Franklin College president fired following arrest

Franklin College President Thomas J. Minar was fired after police in Wisconsin arrested him on charges related to sex crimes with a minor.

According to an email sent to the college by the Sturgeon Bay Police Department, Minar was arrested in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, on charges of use of a computer to facilitate a sex crime, child enticement, exposing a child to harmful materials and child exploitation.

Minar was arrested on Jan. 6, said Colleen Nordin, Door County district attorney. A bond hearing was held Jan. 7, and a judge determined there was probable cause, Nordin said. She plans to file charges of attempted child enticement and exposing a child to harmful materials, she said.

Charges are expected to be filed in the next couple of days at the Door County Circuit Court, Nordin said.

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No other details or documents were being released Monday evening.

Minar was released from jail on $7,500 bond, subject to no direct contact with minors unless supervised. He was told not to use social media, according to Sturgeon Bay Police.

The Franklin College Board of Trustees executive committee voted to terminate Minar’s employment immediately after learning about the incident, according to a college news release.

“The safety of our campus community — especially our students — is always our first priority. We are deeply shocked and gravely concerned by the reported behavior of Dr. Minar that led to his arrest in Wisconsin, and we will continue to cooperate fully with authorities," said Jim Due, chair of the board of trustees, in a statement to the media.

College officials would not say when exactly Minar was fired.

Minar had announced in June that he would be stepping down as president of the college effective on June 30, 2020. A search for a new president was ongoing.

The college has started an investigation looking into Minar’s conduct while president. In addition to existing systems in place, additional resources will be available to allow students to confidentially and safely report incidents of inappropriate behavior, according to the news release.

"The Franklin College Board of Trustees is stunned by this event," the news release said. "This is the first such incident the board has been made aware of regarding Dr. Minar, and the board is fully committed to cooperating fully with Wisconsin authorities and working to ensure the safety of our campus community."

Minar, in an email sent to the Indianapolis Business Journal on Monday afternoon, did not directly address the arrest.

“I very much regret the circumstances which led the college to terminate our relationship,” he said in the email. “My years at Franklin have been very rewarding and I am extraordinarily grateful to so many staff and faculty who have worked hard with me to advance the college in these challenging times for higher education. I wish nothing but the best for Franklin College and for the people who make it the wonderful institution it has become.”

According to the college’s bylaws, Lori Schroeder, provost and dean of the college, will serve as the interim president until the board of trustees executive committee can appoint an acting president. That decision should occur early this week, according to the news release.

"As in other times of difficulty during the college’s 186-year history, our community will come together in support of one another as we continue to educate the innovative leaders of our future,” Due said in a statement.

Franklin College students reacted to the news Monday afternoon. Several said they wouldn’t comment for fear of retribution by the college.

As President, Minar interacted with students daily and lived on campus, making the allegations all the more disturbing, freshman Marian Case said.

"It’s just wild. He seemed so normal. He’d ride around on his Segway and wave at everyone," Case said. "It feels like such a close-knit community. It will definitely kick some dust up. I’m scared to see what comes (from the investigation)."

The college’s quick action to remove Minar is commendable, freshman Grace Richardson said.

With the widespread attention the firing will likely get, graduate student John Queen hopes any negative publicity doesn’t affect the reputation of the staff and students, he said.

"It’s sad to say this might have an impact on the whole college if the president did something like that," Queen said. "But we can show the rest of the people that the rest of the college is not like that. We’re respectful and the staff are good people."

Minar took office in the summer of 2015. Prior to coming to Franklin College, he had been vice president for development and alumni relations at American University in Washington, D.C.

As president, he led the college through a comprehensive planning process and pushed the college to reassess the approach it has taken to liberal arts education. A particular focus has been on science. Under Minar’s leadership, the college launched master’s degree programs in athletic training and physician assistant studies, and opened a graduate health studies center in 2018.

He also established the President’s Council on Diversity and Inclusion at the college, in addition to creating new policies and procedures addressing sexual misconduct and student safety.

Andy Bell-Baltaci, Magen Kritsch, Ryan Trares of the Daily Journal staff contributed to this story. The Indianapolis Business Journal also contributed to this report.

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Who: Thomas J. Minar

Education: Bachelor’s degree in government from Pomona College; master’s degree in management from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management; doctorate in political science from Northwestern University.

Past positions:

American University, vice president of development and alumni relations

Roosevelt University, vice president for institutional advancement and special assistant to the president

Chicago Theological Seminary, vice president for development and external affairs; professor of religion and political science

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, associate dean for external affairs and chief development officer for the College of Business Administration

Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, director of development

Northwestern University, assistant dean and director of alumni relations for the Kellogg School of Management

Northwestern University, professor of management and strategy and political science

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January 2015: Minar is introduced as the president-elect of Franklin College.

July 2015: Minar officially takes office as the 16th president of the college, taking over for James G. “Jay” Moseley, who retired at the end of June.

April 2016: Minar is inaugurated as president.

May 2017: Ground is broken on the new $17 million science center.

August 2018: The college opens the Graduate Health Science Center, a collaboration with Johnson Memorial Hospital and home of the school’s master’s degree programs in athletic training and physician assistant studies.

June 2019: Minar announces that he would be resigning as president at the end of June 2020.

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