THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 2, 1995 TAG: 9502020436
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ESTHER DISKIN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
The American Bar Association is giving Regent University's law school another year to show that it deserves full accreditation by carrying out new initiatives for minority recruitment, faculty tenure and academic freedom, Regent's law dean said Wednesday.
J. Nelson Happy said that a representative of the ABA told him Tuesday that its committee is recommending a yearlong extension of the law school's provisional accreditation.
Regent officials were hoping this would be the year the school, founded and endowed by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, would finally win full ABA accreditation after 6 years of provisional status.
Happy expressed confidence that the school now has the facilities, financial backing and academic programs to win accreditation, but needs another year to carry out newly changed policies.
The ABA official called it a ``shakedown cruise,'' the term used for the sea trial of a new ship, Happy said. ``We had some untraditional policies before, and they want to see that we are following the new policies.''
Kathy Schrage, executive assistant to the ABA's accreditation committee, declined to comment on whether any action had been taken. She said that any committee recommendation on extending provisional accreditation must be approved by the ABA council in February.
The decision comes after a tumultuous year at the university. In June, five professors sued Regent, alleging that new teaching contracts violate the school's long-standing tenure policy and threaten job security. Last month, the university laid off 10 people, including a vice president and the chaplain, to cut costs.
Happy, who went with Regent President Terry Lindvall to the committee's conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, last weekend, said ABA officials asked him about the law school's minority recruitment effort.
About 5 percent of the law school's 340 students are minorities, Happy said, a percentage he hopes to increase. This year, Regent law school is expanding its recruitment to historically black universities, churches with heavily black congregations, and advertising in African-American magazines, he said.
ABA officials complimented him on Regent University's rewritten policies for tenure and academic freedom, he said, but want to see how the school enacts them. Tenure is a key requirement for full ABA accreditation.
The old tenure program included three-year rolling contracts, which were automatically renewed each year and had no clear steps for judging performance.
The new policy, which took effect in July, requires professors to undergo performance reviews by their peers every five years. If a professor fails to meet standards, a dean drafts an improvement plan, which the professor must fulfill in order to keep his job.
Regent has also rewritten its policy on academic freedom. Happy said it is not clear how the law school will show its commitment to the principles of academic freedom, but that issues arise which put those principles to the test.
He used as an example an article for Regent's law review last summer, which presented a legal defense for killing abortion doctors. The article was due to be published in August, but the university withdrew it at the student's request, after an abortion doctor was gunned down in July at a Florida abortion clinic.
``In this case, the problem was solved for us. The student withdrew the article,'' Happy said. ``What if he hadn't?''
Happy said he would have yanked the article. ``Anything we publish as a school probably has to have my tacit approval,'' he said. ``Part of my academic freedom is to choose what is published at my law school.''
Professors should feel they have complete protection to publish their views - which may conflict with the university's positions - in outside publications, he said. The university's policy encourages them to speak in accordance with Biblical principles, both in public and private.
``It's just an encouragement to follow the Scripture,'' he said. ``It's not mandatory. We want to set a tone.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Photo of J. Nelson Happy]
A TROUBLED HISTORY
On Wednesday, Regent Law Dean J. Nelson Happy said that the
American Bar Association had extended the law school's provisional
accreditation for a year. The law school's history:
1986: Regent University School of Law established with three-year
program and total enrollment of 103 students.
1989: The American Bar Association grants provisional approval to
the law school.
1991: Regent University receives $117 million donation from Pat
Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network.
1993: Founding dean of law school, Herbert W. Titus, fired by
university. Eight full-time professors file complaint with American
Bar Association concerning job security and academic freedom.
1994: Five professors sue Regent, alleging that new teaching
contracts violate the school's long-standing tenure policy. Regent
lays off 10 people, including a vice president, the registrar and
the chaplain.
Law school's enrollment reaches 340 students, with annual budget
of $4 million.
KEYWORDS: REGENT UNIVERSITY CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING NETWORK by CNB