A coalition of black ministers led by Rev. Ron Slaughter has claimed discriminatory hiring, structural racism and mismanagement at the university. Watch video
New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney, photographed outside the Statehouse on Jan. 22, 2010. (Saed Hindash/The Star-Ledger)UNION -- State Senate President Stephen Sweeney called on Kean University today to ditch a minister it hired to probe allegations of racial discrimination and mismanagement and replace him with an independent investigator.
"We strongly believe that it is critically important that the allegations and controversy surrounding racial injustice and mistreatment at Kean University are addressed thoroughly and fairly with an independent investigation," Sweeney and Sen. Sandra Cunningham, chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee, said in a joint statement late Friday.
After a coalition of black ministers alleged discriminatory hiring, structural racism and mismanagement at the university last year, Sweeney called a meeting between the parties in November.
The claims come after a difficult few years at the public university that included allegations that the president lied on his resume, an NCAA investigation into grade fixing and the possibility the school might lose its accreditation.
According to Sweeney's office and the coalition's leader, Rev. Ron Slaughter of St. James AME Church in Newark, the meeting ended with a prompt to Kean's board to approve an outside investigation of the school. (Kean officials said only that the meeting was a dialogue on social justice.)
At a Dec. board meeting, Kean Board of Trustees President Ada Morell announced the university would commission only an internal investigation, which sparked an outcry from the ministers and, recently, a series of letters between Sweeney's office and the school.
In a Feb. 29 letter obtained by NJ Advance Media (and attached below), Kevin J. Drennan, executive director of the Senate Majority Office, suggested the university employ former State Supreme Court Justice John Wallace of the firm Brown & Connery to lead the investigation, and cautioned that it needed to be independent in order to produce results "beyond reproach."
Morell responded to that letter by outlining the internal investigation already underway, highlighting the credentials of the board member assigned to oversee it and the investigator the school selected.
When asked about the dispute today, Kean spokeswoman Margaret McCorry said, "Chair Morell's letter speaks for itself. Kean University is doing a very thorough compliance review and will share the results with any interested party when it is completed." (See all three letters at the bottom of this story.)
In the statement from Sweeney and Cunningham, the pair said, "We were clear and definitive in expressing our belief that an independent investigation by someone who has the experience and respect is needed to make sure the case is addressed thoroughly, fairly and with integrity and that its findings are perceived to be fair and just. We are extremely disappointed to learn that they abandoned that commitment ... Those actions and inactions leave us with little choice but to consider remedies of our own."
Slaughter said he was glad to hear the plan to take action.
"I agree 100 percent with Sen. President Sweeney's call for the hiring of former Supreme Court Justice Wallace to conduct this investigation," Slaughter said today. "Justice Wallace is beyond reproach and will provide a truly independent investigation that is desperately needed at Kean University."
Slaughter added that he agreed with Sweeney's recollection of the Nov. meeting, saying, "I left with the impression that the Senate President would be the one selecting the independent investigator, not the university. How can the university handpick an individual to conduct an investigation of itself?"
AN INTERNAL INVESTIGATION BY REV. MICHAEL BLACKWELL
In addition to being upset about an internal rather than an external investigation, the ministers were outraged over Kean's selection of marketing consultant Rev. Michael Blackwell, who the school paid $15,000 to lead it.
The ministers believe Blackwell is aligned with state Sen. Raymond Lesniak, who they claim has too much influence on the school's board and is protective of Kean President Dawood Farahi. (The ministers have led protests at the school and in front of Lesniak's office on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.)
Lesniak said he has only met Blackwell once, at a recent rally supporting an increase in wages for Newark airport workers.
"That's the first time I met him. He told me his credentials, and I told him he should contact Kean," Lesniak said today. "Why would Sen. Sweeney's choice be any more qualified? The facts will speak for themselves and anybody will have the opportunity to review and comment on the results, including former Justice Wallace. Kean University is doing the right thing. There are people who are trying to turn it into a political hot potato and that's troubling. Kean University is the most diverse in the state, with the most diverse board, and to try to demean it for personal or political gains is upsetting."
Slaughter also points to an interview conducted by Kean student newspaper "The Tower" with Blackwell shortly after he was selected, where he feels Blackwell admitted a bias.
"I'm going to be seeking truth and I'm unbiased," Blackwell told the paper, but later added that he "doesn't believe" Kean officials are guilty of what they've been accused of. In the same article, Blackwell added that it was "irresponsible" to bring media attention to Kean without facts and statistics, called the coalition's structural racism claims "abhorrent," and said, "President Farahi is a better manager of people because he's getting more for less."
McCorry said the university's board wanted a consultant familiar with compliance reviews, and that Blackwell has done similar work for the Prudential Center, Essex County Improvement Authority, Jersey City Medical Center and the New Jersey School Construction Authority.
It isn't unusual for a university to conduct an internal investigation by hiring outside counsel. Rutgers regularly selects and hires outside law firms to do investigations into allegations of problems at the school, including the recent investigation into whether former football coach Kyle Flood tried to get a player's grade improved.
Sweeney's office declined to comment when asked what specific action the Senator plans and why he has been outspoken in this case.
THE CLAIMS
The coalition of black ministers first alleged "a climate of racial intolerance" at the school after an anonymous Twitter user - who turned out to be a black Kean alum - tweeted threats against black students, but Slaughter says the group's issues with Kean go back long before the Twitter hoax.
The ministers then called for an investigation into Kean's hiring and layoffs, which they claim are discriminatory, pointing to recent settlements reached between the university and ex-employees who had alleged the same.
The ministers also accused school leadership of "structural racism," saying funds are spent on vanity projects and construction of new buildings, instead of hiring full-time professors and support personnel to aid students - a claim the Kean teacher's union has been making for years.
Indeed, the number of lower-paid adjunct professors and lecturers has increased at the school, according to Kean's institutional reports, though they aren't alone: The increase in employing adjuncts is a national trend and a cost-saving measure, many universities argue, though the practice is coming under increasing scrutiny.
PRES. DAWOOD FARAHI'S LEGACY
Farahi has served as president of Kean since 2003 and survived several controversies, including allegations he lied on his resume; the purchase of a $219,000 high-tech conference table; an accreditation crisis after violations of academic and ethical rules; NCAA suspension of athletic teams in a grading scandal; questioning of the school's China campus and spending on other projects; and battles with Union Township over taxes and property.
In February 2013, the board of trustees voted 7-4 to keep Farahi after the investigation into inaccuracies on his resume.
The results of an investigation by the state Comptroller's Office on Kean's financial management commissioned in the spring of 2013 -- which was later expanded to include the the conference table purchase -- have not yet been released. However, internal emails show Farahi authorized the purchase at least four months before the school's trustees approved the spending, a move required by state law, the Record reported this month.
The ministers have been calling for Farahi's resignation since the beginning of their campaign.
Jessica Remo may be reached at jremo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessicaRemoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.