Departing AMU professor's letter confirms many fears about Monaghan-dominated educational institutions

The following are excerpts from an outgoing AMU Professor's letter to other Florida faculty members, dated December 8th. I withheld this letter for almost two weeks because there have been concerns about posting it in its full form, which was briefly done over on Fumare and then removed after a request made by a person using the professor's name. I will only quote parts of it, because they shed light on a few key issues, especially the allegations made concerning intimidation by the Dean to stop organizing activity at the law school. But it also makes very clear what happens when Tom Monaghan excercises too much control over an educational institution, as he has done since breaking up AMC and effectively moving it down to FL to form AMU.

Note that the comments about social justice and union organizing at AMU were made before the Dean called his own union-busting meeting at AMSL...

...AMU also misled us about its Catholicity. The university is not connected to the diocesan structure, nor to any order of the Church. It is an endeavor by lay Catholics, at best tolerated by the local bishop who has never visited AMU. The Oratory in the new town will not be a diocesan Church, nor will it have RCIA or be able to offer sacramental preparation for children, just as it is the case now. Imagine our surprise to find a ‘Catholic’ entity disconnected from the Church hierarchy. As people choose to move into the town because it is advertised as a Catholic town, many will be surprised to find out that the Oratory is under the control of Monaghan and not the Catholic Church. Presumably they will do sacramental preparation in the closest parish in Immokalee. The town will have space for a public school but not for a parish. This situation is not sustainable, at some point the Church will flex its muscles and for good reason!

... AMU does not behave like a Catholic employer. The university is run as
a secular business venture with an outdated business model that relies on cutting costs to meet goals. As Chair I have attended dozens of meetings and have been generally appalled at how little consideration the views of students, faculty or staff are given, Catholic social teaching principles are never seriously invoked and when I mentioned them, they were politely discarded. Given the problems with living wages it would be natural to unionize the faculty, as our neighbor FGCU did with good effect on improving retention and recruitment, yet every faculty member perceives correctly AMU as a union buster, the type of employer the social encyclicals condemn. Justice issues are systematically neglected in the employer-worker relationship. Instead, sacrifice is preached as if charity could justify violations of justice. If the university wants the faculty to sacrifice pay the faculty fairly, then let them donate the money back if they want to. Do not confuse justice and charity. I have decided no longer to teach Catholic social teaching in large part because of the example of AMU administration. It is no wonder Catholic social teaching has no widespread credibility, Catholics do not follow it. Apparently, we stop being Catholic after the sixth commandment.

Finally, AMU management that lacks basic essential preparation in higher education...They have no notion that higher education is a very competitive marketplace and have no feasible business plan outside of ‘we are Catholic, people ought to be grateful we let them work here". AMU needs professional management, in my opinion.

...
I became convinced, however, that there is no serious commitment to make AMU a university nationally known for its scholarship outside of theology, or to have AMU become a model employer that follows Catholic social teaching. There is also no intention to stop making claims about the university and town which we know cannot be accomplished within the next decade.