Law Faculty Take Unified Public Stand
Mon, Apr30, 2007 - Category: School of
Law
The Ave Maria School of Law' s Association of Ave
Maria Law Faculty released a significant public
statement to their law community colleagues this
evening through the popular law blog "Mirror of
Justice". The statement objectively spotlights the
"climate of fear" tactics used by Tom Monaghan's
administration, echoing the climate already
reported at AMU. Aside from its content, the
statement is significant in both its public and
unitive nature, particularly when considered
with the AMSL student's recent display
of unity and the student-faculty recognition of
their school's foundational principles.
Excerpts:
Such threats [against the faculty]... would be chilling in any atmosphere, let alone than at AMSL, which is under ABA investigation, and where the Dean already has had a vote of "no-confidence" registered against him by a substantial majority of the faculty.
In light of this conduct, a substantial majority of the faculty of AMSL has no plans to participate in relocating our beloved school to Ave Maria Town in Southwest Florida. No evidence has been presented that would suggest that the move, which was recently approved by our Board of Governors, is in the best interest of AMSL. Indeed, it appears that the move is being pursued primarily to benefit Ave Maria University, an institution that is wholly unrelated to the Law School.
We ask our colleagues at Mirror of Justice and elsewhere whether it is in keeping with Catholic Social Teaching - or even with basic standards of human decency - for a Board of Governors to simply ignore the faculty's detailed allegations of the denial of appropriate faculty governance and academic freedom? Are threats to people's jobs, should they dare speak out against a major change that may (indeed most likely will) bring ruin to the school, acceptable?
Mirror of Justice - full post | PDF of statement
Fumare - comments
UPDATE, 4/30/07 - The story is quickly expanding in the law community: Volokh Conspiracy (a 20K+ visitor/day website run by UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh); ProfessorBainbridge.com
UPDATE, 5/11/07 - Naples News picks-up story
Such threats [against the faculty]... would be chilling in any atmosphere, let alone than at AMSL, which is under ABA investigation, and where the Dean already has had a vote of "no-confidence" registered against him by a substantial majority of the faculty.
In light of this conduct, a substantial majority of the faculty of AMSL has no plans to participate in relocating our beloved school to Ave Maria Town in Southwest Florida. No evidence has been presented that would suggest that the move, which was recently approved by our Board of Governors, is in the best interest of AMSL. Indeed, it appears that the move is being pursued primarily to benefit Ave Maria University, an institution that is wholly unrelated to the Law School.
We ask our colleagues at Mirror of Justice and elsewhere whether it is in keeping with Catholic Social Teaching - or even with basic standards of human decency - for a Board of Governors to simply ignore the faculty's detailed allegations of the denial of appropriate faculty governance and academic freedom? Are threats to people's jobs, should they dare speak out against a major change that may (indeed most likely will) bring ruin to the school, acceptable?
Mirror of Justice - full post | PDF of statement
Fumare - comments
UPDATE, 4/30/07 - The story is quickly expanding in the law community: Volokh Conspiracy (a 20K+ visitor/day website run by UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh); ProfessorBainbridge.com
UPDATE, 5/11/07 - Naples News picks-up story