Julie Keehner's employment at West Virginia Wesleyan College has ended.
If I’m sharing this information with you for the first time, you likely feel as blindsided as I did. I’d begin by encouraging you to refrain from spreading rumors. Julie is a wonderful and intelligent human being and I trust she will make decisions that will amply rectify any wrongdoing. Our spreading baseless rumors will only make it harder for her and the college to come to terms. That being said, there was something about the situation that never sat right with me and it propelled me to look into the matter.
The fact that it was Julie was the first thing to give me pause. It’s difficult to imagine scenarios where she would deserve to be let go and at the same time unimaginable that the college would want such a valuable and prominent staff member to go. Julie is like a mother, to me and others. Nearly everyone has eaten at her house, taken her advice, and been warmed by her smile. Moreover, she is a kind woman. It was Julie's family who came to serve food when we had the blizzard last semester. Julie was the one who helped young upcoming freshmen find their place and heard the complaints of the student body. She is someone who is going to be dearly missed on campus by students, faculty, staff, and alumni. The second thing that gave me pause was that no announcement was made to the student body or even faculty and staff. I respect the reasons for the parting is between employer and employee. But, that does not mean the college could not tell us Julie would be leaving the college, in this instance specifically, because Julie was such a vital member of campus.
We may never find out why Julie was asked to leave because, as I was informed by a member of the administration, it’s illegal for the college to disclose the reasoning. I’ve been told by reliable sources that Julie, herself, doesn’t even know why she was dismissed. I’m sure some of you already have an opinion about who was in the wrong, but it’s not our place to think about why she was fired - we have no control over that - but we can analyze the college’s decisions afterward.
Let us, for a moment, assume the college did the right thing when they decided to part with Julie. Why did we receive no message from the college after Julie was let go? I understand they are legally obligated to not say why she was asked to leave, but that does not preclude them from talking about the issue at hand. The college could have informed its students of the problems and encouraged them to move on via a statement. In it they would need only make clear that changes had been made, the college felt they were justified, and ask for us to come together at what they knew was a difficult time. I believe the administration of Wesleyan should have told us she was leaving, at the very least. In the future, I hope they will consider their priority to be telling the student body and the Wesleyan community at large what is going on, to the greatest extent possible.
When I spoke to faculty, staff, and alumni about this issue, I was told by many - this was not an isolated event. Employees are asked to leave without explanation and the decision is rarely discussed in a public setting. I’d like to publically say, I find this practice to be dubious at best. I was told, when I was applying to colleges, students applying to colleges are investors those colleges are trying to attract. Every student at Wesleyan is an investor in the college and we should know when the college makes a decision which will impact our experience and college.This extends far beyond Julie’s case. When the college makes a decision that is going to impact any student, that decision should be made public so students can understand the impact it will have and make educated decisions based on it. I understand that hard decisions have to be made by the college and sometimes I might disagree with them. The silence after the decisions, however, breeds discontent and gives support to rumors that the college has acted irresponsibly or illegally. It’s my hope that the college will be as upfront as is legally possible about all things in the future.
Given the situation we are in, I could not be happier to know Julie will be replaced, in interim, by Vice President Waltz. He has been more than wonderful in my experiences with him and I feel he will be able to continue the excellent services Student Development has been able to provide to students at Wesleyan. I hope the college continues along the same path by selecting a dynamic replacement who will bring fresh new ideas to a department that always needs them. The addition of Robbie Quarles, Meghan Frum, and Adam Linetty certainly helped to add many new ideas to Student Development, but keeping an energetic spirit in the highest office in the department will be pivotal in the development of the college.
I hope, in spite of the loss that we feel now, all of us will be able to move forward together and support our Home Among the Hills.
We will miss you, Julie.
