Former Emporia State president Michael Shonrock has been officially terminated as the president of Lindenwood University.
According to KMOV in St. Louis the Lindenwood executive board made the decision during a meeting Friday. KMOV reporter Paige Hulsey tells KVOE News she was informed by Shonrock’s attorney that at 4:20 pm Friday Lindenwood University’s attorney had notified him of the board’s decision to terminate Shonrock.
Board Chairman J. Michael Conoyer released a statement which named former board member and vice chairman Art Johnson to serve as the interim president. The statement also says current board member David Cosby will serve as vice chairman of the board and a search committee has been formed to identify Lindenwood’s next president.
The university has yet to state a reason as to why they chose to terminate Shonrock. According to KMOV Shonrock’s attorney says they are “very disappointed” and believe he was an “effective and popular leader at the University.
Shonrock was placed on paid administrative leave Tuesday after a meeting with Conoyer, and claims he was given no reason as to why. Shonrock filed a temporary injunction and restraining order against the university and its board chair earlier this week hoping to avert his potential firing.
During a hearing Thursday before the injunction and restraining order were set to be heard the university’s attorney handed off hundreds of pages of previously unseen documents according to KMOV. Shonrock’s legal team then moved to dismiss the injunction and restraining order.
This is the second time in three months a president of one of the university’s campuses had been placed on administrative leave. Back in November, Brett Barger, the former president of Lindenwood-Belleville, went on leave and is no longer with the university.
Shonrock led Emporia State University from 2012-2015 and had been with Lindenwood since 2015.
7:20 am Friday: Shonrock legal team withdraws injunction request, decision on his future at Lindenwood likely Friday afternoon
Former Emporia State president Michael Shonrock filed a temporary injunction and restraining order against his current university and its board chair this week, hoping to avert what he believes is an effort to fire him at Lindenwood University.
As part of the hearing proceedings Thursday, however, his attorney abruptly moved to dismiss said injunction and restraining order.
Shonrock wants to attend Friday’s board and executive board meetings where his fate may be determined. Before the injunction was set to be heard, the board’s attorney handed off hundreds of pages of previously-unseen documents, according to KMOV in St. Louis. Shonrock’s legal team then moved to dismiss its motion to review that paperwork.
It now appears unlikely that Shonrock, who has been barred from all campus activities, communications or interactions save for being at his university-provided house, will be able to attend Friday’s meeting.
Shonrock and his attorney say they learned of a plan circulating among board members to fire him early this month following the board’s January meeting. They allege Lindenwood’s board did not follow its own procedures and board chair Michael Conoyer overstepped his authority. Shonrock was placed on paid administrative leave Tuesday and has said he has not been told why.
Members of the university board have not commented, saying it is policy not to elaborate on personnel matters.
Shonrock led ESU from 2012-2015.
11:45 am Thursday: Shonrock files injunction, restraining order to ward off perceived attempt to fire him at Lindenwood
Former Emporia State University president Michael Shonrock has thrown a potential roadblock into what he believes are plans to fire him as Lindenwood’s leader.
Shonrock has filed a temporary injunction and restraining order against the university and its board chair shortly before the board is supposed to meet Friday, ostensibly about his future as Lindenwood president. A hearing is coming Thursday afternoon, according to Lindenwood media.
Shonrock and his attorney say they learned of a plan circulating among board members to fire him early this month following the board’s January meeting. They allege Lindenwood’s board did not follow its own procedures and board chair Michael Conoyer overstepped his authority. Shonrock was placed on paid administrative leave Tuesday and has said he has not been told why.
Members of the university board have not commented, saying it is policy not to elaborate on personnel matters.
Shonrock led ESU from 2012-2015. Prior to leading Emporia State, Shonrock was an administrator of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, for over 20 years.
The board’s vice chair, Art Johnson, is the university’s interim president.
8 pm Wednesday: Former ESU president on paid leave at Lindenwood
Former Emporia State University president Dr. Michael Shonrock is now on paid administrative leave at the university he now leads.
Shonrock was informed of the paid leave Tuesday during a meeting with the Lindenwood University board chair. Shonrock has told university media he was not told of any reason for the decision, but he has also said he expects to be fired as soon as Friday.
Members of the university board have not commented, saying it is policy not to elaborate on personnel matters.
Shonrock led ESU from 2012-2015. During his tenure, Shonrock oversaw the growth and development of the Now & Forever fundraising campaign as well as enrollment increase and both strategic and campus master plans for improvements into the 2030s. Several academic programs, including a revamped Honors College, an infusion of leadership principles into ESU’s curriculum through the Kansas Leadership Center and a master’s of science in forensic science, were started with Shonrock at the helm.
Prior to leading Emporia State, Shonrock was an administrator of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, for over 20 years.
Shonrock leads Lindenwood’s flagship campus in St. Charles, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis and the state’s ninth-largest city with a population approaching 70,000. He’s also the second president of a Lindenwood campus to go on paid leave this academic year. Brett Barger, the former president of Lindenwood-Belleville, went on leave in November and is no longer with the university.
Shonrock’s current five-year contract is up for renewal next year. Shonrock, who earned almost $380,000 in 2017, has said discussions had started about a potential extension. According to Shonrock’s attorney, the contract has a provision letting Lindenwood fire Shonrock without good cause, but it could owe Shonrock upwards of $800,000 if it takes that step.
Lindenwood’s board meets Friday afternoon.
