When Duquesne University President Charles Dougherty abruptly removed in December Donald Guter from his position as dean of the law school, many were outraged and even more were unclear as to the real reason for the change. Some said it was a personal dispute, while others said a change was needed.
Since Guter’s removal, students have protested and the law school’s associate dean, Vanessa Browne-Barbour, has resigned from that post. Both she and Guter remain on the school’s faculty.
The latest outcry comes in the form of an official statement from the university’s Faculty Senate Assembly.
The senate president asked the faculty for comment on the dean’s ouster and after reviews of comments and several interviews, the faculty senate agreed Dougherty was fully within his rights to remove Guter from the post but took issue with the manner in which he did it and its resulting outcome.
“[T]he manner in which the president dismissed Dean Guter caused harm to the university, and should not have been undertaken without the most serious of cause,” the faculty senate said in the statement. “It may have harmed the students who were preparing for finals. It certainly cast Duquesne in an unfavorable light in the national media and alienated some donors. This action deprived faculty, who were not consulted in the review process, of the role accorded them by the faculty handbook and executive resolution III. Further, it has contributed to an unhealthy atmosphere of distrust and fear that is contrary to our Spiritan Mission and Identity.”
The statement went on to say that members of the faculty were concerned there was a pattern of decision-making emerging that went against the process laid out in the university’s handbook.
The faculty senate said the situation lent credence to a Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools visiting team report that found there was clear tension between some of the deans and the president. The senate suggested the university adopt some of the ABA’s recommendations.
“The senate agrees with the team’s call for greater transparency, and the free exchange of information between faculty and administration without fear of reprisals,” the faculty concluded.
Dougherty replaced Guter with law professor Ken Gormley who, in order to help with the transition, has formed an advisory committee made up of several notable names in the Pennsylvania legal community, including many current and former state Supreme Court justices.
The statement was dated Feb. 2 and was included in the faculty senate's report to the board dated Feb. 13.
Gina Passarella, Senior Staff Reporter
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