Western Front - 2005 October 14

              THE WESTERN FRONT OCTOBER 14,2005
E WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY An independent student newspaper serving the campus community since 1970. ISSUE 8, VOLUME 135
Western considers firing Perry Mills
Five meetings, closed
to public and press,
will decide Mills 'fate
BY CIARA O' ROURKE
The Western Front
Western's Faculty Senate Executive
Council is conducting five meetings to
determine the fate of Western theatre arts
professor Perry Mills' career at Western.
The fifth meeting is at 3 p.m. today in Old
Main 340, where a hearing panel will hear
witnesses' testimony.
"God only knows what the lawyers are
going to ask them," Mills said.
Western's Theatre Arts Department
suspended Mills in October 2004.
The Executive Council of the Faculty
Senate selected five members from senate
committees to comprise the hearing panel.
Western's Assistant Attorney General
Wendy Bohlke said the faculty hearing panel
listens to testimonies, deliberates on it and
issues its findings.
The panel must render a decision within
15 days of the hearing's conclusion. She said
the panel's decision could result in Mills'
dismissal or severe sanction — such as the
Faculty Senate placing him on leave with or
Mills sues Western Provost Andrew
Bodman to challenge suspension
see MEETINGS, page 6
JARED YOAKUM / THE WESTERN FRONT
Theatre Arts Department chair Mark Kuntz said the morale
of the department has improved since Mills' suspension.
BY CIARA O' ROURKE
The Western Front
Almost a year after Western
suspended tenured theatre
arts professor Perry Mills, the
two parties are battling the
suspension's legality in court.
"I do not believe my
suspension is legal," Mills
wrote in his court declaration
for the suit July 26.
Bodman would not comment
on the suit because it regarded
personnel issues.
Mills filed suit in federal
court against Western Provost
of Academic Affairs Andrew
Bodman in July for violating
his civil rights and ignoring the
employment contract defining
the procedure for suspension.
Mills' attorney James
Lobsenz said the Western
Faculty Handbook maintains
the administration's right to
suspend a faculty member with
charges, but argues Bodman
suspended Mills eight months
before identifying the charges.
On Oct. 18, 2004, Bodman
served Mills papers saying
Bodman had received a letter
from Carol Edwards, dean of the
College of Fine and Performing
Arts, recommending Mills'
suspension with pay until
the university could, review
complaints received from
faculty and students.
Bodman sent Mills a
statement of charges June 6.
According to the statement,
the reason for the suspension
was Mills' conduct fell below
the standards to which faculty
should adhere.
According to the statement
of charges, Bodman, Theatre
Arts Department chair Mark
Kuntz and Edwards charged
Mills with "a serious and
persistent neglect of faculty
duties" and "intentional and
malicious interference with
the scientific, scholarly and
academic activities of others."
Mills has been on paid
see LAWSUIT, page 6
Bodman withdraws
candidacy for Ball
State provost post
BY MEGAN MULDARY
The Western Front
Western Provost of Academic
Affairs Andrew Bodman was in the
running for a provost position at
Ball State University, in
Muncie, Ind., until Oct.
2, when he withdrew his
candidacy, he said in an
e-mail response.
Bodman did not
comment further to
explain why.
The American
Association of
University Professors
reviewed Bodman's
qualifications for
post. Bodman was
among the three finalists.
In addition to Bodman, the
other finalists were William
Swart, a professor at East Carolina
University, and Elliott Pood,
the dean of the College of Arts
and Letters at the University of
Southern Mississippi, said Ralph
Baker, the president of Ball State's
chapter of the AAUP.
Baker said the AAUP felt that
Pood was the only candidate who
was acceptable. Pood had better
leadership skills and
seemed to have a better
understanding of Ball
State, Baker said.
Ball State did not hire
Pood but instead chose
to extend its search, said
H. O'Neal Smitherman,
chairman of the provost
search committee at
COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY Ball State.
COMMUNICATIONS Buff Schoenfeld,
the Andrew Bodman executive assistant
to Western President
Karen Morse, said a provost
usually stays at a university for
five or six years. Bodman is in his
sixth year at Western and promised
Morse upon hiring he would stay
TAYLOR WILLIAMS / THE WESTERN FRONT
Parking tickets, enclosed in yellow envelopes, are a common sight for Western students.
Parking tickets provide income
see PROVOST, page 6
BY LOREN SHANE
The Western Front
Every day, dozens of students park illegally on
Western's campus, and when the day is done they
often find themselves paying for their mistakes —
literally. These mistakes are not only many each year,
but also serve as a six-figure income for Western's
Parking and Transportation Services.
In the 2004-2005 school year, Parking and
Transportation Services issued approximately 23,000
parking tickets, totaling more than $400,000 in fines,
said Julia Gassman, manager of Western's Parking
and Transportation Services.
"A lot of visitors, students, faculty and staff get a
parking ticket at some point." Gassman said. "Many
first-time offenses, however, are waived and we never
have another situation with those individuals."
Of course parking tickets are never a pleasant sight
for those who continue to receive them, but from the
see TICKETS, page 5
BOXER BRAWL
New theatre department play
opening Wednesday is 90 minutes
of men in their underwear
ACCENT, PAGE 7
GOLF UNDEFEATED
Women's golf won the West­ern
Invitational for its fourth
straight tournament win
SPORTS, PAGE 10
BUNCHED PANTIES
Shoppers angry at Victoria's
Secret for provocative mannequin
displays
OPINIONS, PAGE 14
WEATHER
Saturday: Cloudy
Hi: 58 Low: 46
Sunday: Cloudy
Hi: 58 Low: 48
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