The president of Kentucky’s Georgetown College has been fired after reports emerged accusing him of sexual assault and sexual misconduct against employees, the small Christian liberal arts school announced Tuesday.
William A. Jones was fired by the board of trustees after the college learned of “allegations of a sexual assault of a female College employee, inappropriate behavior with another female College employee, and other conduct in violation of Jones’s employment agreement with the College,” according to a news release.
“It’s been very, very sudden,” Dr. Jonathan Sands Wise, vice president of enrollment management, told media. Wise declined to share more details about the allegations due to respect for Jones’ alleged victims.
Jones was not available for comment.
The college received the allegations on Sunday and Board of Trustees chairman Robert Mills called a meeting of the board’s executive committee the next day. The full board voted to fire Jones on Monday.
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According to Sands Wise, “The Board of Trustees launched an investigation, speaking with relevant individuals, and determined that the president had clearly broken his employment agreement with the college. Even without complete knowledge (of the incidents), that was clear. They decided at that time they had to terminate (Jones’) employment to protect those who are vulnerable.”
Georgetown has hired outside counsel to continue the investigation, the school’s release said. At this time, it’s not clear whether criminal charges will be filed against Jones.
“Georgetown College does not tolerate violence or misuse of authority. We hold our administrators, students and faculty to the highest standards of moral and ethical conduct,” Mills said in a statement, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. “We are surprised and deeply disappointed by what we have learned. We will support the members of our Georgetown College family who are directly impacted, and we will work cooperatively with ongoing or any future investigations.”
Rosemary Allen, the school provost, was named acting president of the college by the board of trustees. The school, which is not connected to Georgetown University in Washington, is located about 10 miles north of Lexington.
Jones was named president in 2019 and his arrival was hailed on social media as a “truly special and historic day” at Georgetown College.
https://twitter.com/GtownCollege/status/1146489427679744002?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1146489427679744002%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedailybeast.com%2Fkentucky-georgetown-college-president-william-a-jones-fired-over-sexual-assault-allegation
Jones previously worked as the president of Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas.
Julie Roys contributed to this report.
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One Response
Wow, a real show of principle from an academic corporation (Christian or not). I am impressed.
Conservative Protestant parents contemplating the Liberty clown college for their kids have an obvious new front-running candidate to send them to in Georgetown.