Call the Media, *Then* Vote
Thu, Feb22, 2007 - Category: School of
Law
Any doubt as to whether Ave Maria School of Law is
run by Tom Monaghan's sole-proprietor "do-then-ask"
model can be put to rest. The timeline leading-up to
Tuesday's press conference in Naples reveals much.
Feb. 17 - Saturday - Board holds emergency meeting; vote taken after supposedly "fair" and "candid discussion", including option to not close
Feb. 18 - Sunday (Lord's Day)
Feb. 19 - Monday (President's Day)
Feb. 20 - Tuesday - morning announcement in Ann Arbor; statements released; afternoon press conference in Naples
Tuesday was incredibly well orchestrated despite not having any business days between the vote and the media blitz. Monaghan employees and consultants were flown-in from around the country. Even the Alumni Association President, a Detroit lawyer who surely had to rearrange his schedule, appeared in Ann Arbor and Florida. A prepared statement from the Governor of Florida was read. Representatives from Florida were flown to Ann Arbor to sell Ave Maria Town. To organize for Tuesday morning's flurry, it must have taken weeks of coordination prior to the Board's Saturday meeting. You don't ask a Governor for a statement unless it is in the bag. The announcement was even timed with a 48-hour sale of homes in the Ave Maria Town development! So much for the Board of Governor's thoughtful prudent deliberation as a group.
As Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, a member of AMU's Board of Regents, recently said "I think Tom is inclined to say, 'This is my business. It's called Ave Maria University, and they're working for me. And that has some very powerful built-in tensions." (New Yorker Magazine, Feb. 2007)
UPDATE, 2/22/07 - Accreditation Jeopardized - "Call the Media, Then Tell the ABA" may not pan-out for Tom Monaghan. At this time, the Ann Arbor law school is fully accredited by the nation's accrediting body for law schools, The American Bar Association (ABA). However, ABA accreditation standard #105 states that, to maintain accreditation, the ABA must approve any "major change" in a school before that change is enacted. In 2006, Thomas M. Cooley Law School (Lansing, Michigan) lost in a suit filed against the ABA; the ABA cited Cooley for violating Standard #105 when the school opened a new campus and tweeked enrollment without prior ABA approval. How could the AMSL Board of Governors vote to close the school and move to Florida without first securing ABA approval? How will this disregard for accreditation standards be viewed by the ABA when evaluating the Florida entity for accreditation?
UPDATE, 3/8/07 - Call the Printer, *Then* Vote - It took only two weeks to put this brochure together, complete with a quote from Robert Bork? Right.
UPDATE, 3/9/07 - Call the Video Producer, *Then* Vote - add to that, promotional videos
Feb. 17 - Saturday - Board holds emergency meeting; vote taken after supposedly "fair" and "candid discussion", including option to not close
Feb. 18 - Sunday (Lord's Day)
Feb. 19 - Monday (President's Day)
Feb. 20 - Tuesday - morning announcement in Ann Arbor; statements released; afternoon press conference in Naples
Tuesday was incredibly well orchestrated despite not having any business days between the vote and the media blitz. Monaghan employees and consultants were flown-in from around the country. Even the Alumni Association President, a Detroit lawyer who surely had to rearrange his schedule, appeared in Ann Arbor and Florida. A prepared statement from the Governor of Florida was read. Representatives from Florida were flown to Ann Arbor to sell Ave Maria Town. To organize for Tuesday morning's flurry, it must have taken weeks of coordination prior to the Board's Saturday meeting. You don't ask a Governor for a statement unless it is in the bag. The announcement was even timed with a 48-hour sale of homes in the Ave Maria Town development! So much for the Board of Governor's thoughtful prudent deliberation as a group.
As Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, a member of AMU's Board of Regents, recently said "I think Tom is inclined to say, 'This is my business. It's called Ave Maria University, and they're working for me. And that has some very powerful built-in tensions." (New Yorker Magazine, Feb. 2007)
UPDATE, 2/22/07 - Accreditation Jeopardized - "Call the Media, Then Tell the ABA" may not pan-out for Tom Monaghan. At this time, the Ann Arbor law school is fully accredited by the nation's accrediting body for law schools, The American Bar Association (ABA). However, ABA accreditation standard #105 states that, to maintain accreditation, the ABA must approve any "major change" in a school before that change is enacted. In 2006, Thomas M. Cooley Law School (Lansing, Michigan) lost in a suit filed against the ABA; the ABA cited Cooley for violating Standard #105 when the school opened a new campus and tweeked enrollment without prior ABA approval. How could the AMSL Board of Governors vote to close the school and move to Florida without first securing ABA approval? How will this disregard for accreditation standards be viewed by the ABA when evaluating the Florida entity for accreditation?
UPDATE, 3/8/07 - Call the Printer, *Then* Vote - It took only two weeks to put this brochure together, complete with a quote from Robert Bork? Right.
UPDATE, 3/9/07 - Call the Video Producer, *Then* Vote - add to that, promotional videos