« Regent University
January 8, 2008
ABA Asked to Examine Regent Law's Accreditation
A lawyer for Adam Key sent a letter to the American Bar Association asking them to examine the accreditation of Pat Robertson's Regent University School of Law, saying that Regent is "creating a bunch of lawyers who don't believe in free speech."
Posted by Kyle at 1:54 PM | Permalink
December 11, 2007
Trouble at Regent
The Virginian-Pilot reports that Regent University’s School of Psychology and Counseling is plagued by "turmoil [that] has led to the exodus of respected faculty members and sent morale plummeting among many students in the master’s degree counseling program."
Posted by Kyle at 4:58 PM | Permalink
November 30, 2007
Pat Robertson to the Rescue?
Amid all the turmoil plaguing Oral Roberts University, it appears as if things might be turning a corner because, in addition to a Christian businessman’s pledge to bail out the debt-ridden institution with a $70 million donation, it seems as if Pat Robertson is set to take advantage offer his assistance:
A team from Regent University will travel to financially troubled Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla., on Monday to explore “options” for ties between the institutions.
“We are pleased to report that Dr. Pat Robertson, president and chancellor of Regent University and long-time friend of Oral Roberts University, has contacted members of the board of regents and has expressed interest in exploring options for the future of ORU with Regent University,” George Pearsons, chairman of the ORU Board of Regents, said in a statement posted on the university’s Web site.
“Dr. Robertson is sending a team on Monday to Tulsa to meet with ORU Regents and administrative representatives,” he said
It should be noted that Robertson’s Regent University Law School got its start back in the mid-80s when ORU, like today, was facing financial difficulties:
The Regent law school was founded in 1986, when Oral Roberts University shut down its ailing law school and sent its library to Robertson's Bible-based college in Virginia.
Regent didn’t just get ORU’s “entire law library, [but] some students and faculty” as well.
Who knows what part of ORU Robertson has his eye on this time.
Speaking of Robertson and Regent, Adam Key, the Regent Law School student suspended and ordered to undergo a mental evaluation for posting an unflattering photo of Robertson on his web page, has apparently decided to sue:
A Regent University law student who was suspended for posting an unflattering photo of school founder Pat Robertson on the Internet sued the university and Robertson on Thursday.
Adam M. Key, 23, claims in the federal suit that Regent officials violated his free speech and due process rights for expressing his "Christian religious and political opinions" when it suspended him in October.
…
"I went there because I wanted an environment conducive to learning that had a respect for religious liberty, but the only liberty they are interested in defending is theirs and people like them," Key said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Thursday.
Because the private university receives federal funds, it is required under the U.S. Higher Education Act to respect students' freedom of religion and expression.
The lawsuit also alleges Key was "fraudulently induced" to attend Regent. "Adam relied on Regent's many claims of religious liberty and speech" and the law school's American Bar Association accreditation, the lawsuit states.
Posted by Kyle at 1:19 PM | Permalink
October 16, 2007
If You Don’t Like Pat Robertson, You Must Be Crazy
There is an interesting story developing down at Pat Robertson’s Regent University. It seems as if one of the students, Adam M. Key, doesn’t seem to like Robertson much and doesn’t really fit the stereotype of the typical Regent student:
Key, a bearded 23-year-old with a tableau of tattoos, would seem an odd fit at the evangelical Christian institution Robertson founded in 1978.
Key, a Lutheran, describes himself as a “liberal Christian” who heads the campus’ small “Christian Left” organization.
The tattoos reflect his passion for justice and the legal system. The colorful jumble of images features the U.S. Constitution written on a scroll, the Magna Carta, the Torah, phrases such as “due process,” and men of principle such as Martin Luther, Sir Thomas More and former Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
One startling image shows Osama bin Laden juxtaposed with Robertson.
“I believe they’re both reprehensible people,” Key said, “but I defend their right to believe whatever they want.”
Key, who is from Texas, said he had wanted to attend a Christian institution with a law school accredited by the American Bar Association, such as Regent. One motivating factor, he said, was “the opportunity to show people that liberalism isn’t a sin.”
Key said he has a grade-point average close to 3.0 and that he’s on track to graduate from the three-year program in 2½ years. He said he was only vaguely familiar with Robertson and his political views when he applied to Regent.
Key reportedly posted a photo of Robertson appearing to make an obscene hand gesture on his Facebook page, which he took from a freeze-frame of a YouTube video of Robertson scratching his face on “The 700 Club” - and apparently the folks at Regent didn’t find it funny:
Regent officials gave Key two choices: publicly apologize for posting the picture and refrain from commenting about the matter in a “public medium,” or write a brief defending the posting. He faces punishment that could include expulsion.
Key, a second-year law student, said he refused to apologize and “be muzzled” by the university, so he composed the document, which includes citations from noted First Amendment cases.
…
Key said that Jeffrey Brauch, dean of the law school, rejected his brief and that he now awaits disciplinary action under the university’s Standard of Personal Conduct. At one point during the controversy, Key said, he was escorted by three armed security guards from the university’s public relations office.
