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]
Monaghan Fails Brownback
Republican Sen. Sam Brownback, the Kansas conservative who struggled to raise money and gain recognition in the 2008 presidential campaign, will drop out on Friday, people close to him said Thursday.
Money was a main reason for his decision, said one person close to Brownback who requested anonymity because the candidate had not yet announced his plans.
If money is Brownback's primary problem, Tom Monaghan shares largely in the defeat. Monaghan is a Brownback campaign advisor, particularly in the area of fundraising. When Monaghan joined the campaign, William Donohue, head of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, said “In Legatus [Monaghan's club for ultra-rich Catholic CEOs], he's got thousands of members who are all Catholics, all well-to-do. This is the cream of the Catholic community. And they all have friends. You talk about where to go for fundraising, there's a list there that's been around for a number of years." Monaghan curdled the Cream.
But there are implications well beyond Tom Monaghan's impotence to raise even modest funds from his circle of wealthy conservative Catholic friends. Monaghan's failure extends beyond fundraising and into the wider realm of influence. Brownback's support slipped from an all-time high of 3% (Summer 2007) to less than 1% currently. That is in sharp contrast to candidates like Ron Paul (a Baptist) who seem to be making strong gains among conservative Catholics. At the outset, Brownback depended upon Monaghan's influence:
"He brings to the table recognition in the Catholic community," said Marlene Elwell, a Michigan political activist who used to work for Monaghan. "It's always positive to have a leader in a community endorse you." (McClatchy Newspaper, 12/5/2006)
Brownback's flop may indicate that Tom Monaghan is losing his position as a leader who conservative Catholics will follow and trust.
UPDATE - As expected, Brownback confirmed his withdrawl this afternoon. "We're out of money," he said.
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)
Liturgical Misappropriation Continues
Diocese/Bishop of Venice,
The following was received today from Ave Maria University and corroborated by another source. Please take note. [emphasis added]
Forthcoming are the results of a Student Government initiated, campus wide survey. The [AMU] Office of Student Life isn't too happy that it was conducted. Naturally, the results show a widespread sentiment among the students much in accord with the Church's Instruction on Music in the Liturgy 'Musicam Sacram' (1967), Vatican II's Constitution on the Liturgy 'Sacrosanctam Concilium' (1963), and Pope Benedict XVI's motu proprio 'Summorum Pontificum' (2007). To miss the words regarding chant and the Latin language is to be blind, and failing to infer serious reservations about non-liturgical music, viz. 'praise and worship,' is to be daft. For the most part, the students at Ave Maria University have eyes and can think.
For background, the following liturgical issues are at the forefront of liturgical disagreement here:
Versus Dominum: priests forced by administration to face the people at all Masses save the first of each day (7:50am).
Latin and Gregorian chant (We have two ready and well-trained scholas cantorum): Strictly prohibited at 18 out of 21 Masses per week ('pride of place'?).
Altar rails: removed at the personal mandate of Healy. Document drafted and signed by Healy and Fr. Garrity explaining that kneeling is not to be encouraged at AMU
Missal of Blessed Pope John XXIII: No preparations made for celebration. Fraternity of Saint Peter priest denied the opportunity either to regularly celebrate at AMU or to train AMU priests. He offered, on generous terms, to accommodate us in both regards.
It's not a question of being radically anti-tradition. The rest of the country can take care of that. It's a problem of a small group (i.e. Healy) misappropriating liturgical authority to himself in order to deny the right of a larger group of universally orthodox Catholics (the priests, students, faculty and staff) the right to correct worship and discipline of the sacraments in line with the heart of the Church. This right is something our priests are more than willing to facilitate.
This is not a petty issue. Large problems exist like homosexuality in the priesthood, heresy, dissent, bad catechesis, etc., but can one confidently determine the causal relationship here, if there is one? Cardinal Ratzinger seemed to think so, as he largely attributed the Church's problems to the disintegration of the Liturgy in his 'The Spirit of the Liturgy.'
We'll see what happens at Ave Maria. We've had so many actual petitions along these lines. If the 'radical, right-wing, ultra conservative' higher-ups at AMU can't recognize the Church's subtler heartbeat, who outside of our comfortable Catholic commune can?
Previous AW stories concerning Monaghan & Healy's narrow and problematic notions of Catholicism:
+ Bishop: "AMU not a Catholic University"
+ Note of Caution to Diocese of Venice
+ AMU's Ecclesiastical Authority
+ Donate "For The Good of Your Soul"
+ Traditional Catholics Slam Healy
UPDATE, 10/11/2007 - survey results were released; click "More..." belowMore...
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.
