Duquesne Dismisses Law Dean.

Duquesne University this morning removed Law School Dean Don Guter from his leadership position. A release from the university only says he will be replaced by Professor Ken Gormley on an interim basis and will be allowed to remain on the faculty. A University spokeswoman said the university does not comment on personnel issues. Guter, the former Judge Advocate General for the U.S. Navy, has not been available for comment. Law School Professor Bruce Ledewitz says the news “came out of the blue” and he called it “an outrage.” Ledewitz says to dismiss a dean in the middle of a term usually means there is something wrong with his leadership but he says he feels that is far from the truth. He points to the school’s improving bar passage rates and says the morale at the school is the highest it has been in years. Ledewitz says President Charles Dougherty must have know this would have a negative impact on the school going forward. Ledewitz says the school was going through the process of evaluating the dean for reappointment and he is saddened that Guter will never know how the staff, students and alumni feel about his leadership. Ledewitz says the dean shared a letter with him from the president’s office giving him 24 hours to resign or be removed.