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Dunn Must Give 180 Days; Trustees Could Terminate
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Should the president of Youngstown State University, Randy J. Dunn, submit his resignation tonight to the school’s board of trustees, as is expected, his contract obligates Dunn to give a 180-day written notice.
Trustees can, however, vote to terminate Dunn should a majority of the board believe his departure after just seven months violates his contractual obligations to YSU.
Dunn is expected to be named president of Southern Illinois University this afternoon at 3 p.m. Eastern time (READ STORY).
YSU’s board of trustees meets at 6 p.m. tonight to discuss the “president’s employment,” according to the press advisory.
In his contract with YSU, Dunn is allowed to “terminate this agreement and his employment as president at any time by delivering to the board 180 days’ advance written notice of [his] resignation unless waived by the university.”
One hundred eighty days from Feb. 17 is Aug. 15.
The president of Southern Illinois University is scheduled to retire June 30.
Under the presidential employment agreement the university and Dunn signed last June, Dunn also can be terminated by YSU with and without cause.
Trustees confirm they were blindsided by Dunn’s apparent departure and deeply concerned about its impact on the university.
Said trustee Harry Meshel, “It’s a serious blow to the university.
Should a majority of the trustees vote to terminate Dunn for cause, “the university shall have no further obligation to the president pursuant to this agreement other than payment of base salary earned through the date of termination and expenses which have been incurred but not yet reimbursed up to and including the date of termination.”
Dunn’s contract defines “cause” for termination in 14 sentences. Among the provisions that constitute cause are “acts or omissions of gross negligence or willful malfeasance in the performance of his duties as president; acts of omissions that materially harm or reflect negatively upon the university and are undertaken or omitted knowingly.”
“It all comes down to the performance of his fiduciary duties,” said an attorney asked by The Business Journal to review the contract. “A case could be made that there is cause for termination,” the attorney said.
Further, should Dunn be terminated, “The president and his family shall vacate the housing,” that is Wick-Pollock House,” that the university has provided rent-free.
Should the trustees terminate the presidential contract without cause, YSU is obligated to pay the following severance: “base salary [$375,000] for … one year following the termination date, continuation of insurance benefits for one year and continuation of retirement contribution for one year following the termination date.”
And should termination be without cause, both YSU and Dunn agreed “not to disparage each other in any manner that is likely to cause the other to suffer any material harm.”
Reported by Dennis LaRue and Andrea Wood
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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