Font Size: 
Ouster of Duquesne Law Dean Proves Divisive
Professor Ken Gormley has been named interim dean of the law school
The Legal Intelligencer
December 12, 2008
Many among the Duquesne Law School community and the Pennsylvania-wide legal community were scratching their heads Thursday over the reasons for the abrupt removal of the school's dean, though others pointed to clear tension between the dean and the university's administration.
Donald J. Guter was called into university President Charles J. Dougherty's office 9:30 Tuesday morning and told he could either resign or be removed from his position by the same time Wednesday morning, Guter said.
In a letter to the president provided to The Legal Intelligencer, in which Guter declined an offer to come up with a reason he was resigning and instead took a faculty position, Guter listed a number of ways the law school had improved under his leadership.
He pointed to bar passage rates increasing from 68 percent to 97 percent and the fourth-tier school being named for the first time to a specialty ranking in U.S. News & World Report, for its writing program. He also pointed to a very successful American Bar Association visit and three national moot court competition wins.
"I chronicle them only to make the point that under these circumstances, it would be dishonest, disingenuous, unbelievable to the public and most importantly unethical for me to abruptly resign in the middle of the school year and in the middle of exams no less, by accepting your invitation to manufacture an excuse to cover up what is obviously and unprofessionally your personal animus toward me despite my attempt this last Easter season to seek reconciliation with you," Guter said in the letter.
Dougherty was out of town and didn't return a call for comment, but university spokeswoman Bridget Fare said Guter was repeatedly warned over the course of three years about unmet performance expectations, though she said she couldn't specify what those unmet expectations were. She said all deans serve at the discretion of the university president.
In an e-mail sent Thursday to the faculty by university Provost Ralph Pearson, the provost objected to some of Guter's comments in the press in recent days and said the decision to remove him was based on the evaluation of his performance over Guter's entire tenure.
Pearson said in the e-mail that Guter had a "consistent pattern of failure" in meeting expectations and had been told of concerns over a lack of leadership in a number of areas.
"While the university is certainly proud of the recent achievements of its students on the bar exam and in moot court competitions, it must be noted that the role of the dean is wide ranging, with responsibilities and expectations that extend far beyond achievements more appropriately attributed to faculty and advisors, and in which he had no direct role," Pearson said. "His removal was based solely on his failure to fulfill his responsibilities and live up to the expectations of his position."
Professor Ken Gormley was named interim dean of the law school Wednesday, and Guter will take a faculty position with the school.
Guter said in an interview with The Legal Intelligencer that his removal didn't necessarily come as a shock to him, but the timing of it did. He said to do that in the middle of exams was unfortunate for the students.
"You can fire me anytime you want, but when you fire a dean right in the middle of exams, it really shook up the students," he said.
It became clear to Guter, who left his position as a judge advocate general and admiral in the Navy to serve his alma mater as dean in 2005, that Dougherty had wanted Gormley in the position from the start, Guter said. And after Guter publicly fought for tenure for professor John T. Rago, to whom Dougherty had at first denied tenure, the relationship between Guter and Dougherty worsened, Guter said.
Guter's work with President-elect Barack Obama's campaign was also frowned upon by the university, he said.
Guter was up for re-appointment as dean when his term was finished in 2010, but he said he had already known he wouldn't get it. He said he thought his ouster was "in the works for some time."
Now that he is a professor, Guter said he would focus, for the time being, on being there for the students. He said it's hard to know what the future holds and being in the military has made him accustomed to moving. Guter said if another meaningful opportunity came along, he would probably take a serious look.
Law school professor Bruce Ledewitz was on the re-appointment committee that had already begun to review Guter's work, and he said it was clear there would have been a lot of support for Guter from internal and external stakeholders involved in the process, such as students and alumni.
Ledewitz hasn't always been a fan of Guter's policies. He came out publicly against the dean when Guter canceled Ledewitz's 2007 speaking tour on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
But past history aside, Ledewitz said the ouster came as a total surprise because most people he knew felt the dean was doing a good job and had worked to quell strains between the university and the law school that existed before Guter came on board.
