Would Michigan tax-payers please remind Tom Monaghan of the $16.5 million in tax-exempt municipal bonds that have benefited his Foundation and law school?More...

Tags: accountability

A September 2001 AMSL press release quotes Dean Bernard Dobranski as saying "It gives us great satisfaction to be able to repay the Foundation for its generous support..." and that "purchasing our own building is an important step toward ABA accreditation."

But the ABA might be interested to know AMSL's continued building-related liability to Monaghan's Foundation. In 2001, AMSL secured several loans from AMF at 4-6%. One loan for $1.7M was for "Building". In its last available IRS filing (2004), that balance was up to nearly $2M.More...

Tags: accountability

Fr. James Tunstead Burtchaell is as big as they come in Catholic higher education. He served as an administrator and trustee at Notre Dame, and authored a highly regarded book on the sources of decay within Catholic universities. Fr. Burchaell was invited as a consultant, spending several days reviewing documentation and interviewing administrators, faculty, and Tom Monaghan. Burchaell's findings and suggestions echo those of Ave Maria School of Law co-founder Charles Rice to Monaghan. Also included in this post is "The Martin Report", a 2003 study from AMC Board member Ralph Martin that identified "widespread frustration" with administration. With all these sage warnings, Monaghan should not expect sympathy if the Ave Maria 'brand' collapses.

"... it would be both wise and necessary for Mr. Monaghan to resign from the board"

"The board of trustees has functioned under several handicaps. The most immediate one is a pervasive conflict of interest. "More...

Tags: conflict-of-interest

Last month, AMU deceived prospective donors by telling them that the institution was "unaccredited" ("unaccredited" schools are not eligible for federal aid, which AMU does receive). Do they want us to now believe that this unaccredited institution has a law school? Yesterday, AMU President Nick Healy talked of Ave Maria School of Law (AMSL) as if it were a branch campus of AMU Florida, attempting to take credit for AMSL's recent successful bar exam results. AMSL is based in Michigan, has its own Board of Governors, and has prided itself on being unaffiliated with AMU's dysfunction.

Healy should talk to Dean Bernie Dobranski at AMSL (underline added for emphasis) :
Naples News (January 30, 2006) - There's another thing Dobranski said won't be happening if the board decides to relocate the school: Ave Maria School of Law will not become affiliated with Ave Maria University, at least not immediately. ... Once the new campus is opened, Ave Maria University will encompass both the university and the college, while the law school remains autonomous.

Embarrassing.

This only confirms the observations of insiders, including the testimony of AMU's former CFO - that the Ave Maria institutions are, in fact, run as one amalgamation by a central "Executive Team" at the Ave Maria Foundation (Monaghan, Fessio, Healy, Roney, Dobranski, Belli) and not as the autonomous non-profits that they claim to be for regulatory purposes.

More...

Either AMU had a change in its accreditation status (and thereby lost its ability to offer federal aid to students), or Fr. Fessio is not telling the truth to donors.

WhoseAMSOL first reported on an October 2006 fundraising letter sent by Fr. Joseph Fessio, AMU Provost. In the letter, Fessio admits that "problems" are near "crisis" level at AMU - students are leaving, the institution is unable to attract high-quality paying students, the project is over budget, and that "we (AMU) are presently a rather small and unaccredited institution.."

Unaccredited? In November 2004, the American Academy for Liberal Education (AALE) granted AMU "preaccreditation" status through November 2007. This entitled the paying AMU students to federal-aid and help with their $22,500/year fees. As of November 11, 2006, AALE's website confirmed AMU's "preaccredited" status, as did an Avewatch reader who contacted AALE. Surely, Fr. Fessio knows that "preaccredited" and "unaccredited" are quite different states.More...

Tags: accreditation, accountability

Avewatch readers find the following "odd" -

AMU Chancellor meets with the Pope
"During the Holy Father’s weekly general audience, Monaghan had the opportunity to present Pope Benedict with an envelope containing Legatus’ annual tithe."

Comments received:
+ "What would the Holy Father do with such an envelope at a general audience? Back pocket?"
+ "It would be safe to assume that his left hand knew what his right hand was doing, along with everyone else in the press release."
+ "The general audience is not a Jerry Lewis Telethon. 'Do that board, Ed! Yeah!' [queue music, What the World Needs Now]
+ "This was as much of a "meeting with the Pope" as the Swiss youth hostel, the Philipino nun, and the ageing Knight of Lutonia had just beyond the camera frame."
+ "Does this now make TWO 'Friends of Benedict' at AMU?"