Two college faculty fired in scandal over freshmen retention

A plan to identify freshmen most likely to fail has erupted into a scandal, faculty firings and a demotion at Mount St. Mary's University after the Catholic school's president reportedly likened the students to baby rabbits that should be killed.

President Simon Newman is a former financial-industry executive hired in 2014 to lead the college in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He hasn't denied a Jan. 19 report in The Mountain Echo student newspaper he told a faculty member opposed to the so-called student-retention plan, "This is hard for you because you think of the students as cuddly bunnies, but you can't. You just have to drown the bunnies ... put a Glock to their heads."

Newman told The Frederick News-Post last week he had said something to that effect but couldn't recall the exact words. University Board of Trustees chairman John Coyle wrote on the school's website Jan. 22 that Newman "did use an inappropriate metaphor" and has apologized. Newman didn't immediately respond to an interview request through a school spokesman Tuesday from The Associated Press.

Coyle's message also said the board had conducted an investigation that concluded the Mountain Echo story was a "deliberate mischaracterization" of the program, perpetrated by "an organized, small group of faculty and recent alums working to undermine and ultimately cause the exit of President Newman." Coyle wrote those responsible would be held accountable.

On Friday, Newman sent a campus-wide email saying he had requested and received the resignation of David Rehm as provost, a senior administrative position, although Rehm would remain on the faculty. The Mountain Echo story contained quotes from Rehm's emails to Newman, criticizing the student-retention plan.

Newman wrote in his campus email Friday it's common practice for a new president to make senior leadership changes.

Late Monday, the News-Post and The Washington Post reported the firings of law professor Edward Egan and philosophy associate professor Thane Naberhaus. Egan told the News-Post he believed he was fired in retaliation for his role as student newspaper adviser. Newman told Naberhaus in a letter he had violated a "duty of loyalty" to the university, the News-Post reported.

Neither Egan nor Naberhaus responded to AP interview requests Tuesday. School spokesman Christian Kendzierski would only say they no longer work at Mount St. Mary's.

Newman was quoted by The News-Post last week as saying the student-retention plan aims to identify students within the semester's first six weeks who may need help adjusting to college life. Those deemed at risk of failure would be offered help with their problems, and those who chose to leave would get a full tuition refund, he said.

Michelle Asha Cooper, president of the Washington-based Institute for Higher Education Policy, a nonprofit dedicated to improving access to higher education, said Mount St. Mary's program seems focused to an unprecedented degree on "weeding out" at-risk students, rather than supporting them. She said she's never heard of another full-tuition reimbursement offer, and six weeks isn't enough time to assess a student's odds of succeeding.

Cooper said colleges nationwide are seeking to retain more students by making a commitment to help those at risk succeed.

"I really think that if you're going to create a program and call it a student-retention program and then use it to weed out students within the first six weeks of their arrival on campus, you're doing no favors to anyone," Cooper said.