Coordinator seeks legal counsel

This story is part of a series evaluating the internship coordinator position in the College of Communication.

The College of Communication’s internship coordinator said he has sought legal counsel in light of the news that he will not be returning to his position in the fall.

Ed Kanis said he was first told that he would not be returning to the position because of budgetary restraints.

CCOM Interim Dean Bill Neher told The Collegian in an interview for “CCOM position cut” (April 11) that the funding had run out for the position. The position, he said, was funded through the provost’s office on a “terminal contract” and not through the college.

However, last week, Butler University President Jim Danko told The Collegian not to confuse a personnel issue and a funding issue.

Kanis said the news, published in “Internship coordinator’s contract to expire” (April 18), was the first time he had heard anything about a personnel issue.

“It was the first time that I realized that my track record and my experience was being called into question,” Kanis said. “It was definitely news to me.”

Neher told Kanis that he would not be returning to the position on Feb. 7. Since then, Kanis said his “livelihood had been ruined.”

Looking for alternatives and “to get voices heard,” Kanis said he has sought outside legal counsel to determine how to move forward.

He said that there is not a current lawsuit against the university.

“I feel like I’ve been wronged,” Kanis said. “I want to keep working to a resolution, and I needed help figuring out what I could do.”

Kanis said he believes the issue has not been communicated well or in a very effective manner.

He said that while he knows Danko has talked with Neher and Interim Provost Kathryn Morris, he said that other voices have not been included in the conversation.

“If all the right people were in the same room having a conversation, I don’t believe we would be at the crossroad we’re at right now,” Kanis said.

Kanis said he hopes to reach a resolution and would settle the matter in a positive way.

In an email to The Collegian, Danko said that he was unable to comment on the personnel issue.