperly create and run other non-profit and for-profit ventures that are managed centrally on Monaghan's whim rather than as independent autonomous entities. Through financial coercion, he forces the recipients of his "philanthropy" to put duty to Himself above fiduciary duties to the organization. Tom Monaghan's good supersedes all other duties in these organizations. Monaghan's person, his Foundation, and his for-profit Florida businesses - including his mega-development Ave Maria Town - have benefited at the expense of Michigan's Ave Maria School of Law, Ave Maria College, and their respective alumni, employees, donors, and students.
For a wide-angle view of such evidence, start at AveWatch's "Must Read" and Quotes pages. Individual stories are also categorized by "topic" (i.e. "School of Law") or by "tags" found in the right menu bar's bottom (i.e. "conflict-of-interest").
For a more focused view of the issues specifically mentioned in the Law School suit filed yesterday, consider the following:
Treatment of professors Safranek, Lyons, Pucillo
+ background here; details & developments in series "Dean Runs Amok"
AMSL's help given to a local priest investigated for child pornography, hidden from police
+ background here; details & developments in series "BoysCherries"
Tom Monaghan benefits significantly in ventures unrelated to the Law School by forcing the institution to move to his south Florida real estate development, Ave Maria Town, or face closure.
+ Monaghan personally owns a large section of the Town's prime real estate.
+ Monaghan and his AMSL CFO Paul Roney will benefit significantly by the Law School's move to Florida through the twosome's quiet private for-profit business (Nua Baile), hidden as a partner in Ave Maria Development, the lone real estate business that controls Ave Maria Town.
+ Monaghan is a partner in businesses hand-picked to benefit from Ave Maria Town's growth - from road and home construction materials to condo sales.
+ Monaghan helped start a bank specifically designed to benefit from Ave Maria Town growth (see also)
Ave Maria School of Law may, by design, have no long-term financial plan apart from Tom Monaghan's Ave Maria Foundation.
+ Former AMU CFO Speaks : shocking testimony under oath
+ Falvey: Monaghan $ Destabilizes AMSL
+ Dobranski Credibility Bottoms
+ AMSL Financial Stability Questioned
Ave Maria has engaged in questionable financial dealings.
+ Ave Maria Helps Democrat Financier
+ Fr. Fessio's Bank Account
+ AMSL Study Forgets Michigan Tax-payer
+ AMSL Balance Rises on AMF Loan
+ Nicaragua's Financial Aid Irregularities
+ AMU Accreditor Still Fumbling
Tom Monaghan populates his Ave Maria boards with individuals beholden to him.
+ Follow the Money, Find Board Members
+ Catholic Education's Version of The Borg
+ AMSL Board Reels With Change
+ Accreditation, Boards, and Conflicts
+ Healy: The Decision Was Monaghan's
+ Call the Media, *Then* Vote: this is an important story to show how grandiose plans to announce the Law School's Florida move were initiated long before the School's Board deliberated and voted on the move
+ Burtchaell: "Obvious Impropriety"
Ave Maria administrators use a culture of intimidation to maintain Monaghan's control.
+ AMSL Intimidates Honor Student
+ Monaghan Security Watches Professor / Town
+ Woman Kneels Before Monaghan
+ Fabricating an Air of Sexual Harassment; Intimidation and Uninvited Touching?
+ Dean Retaliates Against Whistleblower
+ Ave Prof Complains to DOE / Embassy (also Ave Prof Gets Partial Restitution)
+ Dean Takes Marbles Home w/Alums
+ Admin Thugs Whack Student Critic
+ Admins: School is "Failed Experiment"
+ Monaghan Preps for Supreme Court
+ Fessio Fired
+ AMU Students "Beg" to Leave
+ AMU's "Climate of Fear"
+ AMSL Railroads/Misrepresents Alumni
+ Catholic Social Teaching
+ Faculty Coerced
+ Rice Dismissed
hat-tip: ThePolitic.com
AMSL Intimidates Honor Student
The full text of the student's letter and the administrator's letter are here. Analysis of the Deans' letter is here.
Think of it. Would five Deans at Notre Dame or Harvard Law Schools find the respectful-but-critical comments of a single student so intimidating as to issue a letter to all faculty and students about said student? The AMSL administrators' action only underscores the student's point - that intimidation is used in Ave Maria's governance. The Deans contend: ".. while the author expresses a desire to "bring peace to our school," it is difficult to understand how this goal is advanced by his provocative statements, which are self-evidently contentious and are likely to be divisive." Of course these Deans find it "difficult to understand", just as they also cannot understand why the American Bar Association has an ongoing investigation, specifically, into Ave Maria's unhealthy environment. Heaven forbid that a law student say something that might be "divisive". And even if a student's statement is divisive, so what? Are these Monaghan administrators so insecure that a gang of them must address the student in public, in front of peers? Students at a law school or university cannot be critical of the education that they're paying for? Such petty public action by a group of administrators, against a respected student, is difficult to fathom in a real law school.
