EXORCISING A VICE PRESIDENT
Behan, George
approving hush money, preparing to use the Justice Department against his political foes, suggesting that his staff forget what they know when questioned by the grand jury. And strings of...
...Perhaps the greatest mystery is how any man could have so little objective judgment on the morality of his own behavior to secretly record all his conversations with men he called his friends, claim the records were for historians, refuse to release them because they were "confidential," then read, censor and publish them without realizing what they really said about himself...
...Henle's actions...
...Ryan's contract...
...During the early part of this academic year, Fr...
...Peter's College in New Jersey in 1972, and Fr...
...Henle issued a letter of dismissal, and the Georgetown campus erupted in chaos...
...Admittedly, Fr...
...Ryan gave the public relations people news almost as fast as they could publish it...
...Thus, Fr...
...Home Rule legislation, and was involved in starting new middle-class student aid programs on Capitol Hill...
...Henle was questioned at length about his proposal to run the University by "cabinet meeting," in which the five top University administrators (Ryan included) would sit on this cabinet...
...Henle's fifth year in office, some people began to look for a new face...
...Nevertheless, Fr...
...And strings of "expletives" removed from the private talk of the man who, in the 1960 Kennedy TV debates, piously lectured us on how Harry Truman shouldn't use bad words...
...Also at the March 15 Board of"Directors meeting, the Board approved a "Code Governing Academic Freedom and Conduct of the Faculty and Academic Administrators of the University...
...He could have resigned...
...Henle announced that during his absence he did not want to leave the University in the hands of Fr...
...Henle will not comment on, can be deduced by merely examining each man's situation...
...Commonweal: 253...
...GEORGE BEHAN (George Behan is on the staff of the Georgetown Hoya...
...He appeared on the "Tomorrow Show," "Mike Douglas Show," "Cross-fire," the "Devil's Advocate" and other national and local television shows...
...Another criticism of the Board is that, since it is a fully external Board except for the president, it does not receive enough good input about the University...
...Ryan refused to resign, Fr...
...He spent almost a year "learning about Georgetown" before shifting into high gear in 1973, and became rather well known on campus for his efficiency and interest in every phase of the University...
...Ryan to Georgetown from St...
...Cohn...
...Henle has controlled the University budget...
...Ryan started a Student Exchange Program (STEP) which received international attention by proposing to bring 500 German students to American colleges...
...Henle used the term "irreconcilable differences," but he has never explained or clarified this ambiguous justification...
...Henle convinced the Board of Directors to approve his proposal, and he also reportedly made charges "by innuendo" concerning Fr...
...The question that the Board of Directors will have to face is a question of the president's authority...
...The conspicuous statue of Georgetown's founder, John Carroll, keeping watch over Georgetown's Healy Circle, was adorned with a placard proclaiming "Henle Go Home," and students carrying signs imprinted "WHY" gathered near the administration building, reminiscent of the protest spirit of the late 1960s...
...Ryan was given a contract stating that he was the "lst Vice President" and would "automatically assume the duties of the President" during any presidential absence or disability...
...Henle said it would be illogical for one to assume that the Code could be applied to Fr...
...Henle had already agreed to have the film shot on campus...
...Ryan was made available to the media...
...Ryan came to Georgetown in July 1972, Fr...
...He was the answer to Georgetown's public relations dreams regarding the film...
...Ryan's firing is that Fr...
...and furthermore, he has yet to inform the public and Fr...
...These are two strong-willed men involved in a struggle that is not a power conflict...
...they reportedly got extra pay for appearing in costume (black suits and Roman collars...
...Henle on numerous occasions, but Fr...
...The Board, supposedly looking out for the overall best interests of the University, will have to ponder this question on May 20th...
...Ryan is in a dilemma...
...At the most recent Board meeting, on March 15th, Fr...
...The Code states that in any dispute, a person should "file a written statement to the effect that disciplinary action is contemplated, and specifying charges...
...He reportedly did not specifically inform the Board of the provisions in Fr...
...The issue is that Georgetown's reputation is at stake...
...This document states that one of the categories to which the Code applies is "all academic administrators...
...The Executive Committee voted to review Fr...
...When The Exorcist opened in December 1973 many Catholics wondered out loud why Georgetown had cooperated with the film...
...editing...
...His door was always open, and he meticulously followed up an any problem or question brought to his attention...
...Henle, who has very limited contact with most of the faculty and the student body, and Secretary Altobello, a 1963 Georgetown graduate, whose salary has increased by over 200% in the four years in which Fr...
...Henle and University Secretary Daniel J. Altobello are the only two persons who supply input to the Board on a regular basis...
...The Executive Committee of the Board of Directors met on April 19th and were greeted at the front steps of the administration building by a large group of students, reminding the Board members that a hasty decision would be sure to cause tremendous repercussions...
...After he was fired by Fr...
...The only answer to that mystery is that the man is Nixon...
...Ryan can use the Code's grievance procedure to appeal his dismissal...
