SU Board to hear concerns in Dawkins grievance

Next Friday, the Southern University Board of Supervisors will hear concerns surrounding the lawsuit of former Criminal Justice Chairman Russell Dawkins against Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Mwalimu Shujaa.
Dawkins claims that his due process rights were violated after “(Shujaa) and the administration acted unilaterally” in the demotion of a tenured faculty member and promotion of an “unqualified” professor.
The lawsuit stems from an incident in which certain administrative personnel received money and other incentives in return for their cooperation in the “finagling” of a U.S. Department of Health grant for $300,000. In 2005, Dawkins “blew the whistle,” claiming that he collaborated with several colleagues in the construction of the original grant intended to assist children in households in which both parents were incarcerated. According to Dawkins, “It (the original grant) was plagiarized, then finagled and taken to New Orleans and awarded.”
Allison Anadi, a tenured faculty member admits he was paid, but he did not “know how much,” said Dawkins.
The Board of Education had agreed to collaborate with the university in this effort. Capitol High School and Delmont Middle School were the targeted schools, due to the large numbers of incarcerated parents.
The Office of Sponsored Programs, the official agency that deals with federal grants, made an inquiry with the federal government and did the investigation and found plagiarism.
In that same year, Allison Anadi, a then-nontenured professor, was appointed as the Director of the Master’s Program in the Criminal Justice Department.
Section 2.4.13 of the faculty handbook states that any department chairperson “should have the rank of professor, but not less than associate professor.”
The faculty senate previously requested the university resend the director vote. The university has failed to comply with the senate’s request.
Mylon Winn, interim dean of the Nelson Mandela School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, said he “did not know” if a new election would take place. Instead, he insisted that the provost sends instructions to him and he has not been instructed to do so.
In the Oct. 16-17 (2005) Board of Supervisors meeting, an appeal for grievance hearing was held, where after an incident regarding Dawkins and former boss, Damien Ejigiri, both tenured faculty members were placed on paid leave, for “causing a disruption.”
Dawkins has been reassigned to the sociology department, relieving him of his chairmanship, while Ejigiri was appointed as Dean of Souhern’s Graduate School.
According to a January 30 article in The Advocate, Shujaa insisted Ejigiri was merely promoted “laterally.”
“This is merely a case where “two administrative personnel that are new to the university, get ahead of the board and take administrative action that has lead to a lawsuit, said Dawkins’ attorney Willie Zanders of New Orleans.
University policy handbook states that the position in question be advertised and a formal search committee be formed in the effort.
Attempts to contact both Shujaa and Ejigiri were unsuccessful due to legal concerns, per the provost’s office.
Last Friday, the Southern Faculty Senate approved a three step course-of-action, as suggested by tenured faculty senator Albert Samuels, that the board of supervisors should be used when addressing the removal of a tenured faculty member.
“The university has attempted to sweep this under the rug for so long and its going to come out; and from what I read about my lawyers preparation, he’s going to pull the whole rug out,” Dawkins exclaimed.
“My loyalty and commitments to students will continue; I will not let this interfere,” Dawkins finished.