The LSU Alumni Association’s internal audit investigating allegations of misuse of funds by former President Charlie Roberts will be completed by the end of the week, the association’s new president told the University Faculty Senate on Tuesday.
The audit was performed after former employee Kay Heath sued the association in August, alleging Roberts was involved in a sexual relationship with Heath. The Daily Reveille previously reported he promised her a stipend of $3,200 per month to continue the relationship.
The Alumni Association was dropped from the lawsuit after Roberts resigned. The results of the audit show that no association money was used for the purposes described in the lawsuit, said Cliff Vannoy, new President and CEO of the association.
The association is a multifaceted organization that connects University alumni and raises money for the University, which is then used for student scholarships and other University funds.
Vannoy took the position of president of the association on Aug. 27.
The Faculty Senate made a move to table a resolution to protect faculty members from institutional censorship when speaking as citizens outside of the University after more than an hour of debate on the Senate floor.
The resolution was a response to events at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where an English professor’s job offer was rescinded because of anti-Semitic posts on his Twitter feed.
UIUC said the tweets were disrespectful and demeaning. The professor, Steven Salaita, had already left his position at Virginia Tech prior to finding his employment at UIUC was blocked.
At the Senate’s September meeting, University professor of French studies John Protevi, said it was dangerous for University administrators to judge faculty members’ free speech on their opinions expressed outside of the classroom.
Salaita had never received any negative classroom reviews, Protevi said, and should not have been denied employment because of his Twitter posts.
Several of the senators came forward Tuesday with research regarding the facts of the case and discussed the merit of the resolution.
Mathematics professor Lawrence Smolinsky said Salaita’s tweets contained anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist views, and the Senate needed to consider what kind of views they were supporting with the resolution.
Charles Isbell, professor of religious studies and rabbi, compared Salaita’s lost job offer to an incident in which a Baton Rouge police officer lost his job after sending text messages to his girlfriend containing racist sentiments.
Isbell said that in the same way the police officer was fired because his views may have prevented him from carrying out his job with the Baton Rouge police, Salaita was denied employment because his views may have caused him to discriminate against some students.
Other Senate members said the resolution could be divided into two: one regarding academic
freedom and free speech and the other regarding the hiring process involved in bringing new faculty into the University.
The resolution will be brought up again at the senate’s meeting in November. Vannoy also said the Alumni Association is working toward providing a legacy scholarship for out-of-state students whose parents graduated from the University.