Faculty lawsuit against St. Joseph's College is likely headed to mediation

Six tenured professors who are suing the college had their first public hearing Tuesday in Jasper County.

The civil lawsuit filed in April alleges St. Joe's failed to follow guidelines outlined in the faculty handbook when it declared a financial exigency after the board of trustees voted in February to temporarily suspend operations at the strapped-for-cash college.

The professors — William White, Timothy Rice, Robert Brodman, Robert C. Pfaff, Sally Berger and Susan Chattin — say questions about their contracts and compensation are still up in the air and St. Joe's has failed to fully communicate with them.

St. Joe's lawyer, Alison Fox, disputed those claims and said college leaders have had their doors open and have published several FAQs since the trustees voted for the suspension.

Fox said the lawsuit paints an unfair image of St. Joe's closing and cutting off lines of communication with faculty.

"That is totally not the case," she said at the hearing. "That is just wrong."