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Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio Northern settles with former professor
Mar. 24—ADA — Ohio Northern University entered into a settlement agreement with a former professor who sued the school and top university officials for reportedly firing him in retaliation for his political views. The agreement, signed by Ohio Northern President Melissa Baumann and former law professor Scott Gerber on March 19, brings an end to years of litigation between the parties two weeks before the case was set to be heard by a jury in Hardin County. Ohio Northern agreed to reinstate Gerber to his former position and faculty rank, in exchange for Gerber's agreement to retire immediately upon reinstatement, according to the settlement agreement filed in Hardin County Common Pleas Court. Ohio Northern acknowledged through the agreement that Gerber "provided outstanding teaching, scholarship and service during his years on the Ohio Northern University faculty." The university also acknowledged Gerber "at no time was ever a public safety risk to any member of the ONU community nor acted with moral turpitude," resolving a defamation claim Gerber raised in his lawsuit. "Ohio Northern University is pleased to have reached a resolution to this personnel issue," university spokesman David Kielmeyer said in a statement Monday. "The compromise reached through this legal settlement brings this matter to a close." Attorney Steve Forbes said, "Dr. Gerber is pleased that Ohio Northern recognized that he is an outstanding professor and that they rescinded his termination and reinstated him." The settlement calls for Ohio Northern to dismiss with prejudice a lawsuit against Gerber in U.S. District Court, with court costs paid by the university. In return, Gerber agreed to discontinue any complaints or lawsuits against Ohio Northern and cease publication of his planned memoir "Cancelled." All parties agreed not to publicly discuss settlement terms beyond those listed in public court documents. The settlement bars all parties from disparaging one another in public or private as well. Gerber filed his lawsuit in Hardin County Common Pleas Court to reverse his termination from the Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law, where worked as a tenured professor until the school fired him in 2023. The lawsuit alleges Ohio Northern terminated Gerber in retaliation for his raising concerns about diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and what he believed to be illegal hiring practices favoring minorities and women at the law school. Ohio Northern officials denied these allegations in court filings, which describe an alleged pattern of bullying, harassment and intimidation of colleagues preceding Gerber's termination. The university filed its own lawsuit in U.S. District Court in January alleging Gerber was using litigation to seek political and personal revenge for past grievances. Ohio Northern attorneys then sought to dismiss the Hardin County case weeks later, but Hardin County Common Pleas Court Judge Jonathan Hein denied the motion. The settlement agreement averts a jury trial slated to begin April 7 in Hardin County. Featured Local Savings
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Not a do or die moment: Despite failed merger, Bluffton University remains financially stable
Mar. 15—BLUFFTON — News of a planned merger between the University of Findlay and Bluffton University shocked the campus communities last spring. The Bluffton campus is now reeling from the sudden termination of the merger and departure of its president in February. The college's interim president still says its future likely lies in collaborative agreements with Northwest Ohio colleges, an increasingly popular alternative for colleges and universities to remain open as fewer people pursue a higher education, even if a full merger with the University of Findlay is no longer an option. An enrollment cliff for higher education Six hundred undergraduate students and 60 graduate students are enrolled at Bluffton University this term, making it one of the smallest universities in the area. A forecasted college enrollment cliff threatens the school's future as Ohio is expected to experience a 13% decline in high school graduates by 2041, according to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. Colleges and universities are already contending with a decade of stagnant or declining enrollment, which has forced schools to pivot away from the humanities toward in-demand degrees and flexible courses. Ohio Northern University cut jobs and eliminated 21 low-enrolled majors and minors in subjects like youth ministry, physics and public health last summer to stay ahead of a budget shortfall. The university launched an online law degree and committed to strategic investments in its health sciences and engineering programs the same year. Ohio Northern President Melissa Baumann justified the changes in a statement last June, saying the school cannot rely on significant enrollment growth nor tuition increases to balance its budget. 'We believe in this merger' Bluffton University officials initiated merger talks with the University of Findlay to stay ahead of enrollment trends. The university already partners with nearby schools like Rhodes State College to train registered nurses to earn their bachelor's degrees, and offers a dual-degree in engineering with The Ohio State University-Lima, which allows the schools to share students and teaching staff. Administrators say Bluffton University was financially stable when it pursued the merger with the University of Findlay. Still, the school's cash flow in recent years made it difficult for the college to hire for vacant jobs, offer raises or fund faculty research, then-President Jane Wood said on a podcast recorded in January. "We just didn't see that margin doing anything but continuing to get smaller and smaller" over the next decade, Wood said on the podcast. The private Christian colleges, located a mere 20 miles apart, would remain separate campuses but would share resources under the proposed merger, which presidents of both institutions initially expected to be complete by the fall. Unexpected delays in the federal regulatory approval process proved too costly for the University of Findlay trustees, who voted to discontinue the application process on Feb. 27. University of Findlay President Katherine Fell hinted at those frustrations when she and Wood recorded a podcast with Wood about college mergers and aquisitions weeks earlier. "We believe in this merger," Fell said at the time, though she lamented that the approval process could take 18 months to three years to advance to the second phase, and that the schools would be "very limited in the early stages of this process." 'Not a do or die moment' Wood's sudden resignation on Feb. 26 surprised her colleague J. Alexander Sider, the university's vice president of academic affairs and academic dean, who became acting president upon Wood's departure. The University of Findlay trustees voted to terminate its memorandum of understanding with Bluffton the following day. Then Bluffton trustees voted for Sider to become interim president as they begin the presidential search. Sider said university officials always knew the merger may not be successful. "This was not a do or die moment for Bluffton," he said. "We'll continue to remain open. We'll continue to remain responsible to our community's and students' needs." Bluffton University remains financially stable and will continue seeking strategic partnerships, Sider said. Its graduate degrees in dietics, business administration, social work and alternative teacher licensing remain popular, said Claire Kleman, interim vice president for advancement and enrollment management, who said the university regularly reviews its academic portfolio to stay relevant with market trends. "We have been nimble and flexible enough to change and revise our curriculum to meet the needs of our students," Kleman said. "Bluffton has been in uncertain times before, as has every other institution of higher education, and that will continue to be the case," Sider said. "What every institution needs, and what we are committed to providing, is a context in which we can face our uncertainty with hope, with compassion, with trust and with stability." Featured Local Savings
