YPSILANTI,Mich.
Eastern Michigan
University fired its president, months after top university officials were
accused of covering up the rape and slaying of a student by publicly ruling out
foul play despite evidence that later led to murder charges.
The president, John Fallon, confirmed that he was fired Sunday evening by a
unanimous vote of the board of regents, the Ann Arbor News reported in
its Monday editions.
Fallon says the termination letter was delivered by courier Sunday night to
the president’s house. It did not state a reason for the firing, he says. The
letter stated that the board had voted unanimously to terminate his employment
contract two years after his five-year contract took effect.
Fallon’s dismissal follows an independent law firm investigation and U.S.
Department of Education report, both of which found that the 23,500-student
public university violated the federal Jeanne Clery Act, which requires
colleges and universities to disclose campus security information.
The body of Laura Dickinson was discovered Dec. 15 in her dorm room. At the
time, university officials told Dickinson’s parents and the media that she died
of asphyxiation but that there was no sign of foul play, despite evidence to
the contrary.
It wasn’t until another EMU student was arrested in late February and
charged with murder that her family and fellow students learned she had been
raped and killed.
