Lawyers: UNCW dean ‘reassigned’ after ‘exercising his free speech rights’
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Monday, UNCW announced the Watson College of Education will begin the next academic year with new leadership in place.
According to the university, Dr. Van Dempsey is leaving his position as dean in mid-July.
Dempsey is being “reassigned” from the position, where a interim dean will then take his place while the university conducts a search for his replacement.
In a release, the law firm representing Dempsey says they believe that the decision to replace him was in “a direct response to a respected academic exercising his free speech rights.”
“In the months to come, this reassignment will undergo scrutiny,” says Jim Lea of the Lea/Schultz Law Firm, P.C. . “As an advocate of education, Dempsey has played a significant role in improving education in our community, region and state. Under his leadership the College has greatly enhanced its impact on learners and practitioners at the early childhood level, in K-12 schools, in community colleges and higher education, and in the business sector. He has also provided critical leadership for the state as Chair of the Professional Preparation and Standards Commission and for the Governor’s DRIVE Task Force. This decision to replace him was in direct response to a respected academic exercising his free speech rights.”
“Dean Dempsey has devoted his life to improving education throughout the country. His advocacy has always included transparency,” adds Martin Ramey, of the Rhine Law Firm. Ramey notes that Dempsey was hired by UNCW to serve as Dean in 2015 following an extensive nationwide search. “At Watson, he was responsible for overseeing the college’s curriculum and program development, strategic planning, accreditation and assessment, faculty and staff matters, budget administration, academic facilities planning and use, and fundraising and resource development initiatives. At the very least, he deserves the kind of transparency he sought to protect.”
Dr. Carol McNulty, Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education and Faculty Affairs, has been appointed interim dean of Watson College.
UNCW’s Watson College of Education has more than 1,300 students and 150 faculty and staff.
