Course Overview:
This course examines recent law and policy developments related to college student suicide. Special attention will be paid to the implications of the
Shin case settlement; news coverage of a disputed administrative withdrawal at George Washington University, a December 2005 Pennsylvania trial court
decision in Mahoney v. Allegheny College, and pertinent U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil rights (OCR) letter rulings.
Course Outline:
Readings in the course will focus on topics identified in the
courseoverview. Special attention will be paid to risk management
perspectives,
including potential liability for violating federal protections for
students
with disabilities. Participants will be asked to comment on the
wisdom and
possible features of an involuntary medical or administrative leave
policy.
Learning Outcomes:
Active participants in the course will:
- Learn basic legal principles concerning liability for student suicide
- Better understand recent legal trends concerning a duty to prevent student suicide
- Better understand relevant protections of federal disabilities law
- Better understand the risks and benefits of relevant mandatory leave policies
Participant Expectations:
Participants will be expected to devote approximately six hours to the course. Active participation in online discussions will enhance learning outcomes.
Individuals registering for CEUs will receive 1.0 CEU upon successful
completion of the course.
Instructor Bio:
Gary Pavela, is Director of Judicial Programs at the University of Maryland-College
Park, and edits the national quarterly Synthesis: Law and Policy in Higher Education
as well as its sister publication, Synfax Weekly Report-- publications to which over
1,000 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada subscribe.
He holds an M.A. in intellectual history from Wesleyan University, a law degree from
the University of Illinois, and has been a Fellow at the University of Wisconsin
Center for Behavioral Science and Law.
Pavela worked as a staff attorney for the State University of New York--Central
Administration, was a law clerk to the late Chief Judge Alfred P. Murrah of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, and served as a faculty member
for the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, D.C. (the training arm of the United
States Courts).
Identified by the New York Times as an "authority on academic ethics," Gary Pavela
is a member of the Advisory Board of the Kenan Ethics Institute at Duke University
and is a past President of the National Center for Academic Integrity, a consortium
of 200 universities that collaborate on academic integrity policies and procedures.
He has been a consultant on legal issues and student conduct policies at many
leading universities, including Stanford University, the University of Michigan, The
University of California at San Diego, The University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, Rutgers University, Georgetown University, The United States Naval Academy,
Lehigh University, Brown University, Colgate University, and Smith College.
Gary Pavela is a NASPA "Pillar of the Profession." In 1995 he was awarded the
American College Personnel Association "Tracy R. Teele Memorial Award" for
"contributions to the area of judicial affairs and legal issues." In 1996 he
received the "D. Parker Young Award" for "outstanding scholarly and research
contributions in the area of higher education law and judicial affairs" from the
Association for Student Judicial Affairs. In 1999 he was awarded the "Thomas S.
Biggs Award" for "dedicated legal service" in the field of law and higher education;
presented at the Twentieth Annual National Conference on Law and Higher Education.
Last year Gary Pavela was designated the year 2002 "Fellow" of the National
Association of College and University Attorneys. Fellows of the Association are
identified by NACUA as individuals who have "brought distinction to higher education
and to the practice of law on behalf of colleges and universities across the nation."