Since then, the Student Bar Association's Vice President resigned, and AMSL alumni have issued strong statements to the administrators involved.
[hat-tip to Fumare]
Lawsuit Filed Against Monaghan/AMSL
A PDF copy of the complaint is here. The complaint was filed by former AMSL professors Steve Safranek, Ed Lyons, and Phil Pucillo against Tom Monaghan, Dean Bernard Dobranski, AMSL, and (most interestingly) the Ave Maria Foundation. The complaints involve (summarized):
1) wrongful discharge violating Whistleblower's Protection Act
2) wrongful termination violating WPA
3) tortious interference
4) breach of contract
Relief is also being sought through "an injunction out of this Court prohibiting any further acts of wrongdoing".
Statement from Deborah Gordon:
Three professors from Tom Monaghan's Ave Maria School of Law filed a multi-part complaint against Thomas Monaghan, Bernard Dobranski and associated entities in Washtenaw County Circuit Court on Oct. 17. Monaghan serves as Chair of the Board of Governors and Dobranski is the President and Dean.
The three professors claim that they were removed from their positions in retaliation for their having reported illegal conduct by Monaghan and Dobranski to law enforcement and other governmental agencies, and for refusing to go along with Monaghan's attempts to improperly control the Board by permitting his private, conflicting interests to supersede the best interests of the law school, including his attempt to re-locate the school from Ann Arbor to property Monaghan owns and desires to develop in "Ave Maria Town" Florida. Monaghan has claimed that the Virgin Mary personally directed him to develop Ave Maria Town and Ave Maria University in Southwest Florida.
A faculty vote against the planned move in September 2006 and a vote of "no confidence" in Dean Dobranski in April 2006 have not deterred the illegal, improper activity.
Two of these professors were denied tenure by Dobranski even though they received the unanimous support of the tenured faculty. Tenured Professor Safranek was ejected from the building and his salary and benefits terminated. Dobranski and Monaghan did not even grant him a hearing. The suit alleges Professor Safranek has been subjected to false smears as part of the retaliation effort.
The suit also alleges that certain staff used their positions and law school resources to obstruct a criminal investigation into a priest'Äôs alleged involvement in sex offenses, including possession of child pornography, and that Professor Safranek reported this to law enforcement.
This lawsuit is the latest debacle in the collapse of Ave Maria School of Law. This past summer nearly 1/2 of the faculty fled or were removed from the school. Approximately 40 first year students transferred to other law schools (out of a class of 135), and the quality of the incoming class continued to decline. Dobranski was forced to hire a slew visitation professors and adjuncts to keep the school afloat.
Linked by:
+ Fumare: commentary | Dobranski note to AMSL
+ Wall Street Journal law blog
+ Brian Leiter's Law School Reports
+ Mirror of Justice
+ The Blue Boar blog
+ Bonita News (Florida)
+ Fox News Detroit (video)
Oct 19:
+ The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription)
Michael Novak: Monaghan's Apologist
It is interesting that central command at Ave Maria brand headquarters chose to recruit Novak. To date, Novak has been a prominent face in AMU governance but not in AMSL governance. Novak's decision to jump into a Law School debate, even after admitting that he doesn't have command over the facts at AMSL, makes his recruitment transparent, and subsequently works against the Law School's now-silly claims of "autonomy" and "independence" from the University and its planners. Then again, AMSL's Dobranski was quick to invoke Novak's name in a defense of Tom Monaghan's real estate development, Ave Maria Town, from a questioning Wall Street Journal article two years ago.
In his October 3, 2007 response to MoJ, Novak claims "But I am on the board of trustees of Ave Maria University in Florida..." That came as a surprise to AveWatch. Over the summer, we reported on the restructuring of Ave Maria's Boards into "Trustees" and "Regents", and the subsequent problems this would pose for AMU in meeting AALE and SACS accreditation standards. Throughout the summer, AMU reported only four people on their Board of Trustees (Monaghan, Healy, Sites, and Roney). Now, AMU's website says that 11 others are on the Board of Trustees, including Novak.
AMU's website claims that Novak was appointed to AMU's Board of Trustees "February 2006". Here's an image capturing the text from their website:
But evidence shows that
Novak was a Trustee long before 2006.
