JSU Board approves leave for Beehler

During a lengthy emergency called meeting of the Jacksonville State University Board of Trustees on Saturday, members approved medical family leave for President John Beehler and were briefed on the ongoing investigations surrounding allegations of rape on or near the campus.

“The only item that the Evaluation Committee has at this time is to request the approval of family medical leave for President John Beehler starting Oct. 1,” Tony Ingram, a member of the committee and board, said.

The committee met in a separate executive session prior to the full board’s meeting. The board approved a 90-day family medical leave for the president set to begin next month.

“In Dr. Beehler’s absence, we have some great people here,” board chairman Randall Jones said.

He said the university would operate with a management team headed by Chief Operating Officer Dr. Don Killingsworth and made up of Provost Dr. Christie Shelton and James Brigham, Vice President for Finance and Administration.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to (Dr. Beehler) and his family during this trying time for them,” Jones said.

The board also was briefed on the ongoing investigation of alleged statutory rapes that recently came to light on campus. Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 3, six reported incidents occurred, with five of them taking place on campus, mostly in residential halls.

The university was notified of the reports and the investigation was turned over to the Calhoun-Cleburne Major Crimes Unit. In recent days, a second underage victim was discovered, 12 warrants were filed and nine arrests were made, with a number of men being charged with second-degree rape or second-degree sodomy. The univeristy maintains that the isolated events pose no threat to students.

“To say that the last 10 days have been difficult for the JSU family is an understatement. As administrators, we personally feel responsible for student safety,” Jones said.

He went on to say that campus safety is a topic discussed at every meeting and that board members, who are parents themselves, take it very seriously to protect students on campus.

“When students do not feel safe or a situation seems to indicate that they have any reason to be in fear on site, it pains us deeply. Things like this keep us up at night,” he said.

“That being said, from the first notification we received from investigators, we have known this is a contained situation. This situation poses absolutely no threat to any other students, period. Rest assured that given these events, however, we will enhance our already tight security at buildings, residence halls, and other JSU facilities to help assure students that their safety is paramount to us and that we will never turn our backs nor fail to do what we all can do to protect the heart of our establishment,” Jones added, reiterating that students are the heart of JSU.

He said the boards goal was to see students graduate knowing their hard earned tuition money was spent on a quality education achieved under very safe means.

The board also discussed in executive session ongoing litigation concerning insurance funds related to the damage caused by last year’s tornado. Jones said they expect that to be resolved soon.