And now Robertson U. has gone a step further and ordered Key to submit to a Regent-approved mental health counselor:
Adam M. Key, 23, was ordered to undergo a mental-health evaluation before he can return to classes. He also was ordered to undergo counseling if a mental-health provider that is acceptable to the university deems it appropriate, and to provide a report showing that he has completed any treatment plan required.
Key also must agree to allow the mental-health provider to provide regular updates on his treatment to the school.
Presumably, Key’s case won’t be discussed when Regent Law School students gather for this:
LAW 774 First Amendment Law (3) Survey of the protections guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Topics covered include freedom of religion, the establishment clause, freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
Posted by Kyle at 2:16 PM | Permalink
October 15, 2007
Regent Student Barred From Campus Over Robertson Photo
The Associated Press reports that Adam M. Key, the "Regent University law student who posted an unflattering photo of school founder Pat Robertson on the Internet has been banned from campus" and has been "ordered to undergo a mental-health evaluation before he can return to classes ... [and] also must agree to allow the mental-health provider to provide regular updates on his treatment to the school."
Posted by Kyle at 12:07 PM | Permalink
October 11, 2007
Regent Student Under Fire Over Robertson Photo
The Virginian-Pilot reports that Regent University Law Student Adam Key is facing disciplinary action from the university for having posted an unflattering picture of Pat Robertson on his Facebook page.
Posted by Kyle at 2:58 PM | Permalink
September 19, 2007
A Right-Wing Three-Fer
Right-wing pseudo-historian David Barton will be addressing the Regent Law School chapter of the Federalist Society today.
Posted by Kyle at 11:09 AM | Permalink
August 13, 2007
Regent Hopes to Double Enrollment
Pat Robertson's Regent University plans to double its enrollment as it attempts to balance its budget and seeks reaccreditation: "Regent was faulted in 2006 by credit-rating agencies Moody's Corp. and Standard & Poor's for years of deficit spending and heavy withdrawals from its endowment. S&P reported that Regent planned to regain financial stability 'primarily by growing revenues associated with the recently established undergraduate program.'"
Posted by Kyle at 9:05 AM | Permalink
July 11, 2007
Regent-rifying the World
The ACLJ and Regent University team up to teach 50 students from around the world to "defend religious liberty and human dignity."
Posted by Kyle at 2:10 PM | Permalink
May 21, 2007
Liberty University: Home of a Future SCOTUS Nominee?
With Monica Goodling, the former Justice Department White House Liaison and graduate of Pat Robertson’s Regent University Law School, preparing to testify before the House Judiciary Committee this week over her role in the firing of several US Attorneys, the Chicago Tribune decided to take a look at the late Jerry Fallwell’s Liberty University, which is likewise “training a new generation of lawyers, judges, educators, policymakers and world leaders in law from the perspective of an explicitly Christian worldview":
Bright and enthusiastic ranks of conservative Christians of all denominations are enrolling in these new law schools. Their unabashed goal: to "confront the culture," as Falwell put it, and "change the world," as Regent's motto proclaims.
Matthew Krause, among Liberty's first law graduates, is one of them.
"I think we've complained too long about the destruction of our culture without taking any affirmative steps to remedy it," said the lanky, 26-year-old Texan. "We don't want abortion, but what are we doing about it? Let's get into the courts and find a way to combat that. Same-sex marriage we don't feel is right or a good thing for the culture. How are we going to stop that? You have to do that through the legal processes. Then, at the same time, vote in politicians who share those ideas and beliefs."
In a dark brown suit, blue-striped shirt and blue and brown striped tie, Krause already dresses like an attorney. But he also has the big smile, firm handshake and outgoing personality of the kind of politician he ultimately hopes to be.
"I've got this crazy goal to be the governor by 2022," he said, with the confidence of one who doesn't consider the idea the least bit crazy.
But first, Krause will return to Texas with his wife, Jennie, and newborn son, Jeremiah, to open a Dallas office for Liberty Counsel, a plum job for a Liberty law graduate.
Partnering with Liberty University, Liberty Counsel is a non-profit organization offering free legal assistance in the areas of "religious liberty, the sanctity of human life and the traditional family." The organization was founded in Florida in 1989 by Mathew Staver, who became dean of the university's law school last year. Top Liberty law students have the opportunity to work on pro bono cases, many of them dealing with constitutional issues.
The number of cases involving religious rights or the traditional family are on the rise, a trend consonant with the increased participation of Christian lawyers in the last decade, Staver said. And, he said, he discovered that "when we showed up, we could win."
While Liberty has not yet matched Regent’s record of getting some 150 of its graduates hired by the Bush administration, that is not stopping it from setting even loftier goals:
Fisher said four Liberty graduates will clerk for judges, one at the appellate level. Such jobs pave the way to a clerkship with the U.S. Supreme Court and beyond, said Staver, a fact of which Falwell was well aware.
"We'd be pleased if we trained up a John Roberts and a Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas and an Antonin Scalia," Falwell told the Tribune, with a wide smile. "We'd feel like we hit a home run."
Posted by Kyle at 5:17 PM | Permalink