...Henle, approaching 65, has been Georgetown's president since June 1969...
...Thus, religious obedience permitted Fr...
...Ryan was the first Jesuit administrator at Georgetown to be given a valid civil contract, and it confirms his appointment at Georgetown from July 1, 1972 through June 30, 1975...
...Consequently, he has been a tremendous boost to the Georgetown public relations department, in that instead of their having to think up new ideas about the University, Fr...
...Ryan, at 45, brought with him new energy, new ideas, and a new way of implementing ideas---quick action...
...The Code calls for outside private arbitration in the event that all other methods of settlement are exhausted...
...Around campus he earned the nickname of "Fast Eddie" because of his quick action, and he was one of the few Georgetown administrators who were accessible to almost everyone on campus...
...Certainly their decision will not go unnoticed...
...Ryan was dismissed on Holy Thursday...
...Ryan was not sent to Georgetown by a provincial, but was given permission by two provincials to come...
...Ryan was among the 20 Georgetown Jesuits who had walk-on parts in the film, The Exorcist...
...One Board member who attended the March 15th meeting said that many times the Board acts as a "rubber stamp for the president...
...000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 O0 Exorcising a Vice President On April 4, Georgetown University President Robert J. Henle, S.J., issued a verbal ultimatum to Executive Vice President in charge of Educational Affairs, Edmund G. Ryan, S.J., stating that if he did not resign within seven days, he would be dismissed...
...Ryan to substantiate his reason for the uncommon proposal...
...If that is the case, the Board is helpless...
...This contract was drawn up to conform to explicit resolutions which the Georgetown Board of Directors passed on May 22, 1972...
...Ryan, and he urged Fr...
...Henle did not comply, and the stage was set for the Holy Thursday Massacre (Fr...
...Henle, since he never filed a written statement to this effect, and Fr...
...And Nixon promising Haldeman and Ehrlichman future jobs with his foundation (" . . . a hell of a big thing...
...The irreconcilable differences, which Fr...
...He also became active on D.C...
...The question which one can rather bluntly ask is "Can a president overlook the apparent overwhelming merits of a vice president to dismiss him for personal reasons...
...Many people will fail to understand why two intelligent Jesuits cannot sit down and resolve any differences between them, since it is Christian teaching that no differences are "irreconcilable...
...Henle to write down any charges against him so that he could have a chance to clear his name and have a chance to have his performance evaluated...
...He also spoke on 35 radio shows...
...it is personality conflict which, ideally, should not enter into the governing of any corporation, including a university...
...Students have used protests, threats of a strike, and even the familiar sit-in tactics to peacefully show their discontent with Fr...
...But, contrary to some reports, Ryan was not an advisor to the film and the film was not an immediate cause of his dismissal...
...Rumors of what had happened at the March 15 meeting filtered back to Fr...
...Georgetown Law School Professor Shermarr Cohn, principal author of the Code, said the explicit intention in drawing up this category was that it should apply to persons such as Fr...
...Vice Presidents are obviously included, according to Mr...
...Ryan, and that he interprets the category "all academic administrators" to mean academic Deans...
...Henle's decision at the full Board meeting on May 20th...
...others at Georgetown have submitted their resignations because of reported disagreements with the president...
...Ryan came to Georgetown in July 1972 as the top Vice President of a new University governing structure...
...Ryan of any specific charges that warranted the firing with only one week left in the academic year...
...Ryan because, he explained, the two had been having some serious differences...
...He accepted the appointment and signed a contract...
...Therefore a case can be made against Fr...
...Before Fr...
...Ryan reportedly sought formal charges from Fr...
...Henle brought Fr...
...Ryan was advised by his Jesuit superiors to seek legal counsel...
...This new situation came as a result of a Jesuit decision to legally separate the Jesuit community at Georgetown from the University...
...What was the problem...
...It is inconceivable that the Board could have a sufficient understanding of the University's problems, when the only two persons whom the Board regularly questions about these problems are Fr...
...Henle, Fr...
...This absence is authorized in compliance with a policy whereby the president is obligated to take a leave of absence at least every five years, but no more than every three years...
...17 May 1974:252 Fr...
...Ryan to come to Georgetown, and paradoxically urged him to remain there and fight for the validity of his contract...
...Henle only made some petty verbal charges, to which, it is said, Fr...
...Henle failed to write any reasons for his decision in his April 11 dismissal letter...
...What is significant about Fr...
...Ryan, among others...
...One might now ask, Why was he fired...
...His "Mandate 81" fund-raising program is nearing the end of its first phase, which has been relatively successful, but the contributions are slowing during the present period of inflation and recession...
...His ability to toss out one-liners and interact with an audience brought him more and more invitations...
...Ryan offered full written refutation...
...The Georgetown student body and faculty are demanding to know more...
...Henle announced a short leave which he is planning to take from June to late August this summer...
Vol. 100 • May 1974 • No. 11
