July 2, 2007

President Behind Bars

The president of Rocky Mountain College, in Billings, Mont., won the unanimous backing of the board of trustees on Friday morning — more than two weeks after he was arrested for allegedly slapping a man in the face and spent a night in jail.

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The board’s resolution, if final, would bring another twist to the highly unusual spectacle of a sitting college president being charged with a violent act — in this case, battery, a misdemeanor. It is unclear whether any clause in Mace’s contract with the college would be invoked depending on the outcome of his trial, which is set for Aug. 23. He has plead not guilty.

Michael R. Mace, the college’s president, allegedly hit David S. Klain in his office in Carmel, Ind., on June 13. According to the affidavit for probable cause, Mace “entered the victim’s office cursing at the victim.” He “then struck the victim on the left side of the head around the ear area with his right palm. The assault caused redness and swelling around the ear area.”

According to the document, which was signed by a police officer sworn under oath, Mace admitted to the acts. In an interview, Mace called it an “unfortunate situation” and said that there are “two sides to every story,” but he said he couldn’t comment until he gets clearance from his lawyer (who also did not comment). He said he had convened the board on Friday, receiving unanimous approval from the trustees, as well as the college’s vice presidents, that he could continue as president. The chairman of the board, Jim Almond, confirmed the vote but couldn’t comment further until the board “received all the facts.”

“That’s a final decision from the trustees,” Mace said.

Klain, who owns the development where Mace and his wife have a townhouse, could not be reached for comment. In other news reports, he said that Mace had been complaining about various repairs needed for his house and had asked to meet for coffee to discuss the issues. Klain is apparently considering a civil suit.

The board of trustees’ decision to back the president comes in contrast to the way the University of Mary Washington dealt with the arrest of its president, William J. Frawley, in that case on drunk-driving charges. After nearly three weeks of deliberations, and before the trial, the board terminated Frawley with cause.

— Andy Guess

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Comments

Board’s responsibility

One does not know the full circumstances, but a president strikes an employee and the Board backs the president! What if the reverse were to occur? Would the Board back the employee? Who has the greater responsibility to maintian control?

Shocked!

Faculty, at 9:25 am EDT on July 2, 2007

Don’t run

I’m going to go out on a limb with an observation here... I see college president’s make mistakes such as drunk driving, slapping someone, etc. and a few things happen. One, they resign — this teaches the students to run from your problems; Two, they are fired — this teaches the students there are serious consequences for your bad judgement. THREE, they are allowed to stay — I believe this can potentially teach an even greater lesson — when you mess up, you tough it out. You apologize, try to make it right, accept the consequences, learn by it and tough it out. You are not allowed to hide from your shame.

Currently, I see a trend in the younger generation to run from problems. I think they need to see more adults apologing, acknowledging their mistake and toughing it out.

Perhaps, reprimanding by the board and a public apology seen and heard by students would be a better lesson for them. We all make mistakes; character and integrity are not the signs of someone who doesn’t make mistakes. It is the sign of someone who when they make a mistake, tries to make things right, admits their failings, etc.

Of course, there are “mistakes” that do deserve an action such as firing.

Sandra D, at 9:50 am EDT on July 2, 2007

Faculty — Before you get too shocked, read the article again. Klain is not an employee of the university — he owns the development where Mace lives.

Sarah, at 11:25 am EDT on July 2, 2007

Okay,

Did I get this right?

President enters the office of someone not on the University campus and not affiliated with the University campus. President enters office cursing and then strikes the other person? President gets arrested and charged with battery. President’s trial is in August and he’s going to plead “not guilty". Board of Trustees met and gave unanimous backing to the President.

It’s a confusing story.

kh, at 12:30 pm EDT on July 2, 2007

Assumptions

The article does not specify whether Klain works for the college or not, so unless “Faculty” has information not presented in the article they’re only assuming that detail.

A search of the RMC directory (http://www.rocky.edu/index.php?type=directory) does not turn up any person named Klain however, so I’m inclined to assume that Klain is not an employee of the college, and is instead a realtor/developer, which would be more consistent with the other data in the article.

This other article confirms that the “battery” in question happened away from campus (and away from MT at that)

http://www.billingsgazette.net/ar.../2007/06/29/news/local/23-mace_z.txt

That said, the IHE article could have been clearer on such pertinent facts.

For non-facts on the case, go to:http://www.topix.com/forum/city/carmel-in/TKPEJAOVIAJRGGEV5/p2

While it’s not unusual for me to critique the state of journalism, this was also a case where more critical reading could have highlighted places where one was stumbling out of presented fact and into the void of assumption.

Always a critic, at 12:30 pm EDT on July 2, 2007

You guys will never get resolution

What will you people do if (as is statistically likely with this kind of crime in most jurisdiction) charges are dismissed (at the request of the prosecution) after the defendant either performs a small amount of community service, or simply agrees to some other diversionary-type program. (I don’t know MT law, so I can’t tell you the precise names.)

Larry, at 1:30 pm EDT on July 2, 2007

Did anyone notice that the college is in Billings, MT and Klain’s office was in Carmel, IN? I’m willing to bet Klain is NOT an employee of RMC.

Laura Connolly, at 1:45 pm EDT on July 2, 2007

In kindergarten my son used to be told, “Don’t use your hands; use your words.” In our obsessively litigious society the pres. needed to remember the adult equivalent: “Use your lawyer.” It’s likely that the slapee will.

Dave, fisticuffs, at 4:40 pm EDT on July 2, 2007

Dave, I don’t see your point. If someone hit someone, and it wasn’t consensual, then a crime was committed. Likewise, unless you are arguing that we should simply abrogate the tort of battery because people in America don’t mind being hit, I think that you are basing your argument not upon admitted facts, but rather on things you saw on TV.

Larry, at 6:30 pm EDT on July 2, 2007

Wrong, Larry

Larry, I don’t watch TV, and you miss my point, which seemed to me clear. The President should have known enough to sue the developer instead of hitting him. Even kindergarteners know that much, even if they don’t know about “torts.” Of course, where I grew up in the mid century, manly men hit each other all the time without arrests or lawsuits. Are you a tort wuss?

Dave, at 5:05 pm EDT on July 3, 2007

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