It's official…a unanimous vote to terminate the employment contract of Dr. Jennifer Spielvogel as President of Lake Michigan College followed a public show cause hearing this morning on the Napier Avenue Campus, and the move takes effect immediately.
Spielvogel had been on the job only since the beginning of the year following the retirement of long-time President Robert Harrison, following her selection in a recruitment process last fall. She had been placed on suspension by the LMC Board of Trustees on April 8th, but continued to draw her salary until today's session that started at 8:00am and was over before 10. At Spielvogel's request the session was open to the public at large where she and her attorney excoriated the board for what they termed an "unfair process" which did not allow for "cross examination" of anyone making statements.
In fact, Spielvogel tried to turn the tables on the board suggesting that they were trying to find a reason to get rid of her to cover up allegations of federal financial aid violations. LMC Board Chair Mary Jo Tomasini says that it would be extremely difficult to cover up anything regarding a financial aid investigation inasmuch as they were just hearing about it themselves in Spielvogel's accusations this morning.
Spielvogel's Attorney Bradley Glazier of Grand Rapids suggested that with the show cause hearing leaving no opportunity for cross examination of testimony, his client will proceed with plans to seek justice through the courts.
Tomasini and her colleagues on the Board of Trustees came armed with three 8-inch binders filled with evidence in the case showing unauthorized spending by the terminated executive, failure to fulfill the duties assigned, including establishing viable goals for the institution, and improper language on multiple occasions unbecoming a chief executive officer regarding the college staff and community.
The board will re-convene on Monday, May 16th at 3pm to determine their next steps in finding a replacement, securing an interim leader, and/or other issues to keep the school advancing. In the meantime, a subcommittee of the board will immediately look into Spielvogel's allegations regarding federal regulation violations in the financial aid department. The leader of that department, Ann Tewes has suffered serious health issues since last fall, and Spielvogel had brought in officials from her former employer, Cuyahoga Community College in Ohio to address federal concerns.
Tomasini says she had not been advised of any violation of federal rules and was learning about the matter with the rest of the board for the first time when Spielvogel accused them of using her firing as a cover-up. The Board Chair promised an in depth investigation to follow on the heels of the two visits by Cuyahoga officials one of which took place before the presidential suspension and one on the day after that occurrence.
The board also said that with the termination of Spielvogel's contract, not only will they cease all pay and benefits immediately, they will actually be seeking the return of some $21,000 they argue had been spent by the fired president without authorization on a presidential medallion, planning for a presidential inauguration and other things.
Spielvogel and Glazier contend that the board was intractable and uninterested in change or progress at the institution, all while micro-managing her in her role.
Retired President Bob Harrison addressed the public comment section before the show cause panel that he had tried to mentor and counsel Spielvogel in her new role as asked by the Board of Trustees.