Marketing Executive Fired, Others Walk
AMU has disabled Leonard's email account.
Prior to joining AMU, Leonard was an Executive Director for the Naples-based Edison College Foundation. At AMU, she served as Executive Director of University Relations prior to her promotion to oversee marketing.
Monaghan Security Watches Town
Rather than outsource security services to an independent third party, Tom Monaghan has his in-house security business patrol Domino Farms and all things Ave Maria in Michigan. "Alpha Omega Security, LLC" is located at Domino's Farms and was formed in 2000. AveWatch recently reported on the use of security to monitor Ave Maria School of Law co-founder and tenured professor Stephen Safranek. The photo above shows one of the two Monaghan security officers (right) who performed surveillance on Safranek (left) while he worked in his AMSL campus office.
In Florida, T.R. Minick is Ave Maria University's Director of Physical Plant and Security. Security employees under him report to AveWatch that Minick has often referred to Tom Monaghan as "Our King". Because Collier County can't seem to find the cash to put a police presence in Monaghan's Ave Maria Town mega-development, Minick's security team is reportedly providing some level of security to parts of the Town as well -
Naples Daily News, August 23, 2007, excerpt (full text):
For now, Ave Maria residents and students will likely become most familiar with the university’s security services, and that’s not only because they’ll be patrolling the campus, town center and K-12 school. The 11-member security team, which will add two or three more staff members after school starts Monday, is made up entirely of Ave Maria University students.
Minick, a former police captain and sheriff in Michigan, has relied on students for various private security efforts for more than 20 years. He has been involved with AMU founder Tom Monaghan since Monaghan owned the Detroit Tigers baseball team in the 1980s.
AveWatch's "Boys Cherries" story documents how Ave Maria School of Law administrators did not immediately contact the police after multiple Ave Maria employees offered direct help to a non-employee investigated by state authorities for child pornography [background, details, series]. This non-employee was a priest in regular contact with minors. Ave Maria administrators protected their employees from investigation by the police, even after a former AMSL Board member called for an independent investigation. After seeing such potential disregard for the security of others outside Ave, and the excessive self-centered regard for breach of security from a devoted internal employee and co-founder like Safranek, who can trust Tom Monaghan's idiosyncratic and self-serving notions of "security"? Whose interests are central in the administration of security by "Our King"? What will Minick and his personnel do in a situation where a compromise in security serves the interests or directives of "Their King"?
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
+ Fr. William Thomas, former pastor, Holy Spirit Catholic Church (Hamburg, MI); AMF Contribution to Holy Spirit Catholic Church in 2000 = $10,000; in 2001, AMF and Thomas attempted to convince parishioners to start a school designed and run by AMF; Thomas received computer-related help at the invitation of Ave Maria School of Law and Ave Maria College when Thomas was investigated for Internets-based child pornography; that help was not reported to police investigators (background here, series here)
+ Cardinal Newman Society; AMF Contribution to Cardinal Newman Society for the Preservation of Catholic Higher Education = $10,000; in an October 1, 2007 press release, AMU announced that it was chosen by the Society "as one of the best Catholic schools in America for undergraduate students" and stated that AMU students would be shown on the front cover photo of the Society's forthcoming guide to Catholic colleges; keep in mind that AMU just moved to untested unfinished facilities, is not fully unaccredited, is on shakey-ground to continue receiving federal funds, is on its 3rd application for regional accreditation, has suffered high faculty turnover and student transfers, and has been said to have a "climate of fear" by students and parents; the Society gave this honor to AMU despite its Provost stating less than one year ago that "problems" were near "crisis" level, and despite the recent statement by the Bishop of Venice that Ave Maria is not even a "Catholic university"!
Did "Terrorists" Violate Agreement?
On August 27, 2007, in a gathering (with media) on the first day of class at AMU, Monaghan saw fit to call former Ave Maria College employees "academic terrorists". Later in the day, Monaghan again broadcast that notion to the world by reiterating the phrase on the radio (WDEO, hour #2 of "Kresta in the Afternoon"). The terrorist label was met with strong criticism (1,2,3)
Name-calling and labels have been exchanged by supporters and critics alike; thus, AveWatch didn't make much of this story. But, an important question has arisen. Did Tom Monaghan's remarks about College employees - given the remark's repetition, public nature, lack of necessity, and career-oriented injurious effect - violate his non-disparagement agreement with former College employees? If so, what are the ramifications? Are those individuals now free to speak?
AMU Accreditor Still Fumbling
AveWatch documented AALE's six years of non-compliance with the Department of Education as well as AALE's highly irregular 2004 dealings with AMU President Nick Healy. AveWatch recently asked whether AMU's governance structure violates AALE's standards for independence. We also reported on AMU's offer to financially help AALE with its federal woes in the midst of AALE's accreditation review of AMU, which is a clear COI.
