Evans Narrowly Survives Termination Vote, Will Face Unspecified Disciplinary Action For Plagiarism
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WEST LIBERTY — A two-vote margin Wednesday among the 12 representatives on West Liberty University's Board of Governors will keep President W. Franklin Evans at the university's helm.
The board then voted unanimously to subject Evans to disciplinary action for plagiarism in multiple speeches he made as the university's president, though the specific actions were not disclosed.
When the motion to terminate Evans was brought to a vote, only five board members voted to fire the president, with seven voting to keep him.
Board members Jamie Evick, Arlene Brantley, Mackenzi Jones, Rich Lucas, Michael Baker, David McKinley and Stephanie Shaw voted against the motion to terminate Evans. Thomas Cervone, Jason Metz, Jack Adams, Richard Carter and Ryan Glanville voted in favor of termination. Termination would have required a majority.
The vote to keep Evans came after nearly two hours in a closed-door session to determine the fate of the president, who apologized for several occasions of plagiarism in giving speeches. Evans was not present at the closed-door session, but briefly appeared at the beginning of the meeting to greet the convening board.
Among the faculty and student representatives on council, the vote was split. Jones, the student representative, voted against firing Evans, while Metz, representing the faculty, voted to terminate. Metz declined further comment following the vote.
With the disciplinary action against Evans, he will answer directly to the board, excluding the human resources department from this action.
"Detailed items will be developed with the assistance of the Higher Ed Policy Commission, (their) human resources department, and the board of governors will meet all disciplinary actions," said Lucas, who serves as the chair of the board. "… The HEPC, I will ask their assistance in getting disciplinary action together. ... The details are not available."
Lucas said he wants the votes against Evans to serve as an endpoint for the tumultuous last few weeks.
"We want to put an end to the event, but the appropriate end, and make sure everyone understands — from the board of governors to the incoming freshman class — how serious we took these allegations and how much exhaustive research was done," he said.
"I want all good things for West Liberty University. I hope the Faculty Senate do what they feel is appropriate. ... We're going to move forward. We're going to gather, we'll do the right things, and West Liberty University will move forward."
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