Subscribers who have specific questions should feel free to contact me 
at the address immediately below.
Karol Lawson
Lynchburg, VA
[log in to unmask]



January 29, 2008

A formatted version of this update that is easier to read can be found 
here:
http://www.preserveeducationalchoice.org/pecupdate36.htm

Dear PEC Supporters:

When the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) took 
Randolph
College off of warning without the sale of four paintings from the 
Maier Museum,
we were very hopeful that the College would change its plans to sell 
pieces from
its prized art collection. As you know, the Randolph Board and 
administration
stated repeatedly that they understood that increased enrollment and 
reduced
tuition discounting (which they believe will be achieved through 
coeducation)
are the real solution to strengthening the College's finances, and that 
the sale
of art was necessary only because it would help ensure that SACS would 
not place
the school on probation. Happily the College was mistaken in its belief 
that
the art sale was necessary, and the College was removed from warning 
without the
sacrifice of art from the Maier Museum.

After the SACS decision, we made several efforts to meet with President 
Klein to
discuss the changed circumstances for the art sale and the postponement 
or even
settlement of the art lawsuit. On January 9, we also formally submitted 
a
request for a postponement of the art lawsuit (with the possibility of
settlement) to the College's attorneys and were hopeful of a positive 
reply from
the College. We have now finally received a response from the College 
and,
regrettably, learned that the Randolph Board has no interest in a 
postponement
or mutually agreeable settlement. If given the opportunity, it is still 
their
intention to sell the art regardless of the SACS decision.

Both letters can be found on the PEC website (here is the January 9 
letter from
the Plaintiffs' attorneys: 
http://www.preserveeducationalchoice.org/01092008Offer.pdf
and here is the January 25 letter from the College's attorneys in 
reply:
http://www.preserveeducationalchoice.org/01252008CollegeLetter.pdf). We 
ask that
you read each of them. In effect, we asked the College to postpone the 
art
litigation until after the charitable trust suit is decided because the 
decision
in the trust lawsuit, should we win, calls into question the very idea 
of
Randolph College and, if nothing else, clearly affects the ability of 
the
Randolph Board to sell art to benefit Randolph College, a coeducational
institution. A postponement seems in the best interest of both sides to 
save the
very expensive litigation costs we are all incurring. Neither side 
would need to
“give up” or concede anything - we would merely take a pause to see 
what the
Supreme Court of Virginia ruled then see at that point if the art- 
litigation
was even necessary.

The Executive Committee of Randolph College declined our suggestion. 
Instead,
they believe that we should give the College the $500,000 on deposit 
with the
Court, drop the art lawsuit, agree that the College has the right to 
sell any
art at the Maier Museum, promise that no one else will sue the College 
over the
art and that PEC will not fund additional art lawsuits, and withdraw 
any aspects
of the student contract or charitable trust appeals that involve the 
art. What
would the College grant in return? They say that if the plaintiffs and 
PEC do
not agree to the proposal, they will hold the plaintiffs and PEC Board 
members -
current students, alumnae, residents of Lynchburg - personally liable 
for
damages of more than $1 million that the College somehow believes they 
have
suffered already.

We are very disappointed with this “offer” that isn't really an offer 
at all.
More important, it is very disheartening to see that the Randolph Board 
has no
regard for the legitimate concerns of R-MWC alumnae, current students, 
and the
Lynchburg community.

Our only option at this point is to continue to litigate the art 
defense case
and win the suit. While we were hopeful that we could reach an 
agreement to
postpone or perhaps even settle the art lawsuit in light of the SACS 
decision,
we have nevertheless been extraordinarily busy this month working on 
the
lawsuit. The plaintiffs and PEC have produced close to 4,000 pages of 
documents
in response to the College's discovery requests. Students and other 
plaintiffs
have gone through time-consuming and stressful depositions, some 
lasting as long
as an entire day. We have filed multiple motions with the Lynchburg 
Court that
among other things seek a jury trial and ask the Court to compel the 
College to
be more responsive to our requests for documents. We have also formally 
asked
the Court to postpone the art lawsuit until the charitable trust suit 
is
decided. The College has also filed multiple motions, asking the Judge 
to
dismiss some aspects of the case, allow the College to limit the 
documents it
has to turn over as part of discovery, and prevent a jury trial. All of 
these
motions will be heard February 5 in Lynchburg. The trial of the case 
itself is
scheduled for April 29-30, also in Lynchburg.

We need financial support now more than ever for the art defense fund. 
There
will be deposition costs to effectively depose the Randolph Board and
administration, expert witness fees, and (if we succeed in securing a 
jury) the
cost of a jury trial becomes even more expensive.

To donate, send your check to:

Preserve Educational Choice, Inc.
P.O. Box 29612
Richmond, VA 23242

Make the check payable to "Preserve Educational Choice, Inc." and write 
"Art
Defense Fund" on the memo line. All donations to this fund are 
restricted to
preserving the art, not the general restoration of Randolph-Macon 
Woman's
College. You can also make a donation via PayPal through the PEC 
website
(www.PreserveEducationalChoice.org). All donations are fully 
tax-deductible to
the amount allowed by law.

We will let you know the outcome of the February 5 hearing and any 
other
developments with the art, student contract, and charitable trust 
litigation as
soon as we are able.

Vita Abundantior,

PEC Board

Diane U. Montgomery (R-MWC '85)
Carol Curcio Lang (R-MWC '68)
Anne Yastremski (R-MWC '05)
Madeline Miller (R-MWC '66)

PS - Tax acknowledgement letters for contributions made in 2007 have 
been mailed
to all donors. If you have not received your letter by February 4, 
please send
an email to [log in to unmask] with your name and 
address so
that we can confirm that a letter was sent and issue a duplicate if 
necessary.


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