"I'm not telling you that everybody opposed what happened yesterday because some people may have wanted Ken to be dean," Ledewitz said. "Undoubtedly it was personal, but as to the timing, I believe it was done to forestall the re-appointment process."
Gormley said he was called Wednesday morning and asked whether he would serve as interim dean, which he ultimately accepted.
His first orders of business will be to ensure an orderly transition and try to maintain continuity within the law school, Gormley said. He said he will spend the next few weeks calming any concerns and then come back after the holidays concentrating on ways to improve the law school.
Gormley said that he wasn't sure whether the interim appointment would last until Guter's term expires in 2010 because deans serve at the discretion of the president.
Gormley's name had been in the mix for a few different seats on the state's judicial benches. Gov. Edward G. Rendell nominated him to fill a seat on the Commonwealth Court vacated by James Gardner Colins, but that batch of nominations, which included three others, was rejected by the Senate. He had also been rumored to be on the short list of potential nominees to fill the state Supreme Court seat vacated by former Chief Justice Ralph J. Cappy.
Gormley said he would "absolutely not" run in 2009 for a seat that will become vacant on the Supreme Court when interim Justice Jane Cutler Greenspan's term ends. "My focus is completely on the law school and the students right now and I honestly have no plans to do anything like that," he said.
He said running the law school requires he "wear blinders" to other things. Both Ledewitz and Guter pointed to the potential effects this change could have on the campus.
Ledewitz questioned whether Guter's removal would result in a "cumulated resentment" among faculty and students and wondered whether other deans would be concerned about their positions being in jeopardy.
Guter said the move would fractionalize the faculty. A few faculty members have come out in support of Guter's removal.
Law professor Robert S. Barker told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette there was a "marginalization of the most productive members of the faculty" under Guter's leadership.
Joseph Sabino Mistick, an associate professor of clinical and legal education at the law school, told The Legal Intelligencer that to Guter's credit, he inherited a fractured faculty "with all of its problems" and did make attempts to improve intra-faculty relationships. But, Mistick said, it seemed as though Guter became frustrated after some failed attempts and just picked one side and stuck with it. Mistick said when Guter did that he lost everyone.
Ledewitz said the only thing Guter could possibly be criticized for is not bringing the law school into the third tier, which he said is not in Guter's control.
ALUMNI REACT
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Max Baer graduated from Duquesne Law in 1975. He said he wasn't familiar enough with the day-to-day operations of the school to know why Guter was removed but said he was aware of some tensions.
Baer said it was commendable that the bar passage rates went up.
"On the other hand, the law school remains very poorly ranked and, whether it's fair or unfair, that's a very important criteria to college kids choosing their law school," he said.
Baer said he knows Gormley very well, calling him a "brilliant legal scholar" who is good at administration and will make a very good interim dean and dean if he is named to that position. Baer said there was no negative corollary there in regard to Guter.
Pittsburgh attorney and Duquesne Law alumnus Robert Pierce Sr. said he owes a lot to the school for his success as an attorney. Pierce has donated about $500,000 to the school over the years. He said he and his wife had pledged another $500,000 in donations but said he will be withdrawing that pledge until Guter is reinstated or he gets an explanation from the university. He said Guter's removal was "outrageous."
Peter Vaira of Vaira & Riley is another alumnus of the law school and served on the dean's advisory committee, which was created by Guter last year. The 15- to 20-member committee worked with the dean on policies for things like teaching, recruiting and improving the image of the school.
Speaking on his own behalf and not for the committee, Vaira said he was very surprised by the move and felt Guter had a lot of good, practical ideas that were taking the school forward.
Gormley said the law school's alumni are one of his key constituents and he would immediately be reaching out to them. He said it's important to remember that the main focus for everyone should be the good of the law school.