Ave Maria University's second and final bout of temporary accreditation with AALE ends in November 2007. AALE's website states that their next board meeting "has been tentatively scheduled for the week of November 26, 2007. Any programs or colleges to be reviewed at that time will be posted here approximately 60 days before the meeting takes place".
So, why is Ave Maria University not listed for the November meeting? In fact, nobody is listed.
AALE states that it "invites third-party comment regarding the qualifications of applicant institutions". Here's the problem (emphasis added): "third-party comments must be received in writing sixty (60) days prior to the expected date of formal action by the Academy's Board of Trustees, and institutions or programs under review shall have the opportunity to respond in writing to all comments received". How does AALE expect to fulfill this stated "invitation" to entertain public comments if AALE does not even bother to list the institutions under review before the 60 days deadline?
It is little wonder that the Department of Education cited AALE for their inability to execute on their own statements. In December 2005, a Department of Education accreditation subcommittee member said "I can recall during my time on this body no other agency which has so blatantly and arrogantly spurned our requests for information that we are pursuing only in the pursuit of our [the committee's] responsibility." One year later, in 2006, another subcommittee member said "AALE has provided no evidence that it has complied with its own criteria or implemented its policies or reviewed any of the information it received or made any comment at all about what it did receive."
AveWatch is not against AALE. We are for transparency. The liberal arts deserve better than the failed accountability of AALE and AMU.
AveWatch recently contacted Dominic Aquila, who was named Vice Chairman of AALE's Council of Scholars. As a former Ave Maria College employee, we asked Aquila to investigate AMU's offer to donate to AALE in the midst of AMU's own AALE accreditation. Aquila said he was "too busy" to look into the matter. Aquila, however, was not too busy to accept an award in June from NAPCIS (photo below) - an accrediting association for private Catholic grade schools that is now located at AMU, is significantly influenced by Ave Maria Foundation employee Dan Guernsey, and is funded by Tom Monaghan (per IRS 990s, NAPCIS received $174,931 from AMF 2002 to 2005; 2004 = $55,450; 2005 = $51,950). Aquila was "too busy" to even attempt to consider credible evidence of a gross conflict of interest within an organization for which he now serves as a Council Vice Chairman? It reminds us of the Chair of AMU's Board of Regents, Dr. Candace de Russy, who could not even tell AveWatch with certainty if her Board made AMU policy or was simply advisory to Tom Monaghan; she advised us to go ask AMU President Nick Healy. Again, AveWatch is not against Dominic Aquila. We are for non-profit Board and committee members who take their fiduciary duties seriously.
Instructions for submitting third party comment to AALE can be found here. We trust that submissions from the public will still be accepted by AALE, lest complaints be filed with the Department of Education.
Monaghan Security Watches Professor
When Ave Maria School of Law's Dean Bernard Dobranski dumped beloved co-founder and Professor Emeritus Charles Rice, he shipped Rice's office to him by UPS Next Day Service. It was a petty act, to the point of laughable, for the irrational paranoia that it uncovered.
Add to that the following from 27 Sept. 2007:
Seated is Stephen Safranek, the AMSL co-founder and tenured professor who was recently suspended without pay - an act that triggered vigorous protest by the AMSL Alumni Association Board, a majority of the AMSL alumni (see also 1,2), and by a group of prominent Catholic legal scholars. Safranek is being watched in his AMSL office by security guards from Domino's Farms, employees of Tom Monaghan. Safranek was banned from campus at the start of the semester in a systematic attempt to purge the campus of those who would point-out the institution's gross mismanagement (see also 1,2; summary here). AMSL's administration is currently under investigation for violations of accreditation standards.
Ave watch, indeed. What's next, bugged rooms? Is this more of Dobranski's twisted idea of "conditions adequate to attract and retain a competent faculty"?
This is what happens to those Ave Maria employees who stop putting their faith in a failed system dominated by tight central control. It is conservative Catholic scholars, not liberals or heretics, who are now the ones labeled by Monaghan as "academic terrorists". Legitimate respectful objection makes you a "terrorist" to be put under surveillance. What price is the Catholic community willing to pay before it realizes that no amount of money and control from an ostentacious billionaire with a high school diploma can realize the mission of the Church in higher education? Violating human dignity is not necessary to promote human dignity. Those who are anxious to view Monaghan as a savior and protector of Catholic principles must start realizing that "domestic tyranny" is as great as any threat from outside the Church.
UPDATE, 10/2/07 - Visitors to Fumare have offered