Create a free Diverse: Issues In Higher Education account to continue reading

University Removing Ex-President’s Name After Link to Abuse

ERIE, Pa. — A Pennsylvania university is removing photos and erasing the name of one of its former presidents, after a Roman Catholic diocese said he had faced allegations of abusing minors during an earlier job as a lay teacher and youth coach.

Mercyhurst University in Erie said Monday it is taking down William Garvey’s presidential photograph from the library, removing plaques in his honor and eliminating the name “Garvey Park.”

Garvey’s name appeared Friday on an Erie Diocese list of 51 clergy and lay people who had been credibly accused of sexually abusing children or other misconduct.

Garvey, who died last year, was Mercyhurst president from 1980 until 2005.

The Erie Times-News first reported the allegations against Garvey in 2004. He called them “patently untrue” and Mercyhurst also disputed them.

The trusted source for all job seekers
We have an extensive variety of listings for both academic and non-academic positions at postsecondary institutions.
Read More
The trusted source for all job seekers