The fallout from the handling of the case of Prof. Lawrence Connell is starting to be felt at Widener Law School.
Widener has confirmed that two members of Widener Law School’s Board of Overseers and fundraising subcommittee have resigned. In an e-mail to me, Widener’s Director of Public Relations wrote:
That is not accurate [that two University trustees resigned]. No trustees have resigned. A member of the Board of Overseers for the School of Law and a member of the School of Law Campaign Subcommittee have stepped down from those roles for reasons that they have personally conveyed to President Harris and Dean Ammons.
Widener University will continue to follow its legal obligation to investigate complaints of discrimination and harassment complaints filed by students and will treat acts of retaliation against such students as serious charges in accordance with federal law.
Widener did not identify the individuals who resigned, and declined to divulge the reasons.
Sources reveal to me that the two individuals are indeed very high profile members of the Widener Law School Alumni community, including a large donor, and that in at least one of the instances, the person stated that he was resigning in protest of the sanctions imposed on Connell.
I will have more details in a subsequent post, probably Monday if not sooner, as additional details are confirmed.
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Comments
Will the names be made public? Will these 2 go public? Will Ammons survive this?
Be careful what you wish for, at lease at a third tier law school like Widener, Linda Ammons can only do limited damage. With her proven skills, she is a sure pick for a top job in the Obama administration. Would you like to see her taking her skills to Justice? Or maybe she can go to the Ag Department and launch the next Pigford? Just saying…
Silly me. When I first saw resignations in the wake of this nonsense, I foolishly thought that somebody got in trouble for railroading Connell. Let’s hope there’s more pressure for them to correct this travesty.
I’m ashamed I went to Widener. I’ve been asked to come back and speak at several of the past graduation ceremonies and I’ve refused each time.
Methinks you should go back if they ask you and unapologetically lay out the case for freedom and against the Dean Ammonses of the world. Make ’em squirm.
Bob, doubt it would help.
“Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.” — Dilbert’s Rules of Order
I tire of trying to educate the non-educable. From what I can see, the majority of the Professors and staff fall into this category.
Why is this third tier, affirmative action dean allowed to keep her job? Oh, yes…I forgot, she’s black.
Come on, Wagner Alumni…get her out of there! Or, is this “really” an affirmative action” potpouri of third rate graduates?
[…] You may get your wish, SLR: This situation might get the attention of people who have authority over Dean Ammons. It's sad that it takes hitting Widener Law School in the wallet to have a chance […]
I suppose the board member who is resigning is doing the honorable thing. But it is clear to any reasonable person that Dean Ammons recommendation to punish Professor Connell by suspending him for a year without pay, forcing him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, and making him issue a formal apology is harsh, bone headed and wrong.
I don’t understand why he was unable to persuade his fellow board members/administrators to reject her recommendation.
The fish rots from the head down. The individual who approved the Soviet psychiatry remedy for Prof. Connell is Widener University President James T. Harris III (who is additionally an officially certified idiot, i.e., a holder of Doctorate in Education.) See this letter, released in a previous post on Legal Insurrection:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/61745043/In-Re-Connell-August-3-2011-Letter-of-James-T-Harriss-III
So perhaps it’s time for a public revolt by alumni and trustees and professors, not just of the Law School, but of Widener University generally.
Widener’s become a Narrower of worldview.
Apparently, there, justice, free speech and free-wheeling hypotheticals aren’t for everybody.