Dr. Joseph L. Jones, former president of Arkansas Baptist College, is suing the school out of belief that he was fired without cause.
In his lawsuit, Jones also accused campus leaders of not disclosing the college’s financial challenges during his contract negotiations, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported in a recent article.
Dr. Joseph L. JonesIn a statement released in December, the school said Jones’ termination was “predicated on his lack of transparency with the Board on issues that could place the Board and the institution at significant risk of financial and legal jeopardy.”
However, in an interview with Diverse published Dec. 17, Jones said he had informed former Chairman Kenneth Harris about his intent to resign due to a breach in his employment agreement. Two days later, his employment was terminated.
Under his contract, if Jones chose to resign due to a breach, he needed to provide Arkansas Baptist notice 30 days in advance. If the problem was not fixed within 20 days, Jones would be allowed to resign, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
Additionally, the Democrat-Gazette reported that in his contract, Jones “would be owed half of his base salary if fired without cause or if he resigned for good reason.”
Jones is seeking unspecified compensatory damages and is requesting a jury trial.