Novak was listed as a University Trustee in the
November 2003 issue of "Founder", AMU's
fundraising newsletter (PDF here). He is listed as an AMU
"Director" in their IRS 990 filings for 2002 and
2003. So, Novak was appointed to their Board of
Trustees in 2002, not 2006.
The former Director of Communications for Ave Maria
College reports to AveWatch that Novak has been
flipping on and between Ave Maria's boards
(emphasis added):
"Back in November/December 2004, Novak's alleged
Trusteeship at AMU was a point of controversy. The
Wanderer [a Catholic newspaper] asked me to list my
concerns with Ave Maria's governance for a series
they were doing. I told Dexter Duggan [Wanderer
reporter] to ask if it is true that Nick Healy [AMU
President] had Novak and [Fr. Richard John] Neuhaus
demoted from Trustees to an advisory board, which
left AMU's Trustees without academic credentials on
the Board. Novak told Duggan that I was 'totally
wrong'. So, I called Novak and asked him to clarify
the situation. If I was wrong, why could I not find
his name on the Trustee list? Well, he
explained, he was no longer a trustee,
but a regent."
Other notes to consider:
+ The following individuals were not only AMU Board
Trustees, but also trustees at either Ave Maria
School of Law or Ave Maria College (Michigan): Nick
Healy, Fr. Joseph Fessio, Ralph Martin, Bernard
Dobranski, Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, Paul Roney, and
Robert George. Given the take-over and closure of the
Michigan-based College and Law School to beef-up
Monaghan's Florida University and for-profit
real estate development, these dual
trusteeships were conflicts of interest.
+ Neuhaus and George currently reside on AMU's Board
of Regents - a Board whose Chair does
not even know with certainty whether it has
policy-making authority or not. Maybe Neuhaus and
George will be recycled back to Trustee at an
opportune time, like Novak. George recently
resigned
from AMSL's Board.
Michael Novak rounds-out his Ave Maria affiliation by
prominently displaying an advertisement for "Ave
Maria Mutual Funds" on every page of his personal website.
If Michael Novak is content to serve as apologist for
Tom Monaghan's governance practices, we're content to
hold him accountable for past, present, and future
actions. We're watching, taking notes, and will be
sure to remind everyone about his pride in Ave Maria
governance in the weeks ahead.
Follow the Money, Find Board Members
+ "The board of trustees has functioned under several handicaps. The most immediate one is a pervasive conflict of interest. The majority of its members are already so beholden to Mr. Monaghan through employment, benefaction, family, or business that they could not be reasonably expected or trusted to offer disinterested and independent advice and judgement on matters... Still further, it needs the presence of other independent and experienced executives and philanthropists who are prepared to join Mr. Monaghan as peers, not clients.."
+ "The chairman, Mr. Monaghan... has followed a well-practiced tradition of close, entrepreneurial management which obliterates the requisite separation between independent governance and professional administration. Besides the obvious impropriety in the governance of an institution of higher learning, this corporation sole will deny Ave Maria any access to further funding sources."
Is there a relationship between being a member of Tom Monaghan's Board and having accepted a benefit from Monaghan? Consider this very incomplete list based on Ave Maria Foundation (AMF) IRS 990s up to 2005:
+ Edward Cardinal Egan, Archbishop of New York (AMSL Board) & Fr. Benedict Groeschel, Director of Office for Spiritual Development, Archdiocese of New York (AMU Board); AMF Contribution to "Cardinal's Office" Archdiocese of New York = $125,000
+ Anthony C. Rea (AMU Board), Committee Chairman, Papal Foundation; AMF Contribution to Papal Foundation = $89,400
+ Adam Cardinal Maida (AMSL Board), Archbishop of Detroit & President of Pope John Paul II Cultural Center; AMF Contribution to John Paul II Cultural Center = $1,023,100
+ Fr. Michael Scanlon (AMSL Board), former President, Franciscan University of Steubenville; AMF Contribution to Franciscan University of Steubenville = $198,000
+ Ralph Martin (AMC Board), President, Renewal Ministries; AMF Contribution to Renewal Ministries = $14,000; [Update - An AW reader astutely noted that Martin did co-author "The Martin Report", which was critical of certain AMC administrative practices. Martin left the AMC Board shortly after that time.]
Other relationships to consider:
+ NAPCIS, National Association of Private Catholic and Independent Schools; AMF Contribution to NAPCIS = $174,931; Ave Maria has hosted the NAPCIS meetings for years, featuring Monaghan as speaker; Dan Guernsey of AMF was appointed to the NAPCIS Board; NAPCIS is now moving it headquarters from California to Monaghan's Ave Maria Florida development; the Ave Maria Grammar and Preparatory School run by Guernsey and funded by Monaghan is now applying to NAPCIS for accreditation
