Laura Dickinson, whose murder was covered-up at Eastern Michigan University.
Posted on 07/17/2007 2:34:08 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
Three college leaders lose jobs over cover-up of rape-slaying
School officials told family there was no foul play
By Jeff Karoub
ASSOCIATED PRESS
July 17, 2007
YPSILANTI, Mich. – Three Eastern Michigan University administrators, including the president, have been forced out, months after top school officials were accused of covering up the rape and slaying of a student by publicly ruling out foul play.
President John Fallon was fired, and Vice President of Student Affairs Jim Vick and Public Safety Director Cindy Hall lost their jobs at the 23,500-student public university, the chairman of the school's governing board said yesterday.
Board of Regents Chairman Thomas Sidlik also said the board would put a letter of discipline in the file of university attorney Kenneth McKanders.
The body of the slain student, Laura Dickinson, 22, was discovered Dec. 15 in her dorm room. At the time, university officials told her parents and the media that she died of asphyxiation but that there was no sign of foul play, despite evidence to the contrary.
It was not until another Eastern student, Orange Taylor III, was arrested in late February and charged with murder that her family and students learned she had been raped and killed. Taylor has pleaded not guilty, and is scheduled for trial Oct. 15.
An independent law firm investigation and U.S. Department of Education report both found that the university violated the federal Clery Act, which requires colleges and universities to disclose campus security information.
The university expects to find out within two months whether it will be fined by the Department of Education for its administrators' actions.
Fallon has maintained that he was unaware of the crime and acted to the best of his ability. He was not singled out for wrongdoing in either of the reports but has been the primary target of parents' and faculty members' outrage.
The departures of Vick and Hall were agreed upon several weeks ago but not revealed until yesterday.
The board decided to terminate Fallon during a Sunday meeting by teleconference after learning that he “may have been contemplating additional action that would have further damaged this university,” said board member James Stapleton. Neither Stapleton nor other regents would elaborate on what he said Fallon was planning.
Fallon did not respond to messages left yesterday at his university-owned home, which he has 60 days to vacate. The evening before his termination was announced, Fallon told The Ann Arbor News, “I have a story to tell and intend to tell it.”
The board appointed Provost Donald Loppnow as executive vice president. In that dual role, Loppnow will serve as the school's chief executive until an interim president is selected.
Fallon, who made $225,000 a year, is the school's second consecutive president to leave amid a scandal. His predecessor, Samuel Kirkpatrick, quit in 2004 after it was revealed that the university paid $6 million – $2.5 million more than it had said publicly – to build a new home for him on campus.
Laura Dickinson, whose murder was covered-up at Eastern Michigan University.
Orange Amir Taylor III, rat bastard and (alleged) rapist-killer
Three fired? This is racism.
Where were the local police? When a person is found dead under these circumstances didn’t the police investigate? While I feel the administrators got what they deserved in covering things up, I fail to understand how they could stop law enforcement from investigating.
“I have a story to tell and intend to tell it.” said (fired) EMU President John Fallon.
The left whines about Enron, Tyco, WorldCom, etc. This is much more serious than Ken Lay's financial misdeeds.
Related FR thread from June 20:
“Eastern Michigan University Stays Quiet About Student’s Rape and Murder for Weeks”
Link to: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1853388/posts
“My truth is that I am a lying American.”
letter of discipline in the file of university attorney Kenneth McKanders
A letter of discipline?????? this buzztard ought to be fired and charged!
8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
The Clery Act and University Counsel Ken McKanders
The Clery Act, passed by Congress in 1990, mandates accurate disclosure of data pertaining to crimes on university campuses, and requires “timely warnings” be provided to the public of any on-going threats to the public safety. The law was passed in reaction to the murder and rape of a student, Jeanne Clery, in her dorm room at Lehigh University, in 1986. Her parents have championed the cause of student safety on American campuses, and they and the law named for their daughter have done a lot of good. All higher ed institutions that get federal funds must comply with the Act.
EMU hired Kenneth A. McKanders as University Counsel in November 1987, and he has held that job ever since — nearly 20 years, out lasting 4 or 5 university presidents. He is perhaps the longest serving top level administrator on campus. He is one of the most powerful officials on campus, though he is rarely in the public eye.
But is he effective?
The duties of a University Counsel include ensuring that the University complies with all state and federal laws and regulations pertaining to higher education. Mr.
McKanders had already been EMU’s University Counsel for three years before the Clery Act was enacted. He was well positioned to ensure that EMU institute and maintain procedures to comply with the law, and he had 16 years to do so before the killing of Laura Dickinson......snipped
This story is kind of like the Duke Lacrosse case from an alternative universe, isn’t it?
exactly what I was thinking - black man rapes and kills white coed. I'm guessing liberal instincts to protect blacks (from racists who would just add this case to their pre-conceived stereotypes) kicked in here - to the opposite effect of the Duke case. No publicity - not even the victims family was told. Amazing.
Congressman Billybob
Yeah...sort of the flip side or Duke Lacrosse corollary.
The issue that is common to both EMU and Duke is the pc-multicult bias that is inherent within academia.
The pc bias at Duke propelled many of the administrators and faculty and the D.A. to prejudge the lacrosse players as guilty because they were white and the lying accuser was black.
PC bias favors black over white.
At EMU, the multicult bias of the college attempted to protect the rapist-murderer because he is black and the dead coed victim is white.
Again...PC bias favors black over white.
I just wish that we would get to that color blind society that MLK dreamed about.
Obviously, this guy felt that his duty was to the university (read-his job) and not the students. He must be a master of obfuscation and CYA. His job was to show the university how close they could skate to the edge of the law...and this time, the ice broke.
Parents, it's (sadly) your job to inquire about the crime stats at your child's school. And don't just go by the numbers the schools issue...read the back issues of the local newspaper. A lot of crimes that happen ON CAMPUS are not reported. IKWISO
Very few of the Admin types are there for the love of students (and please note: Most, if not all, instructors are there to teach. It’s when they become department heads that they become part-Admin and start thinking of $$ first.
So, now you see why Eastern lied.Oh, and apologies for the rotten grammar, I am a college graduate, and have worked in Admin and this really cheeses me off!!!
When the young couple in Tennessee were car-jacked and killed, I mentioned to my son that I was wondering if the university had any role in the lack of media coverage. He said that it is common for colleges and universities to put pressure on authorities to minimize any possible bad publicity. He said that their was a couple, students at Arizona State, that were murdered in their apartment that the press ignored, probably under pressure from the university. But this goes way beyond that.
Percent distribution of single-offender Rape/Sexual assaults
based on race of victims and perceived race of offender
| Victim's Race | Victim Count | Total | White Offender | Black Offender | Other Offender | unknown Offender |
| White only | 111,490 | 100% | 44.5% | 33.6% | 19.6%* | 2.3%* |
| Black only | 36,620 | 100% | 0.0%* | 100% | 0.0%* | 0.0%* |
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