The Florida Courier investigates the turmoil at Florida’s largest private HBCU. This week – B-CU responds to a scathing American Association of University Professors report of an "uncivil, even unhealthy, environment at Bethune-Cookman University."

COMPILED BY THE FLORIDA COURIER STAFF

Click here for Part 1 of the series.

Click here for Part 2 of the series.

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP), a 96-year-old nonprofit group that represents the interests of college and university instructors around America, harshly criticized Dr. Trudie Kibbe Reed after she terminated seven B-CU instructors in 2009.

As indicated in last week’s issue of the Florida Courier, Reed’s stated reasons for the terminations ranged "from charges of sexual harassment of students to insufficient academic credentials to a necessity to reduce the size of the faculty for financial reasons," according to the extensive October 2010 AAUP report.

Bethune-Cookman University President Dr. Trudie Kibbe Reed stands by her decision to fire seven instructors – four for allegedly having sexual relationships with students – because time was of the essence. (FLORIDA COURIER FILES)

Last month, Reed’s administration at B-CU was placed on AAUP’s list of "censured administrations," which means that conditions for academic freedom and tenure are unsatisfactory at a college or university. B-CU is now one of only 49 institutions nationwide on the censure list.

Defending itself

The Florida Courier asked B-CU to respond specifically to AAUP’s criticisms, and asked the school to submit a list of written documents – witness statements, affidavits, investigative reports – to support their response.

B-CU refused to submit documents to this newspaper, citing the school lawyers’ concerns about current lawsuits. B-CU referred Florida Courier reporters to the school’s website, www.cookman.edu, specifically to a press release titled, "Bethune-Cookman University - B-CU releases response to flawed AAUP report and attempts at censure."

General Counsel Pam Brown did speak with a Florida Courier reporter, and Reed submitted a written statement.

Properly terminated

B-CU’s defense in the press release focuses on four points:

• The four professors were suspended after a review of substantial and credible evidence of sexual misconduct. According to the B-CU press release, "Further investigation revealed prior complaints and administrative hearings, under the previous administration, relative to one or more of the four professors."
  
  The AAUP report indicates that a 1998 complaint against professor Smart Uhakheme resulted in a temporary reprimand, and a 2006 complaint against Trebor Negron was dismissed as a misunderstanding after a meeting he had with the student ombudsperson. AAUP says B-CU produced no other evidence of prior alleged sexual harassment by either Russell Mootry – who taught at B-CU for some 30 years – or Negron.
• B-CU says that Faculty Handbook provisions, including certain due process procedures, did not apply because the school’s initial investigation resulted from faculty interviews conducted by a consultant and a student survey. AAUP disagreed, and said that Faculty Handbook provisions applied, including an independent faculty committee, specific written charges, a chance to confront witnesses, and legal representation. Instead, according to AAUP, "an outside consulting firm carried out an investigation that resulted in a report with no specific findings of harassment but rather dealt with generalities and ended with a finding of a ‘perception of guilt.’"
• B-CU says that it properly terminated all seven faculty members, each of whom received "the essential elements of process due to them – notice, the right of appeal before impartial colleagues, and an opportunity to present all relevant evidence." The AAUP report strongly disagreed, saying B-CU violated its own procedures, as well as long-established "best practices" of other American colleges and universities.
  
• The four professors –Mootry, Negron, Uhakheme and John Ukawuilulu – needed to be terminated as soon as possible to ensure the health and safety of female students. A June 2010 report by civil rights attorney David Honig titled "Faculty-Student Sexual Harassment Case Study" was supportive of the terminations. Though Honig was paid by B-CU for the study, he writes that he "enjoyed complete editorial control of the project, including the findings and recommendations." One section of Honig’s study focuses on the negative impact of sexual harassment on students.

Quick action

"If you had a daughter who was on campus and exposed to one or more professors who you found had a history of harassment, the law requires that you immediately remove them from campus. And if you don’t, you are subject to a suit by the student for failure to take swift and remedial action," B-CU’s Brown told the Florida Courier.

According to the attorney, students taking a survey complained about sexual harassment in the school’s Social Sciences Department. Around the same time, a student told her professor that another professor was sexually harassing her. She subsequently submitted a written report.

Another unrelated survey by an independent consultant who interviewed faculty members revealed B-CU had "a grave problem" with sexual harassment. The four professors were identified as culprits, according to Brown.

"The university at no time released the name of the four professors. The names were not released until the AAUP released their report," Brown explained. "The allegations were serious enough that the university felt they needed to put the four professors on suspension with pay, pending an investigation."

Continued investigation

"The university along with outside counsel asked the consultants to continue with interviews. At the conclusion of the investigation the outside counsel took a look at the information that was gathered by the interviews and thought it was so compelling that the allegations of sexual harassment seemed to be a pattern.

"There were prior notices of sexual harassment against these professors and in order to comply with Title 9 (of the 1964 Civil Rights Act) – which requires swift and remedial action when you are made aware that sexual harassment is going on – outside counsel advised us that we needed to go ahead and terminate those four professors."

Brown says that B-CU’s policies are aligned with AAUP’s best practices.

"I think what the issue becomes is, what circumstances arise that are so serious that you must balance the rights, safety and welfare of a student against following a practice that could potentially put students in harm’s way?" she explained.

Reed statement

"I have no regrets about the university’s decision to terminate the four professors following allegations of sexual harassment against our students," Reed said in a written statement.

"In her last will and testament, Mary McLeod Bethune left us with a responsibility to our young people and I take this responsibility very seriously. As the president of the university, it is my job to ensure a safe and healthy learning environment for each and every one of our students.

"The decision to terminate the four faculty members was based upon recommendations of outside legal counsel and consultants who conducted a thorough, independent investigation of the student allegations of sexual harassment. Additionally, the university’s actions were in compliance with federal mandates that require taking ‘swift and remedial action’ to correct situations involving allegations of sexual harassment."

Reed concludes: "In the AAUP report, their priority was not to determine whether these men were guilty, but to focus on the alleged violations of due process. Our priority is to protect the welfare and safety of our students and I am pleased with our decision to take action."

Next in the series: Reviewing lawsuits against B-CU

Florida Courier reporters Andreas Butler, Ashley Thomas, James Harper and Jenise Morgan all contributed to this report.