Boz, OCC agree to settlement

I received word Friday evening that Prof. Karen "Boz" Bosley had reached a settlement in her federal lawsuit against Ocean County College, its trustees and several administrators.

Here are some links to related articles:

Ocean County Observer - OCC, journalism professor settle suit

Asbury Park Press - Professor reaches deal with college

And here is a statement released by Boz on the settlement:

This settlement reminds me of the story of the person who came home to find her house being burglarized and trashed. The police came in time to catch the perpetrators, who were allowed to keep two silver candlesticks. The lawmen were “happy” to catch the wrongdoers, who, themselves, were “happy” to not be shot in being forcibly removed and to be allowed to keep some of the loot, and the victim, while unhappy to have lost anything at all, was “happy” to have the destruction stopped and to have lost just two candlesticks.

I am happy to have the travesty in human dealings this case represents finished. I am relieved the lawsuit is over, the three Viking News former editors and I have been vindicated and I have back both the advisership and my journalism classes. But my joy is tempered by the pain, suffering and attempts at humiliation of several student journalists and by the pain, suffering and even death of several good and valuable members of the OCC faculty. During the course of these proceedings, some of the college’s best faculty and administrators left their employment earlier than planned; two others were fired, and one had serious health problems in the indefatigable pursuit of justice for all.

This case started with my removal as adviser to the Viking News after 35 years on the job and with the arbitrary, unmerited wrenching of my teaching assignment by removing me from teaching the journalism courses I had created and taught for more than 30 years, all with public intimation I was, among other things, incompetent to teach the courses and failed to obey orders. Now, three years later, I have been flattered to discover at recent settlement talks the administration considers me competent to teach at least 13 different courses and 50 sections, and that, although all previous talks demanded my immediate departure from the college (even in the middle of a semester), the new approach became “no one wants her to leave.”

While the agreement results in the restoration of my journalism courses, I will not have the other two beginning communications classes I had been teaching for many years. Since a settlement requires negotiations and “is not to be construed as an admission of wrongdoing,” I could not expect to have the full teaching assignment as it had been. In addition, this lawsuit has never been about money; it is about principle, and the modest financial compensation demonstrates that fact.

In all of these maneuverings, as in almost everything else, sadly, the very last consideration is the welfare of students. From the very beginning, student expression angered and embarrassed the college’s leadership, and the actions against me resulted. All the journalism groups who investigated the college said this. Students, sound educational principles and the First Amendment were trampled.

I am happy and grateful for the national support we received from students, colleges, various mass media, journalists and journalism organizations, especially College Media Advisers, the Society for Collegiate Journalists, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications and the Student Press Law Center. The understanding and acknowledgment of the First Amendment issues involved in the students’ case and mine by these media people and groups and by our legal counsel (Raymond Staub, Esq., and the Pepper Hamilton law firm) were and are invaluable.

Finally, the agreement is unique in that it has no confidentiality clause because I believe the public has a right to know about the proceedings of its public officials and institutions.