New College and Jack Leary Fact Sheet

[The document transcribed here was handed out at the New College community meeting on Wed. Nov. 1, 2006 by the New College administration.]

New College and Jack Leary Fact Sheet

* Letter was drafted to New College community by the administrative leadership after Gonzaga University revealed the reason Jack Leary was dismissed
* Letter intended to be posted on the New College website fails to get posted
* All New College administrative personnel were shocked, dismayed and concerned about the accusations of sexual abuse by Leary and most of all felt total compassion for survivors of that abuse
* Discussions were held regarding the best strategy for New College to take in light of the information released
o Administrators present at the time of Leary expressed that no suggestions of inappropriate behavior were ever brought forth
o A former President of New College was involved in a study requiring a series of in depth interviews of all New College students for a three year period in the midst of Leary’s early tenure at New College found no indications of concerns or problems emerged during that period, students during that time period tended to be mature adults
o Emails were sent to all alumni for whom contact information was available alerting them of the Gonzaga revelation and SF Weekly story
* Forum was slated for discussion of the impact of the Leary history at New College and the need to acknowledge better systems to avoid miscommunication and the need for healing