Monroe to keep VCU degree despite dissent

All VCU students are held to the standard of completing the last 30 of 120 credit hours at the university. Former Police Chief Rodney Monroe was not held to this residency standard this past spring.

Monroe was awarded a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies after taking only six credits at VCU. After an anonymous complaint about the degree, the university faced scrutiny from the community and saw some members of its staff resign.

Thomas Rosenthal, rector of the VCU Board of Visitors, who received the anonymous complaint about Monroe’s degree in May, said the board has been trying to determine why the degree was granted.

“From the board standpoint, that’s one of the really big questions,” Rosenthal said. “Was it right? Absolutely not. It was unfair. Alumni and students work very hard for their degrees, and he should not have gotten that degree.”

The Department of Assurance Services investigation found no evidence Monroe was aware of any wrongdoing, which means he will be allowed to keep the degree.

“The only reason, currently, that we are allowed to revoke a degree is for academic misconduct,” Rosenthal said.

The Board of Visitors issued a statement about the investigation this past Thursday.

“The improper awarding of a degree resulted from serious errors of judgment,” the board stated.

Rosenthal said these errors should not be unforgivable offenses.

“All of the people involved are really good people, and people make mistakes,” Rosenthal said. “That doesn’t mean people should be driven from our community. They still have a lot to offer our VCU community.”

While no statements have been made specifically linking any resignations to the improper awarding of the Monroe degree, several resignations followed the investigation.

S. Jon Steingass, former dean of the University College, signed Monroe’s graduation application and recently resigned in order to take a position in another state.

According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, “Steingass said in an e-mail … he was interviewed six times during an internal investigation that he described as unfair, unprofessional and prosecutorial.”

Steingass stated he was pressured by investigators to implicate Trani and Robert D. Holsworth, former dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences.

About a month after the investigation, VCU announced Holsworth would be stepping down as dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences but would remain at the university as a political-science professor.

Contrary to the claim made in the anonymous complaint, the investigation of the Monroe degree found no evidence that anyone in the administration improperly influenced staff to break university policy.

However, Linda L. Spinelli, retired coordinator of the interdisciplinary-studies program, has made statements in the past week to the Times-Dispatch contradicting the findings by the Board of Visitors that officials were not pressured to approve the degree.

Spinelli said she refused to sign the application, which was eventually signed by Steingass.

Spinelli would not identify who it was she claimed pressured her, but told the Times-Dispatch it was “an administrator with more authority than me.”

Rosenthal said the board has worked hard to determine the facts of the situation. He said the idea of influence falls within a gray area, but it is important for the VCU community to take this as an opportunity to examine its policies and to focus on the code of conduct.

“We are going to go back and review our policies and procedures and look at the reasons that we can revoke a degree, and we will probably make some changes,” Rosenthal said. “Following the VCU code of conduct, that’s the university-wide discussion we want to have, and the board thinks everyone needs to go back and get in touch with that.”

Timeline of events

May:

Richmond Police Chief Rodney Monroe is awarded a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies.

Thomas Rosenthal, rector of VCU Board of Visitors, receives an anonymous complaint that Monroe’s degree violated the residency rule and that VCU officials were pressured into making an exception for Monroe.

The Board of Assurance Services launches an investigation into the claims.

June:

Following the investigation, Rosenthal issues a statement from the Board of Visitors stating the degree did not meet the residency requirement but that no improper influence was used by the administration.

The investigation finds Monroe had no knowledge of a violation of school requirements. The Board of Visitors and the administration decide Monroe’s degree will stay valid.

July:

Rosenthal states the provost and the vice provost for Academic Affairs reported personnel actions to the Board of Visitors that are deemed appropriate but are confidential because of university- and state-employment policies.

Four personnel changes are announced, including the departure of S. Jon Steingass from the position of dean of the University College for a position in another state and the stepping down of Robert D. Holsworth from his position as dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences.

August:

Retired Coordinator of Interdisciplinary Studies Linda L. Spinelli states she was pressured by administrators to sign the graduation application, but she refused to do so.

The next day, the Board of Visitors holds its annual meeting, agreeing with the findings of the investigation, the board suggests VCU reiterates its ethics policy throughout the university and accepts the resignations of Holsworth and Steingass.