Alleges retaliation, corruption, misconduct, sexual harassment of his wife
BY LEV D. ZILBERMINTS
SOUTH ORANGE – Dr. Joseph Nyre, the former president of Seton Hall University, and his wife, Kelli L. Nyre, are suing Seton Hall University.
In court papers, Dr. Nyre alleges retaliation, corruption, misconduct against him by the school and its governing body, the Board of Regents. The lawsuit also alleges sexual harassment of Kelli L. Nyre, Dr. Nyre’s wife, by former Board chairman, Kevin H. Marino.
The lawsuit is 64 pages long. As defendants, the lawsuit names Seton Hall University; Henry F. D’Alessandro; Michael J. Lucciola; Anthony Masherelli; James Edward Collins; Edward Charles Cerny IV; ABC Corporations 1-5 (fictitious names describing presently unidentified business); and John Does 1-5 (fictitious names describing presently unidentified individuals).
In their lawsuit, Plaintiffs J. Nyre and Kelly L. Nyre allege that the defendants violated New Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act, N.J.S.A. 34:19-1 et seq (the CEPA); New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD); Separation and General Release Agreement (the Agreement).
The allegations in the lawsuit by Dr, Joseph Nyre and his wife, Kelli L. Nyre, include Board of Regents Chair Marino attempting to “wrongfully” interfere with hiring procedures because of a conflict of interest; Mr. Marino attempting to “force” Dr. J. Nyre to violate Seton Hall University’s building-naming policies and procedures; Mr. Marino “wrongfully” interfering with an ongoing investigation into embezzlement at Seton Hall University’s Law School; Mr. Marino using inappropriate language against Dr. J. Nyre when he refused to violate the law; Mr. Marino engaging in “a campaign of retaliation against J. Nyre for reporting his complaints to the Board of Regents, culminating in J. Nyre’s constructive discharge.
Kelli L. Nyre, the former president’s wife, has also filed a complaint of sexual harassment against Seton Hall University and Marino.
How it all began
According to court papers, “In or around 2017 to 2018 academic year, Defendant SHU actively lobbied for Plaintiff J. Nyre to be appointed as Defendant’s SHU next president. At that time, Plaintiff J. Nyre was serving his seventh (7th) year as president of another university, Iona University, and as such, declined to be interviewed at that time.
“The following year, Plaintiff J. Nyre was serving his eighth (8th) year as president of another university, when Defendant SHU attempted to recruit Plaintiff J. Nyre again.
“This time, Plaintiff J. Nyre accepted the invitation and, ultimately, was offered the position of Defendant’s SHU’s president in or around early – 2019. On August 1, 2019, Plaintiff J. Nyre officially became Defendant SHU’s twenty-first (21st) president.
“However, and indicative of his loyalty and commitment to assist the university in any way possible, as of July 15, 2019, and continuing until his formal start date, Plaintiff J. Nyre began volunteering his time to assist in the handling of an ongoing investigation related to misconduct of previous clergymen employed by Defendant SHU.
“More specifically, Plaintiff J. Nyre cancelled a family vacation and volunteered his time during the last two (2) weeks of July 2019 to provide assistance in closing out Defendant SHU’s investigation into former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick (Cardinal McCarrick) and others alleged sexual abuse of seminarians and began preparing for required actions and communications resulting from the investigations.
“Additionally, and demonstrating his commitment and loyalty to Defendant SHU and its students, Plaintiff J. Nyre graciously donated a portion of his salary back to Defendant SHU each and every year he served as President.”
According to court papers, Dr. Joseph Nyre served as President of Seton Hall University from August 1, 2019 to July 2023.
During his time at Seton Hall University, Dr. Nyre was recognized as a successful president by both SHU and annual presidential evaluations. According to court papers, Dr. Nyre successfully led the school through the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, emerging on the other side as a healthier and stronger institution for higher education; developed and executed a new strategic plan informed by all Defendant SHU constituencies, resulting in many of the outcomes listed below; recruited and enrolled the most-qualified freshman class in Defendant SHU’s documented history; increased retention and graduation rates while also reaching new highs for graduate school and career placements post-graduation; organized, planned, and launched the university’s largest and most comprehensive fundraising campaign to fund the best faculty, students, academic programs, and building projects throughout Defendant SHU’s campus to be completed in the next decade; organized, launched and completed a campus master planning process for the next thirty (30) years and immediate funding for campus enhancements; strengthened Defendant SHU’s academic profile by introducing and launching a myriad of new academic programs, centers, academies, and global partnerships; and; significantly strengthened the fiscal health of Defendant SHU to support a vibrant and successful future for decades to come.
President J. Nyre objects to then-Board of Regents Chair Kevin Marino’s actions
According to court papers, Mr. Marino, in blatant violation of Seton Hall University’s policy, attempted to force then – President Nyre to hire Mr. Marino’s close friend, Mariellen Dugan, as general counsel for Seton Hall University following the departure of previous counsel.
President Nyre, in accordance with the rules of Seton Hall University, created a search committee to conduct a national search for the vacant position. A national search is the process by which Seton Hall University fills vacancies in the executive cabinet.
At this point, according to court papers, “instead of conducting the search in accordance with school policies and practices, Mr. Marino wrongfully tried to force Plaintiff J. Nyre to hire Ms. Dugan. Moreover, Mr. Marino also wanted to pay Ms. Dugan a salary which was $165,000 higher – a more than 50% increase – than the salary approved for the general counsel role following the completion of a salary compensation study just prior to Plaintiff J. Nyre’s term as President.”
According to court papers, “When Plaintiff J. Nyre objected to Mr. Marino’s wrongful efforts to circumvent Defendant SHU (1) hiring policies and procedures, and (2) salary projections for the general counsel role, Mr. Marino became enraged and repeatedly called Plaintiff J. Nyre to berate him for not heeding to Mr. Marino’s unlawful demands.”
According to court papers, “Not only would Mr. Marino scream at Plaintiff J. Nyre, but also, he would ominously threaten Plaintiff J. Nyre with unspecified repercussions should Plaintiff J. Nyre continue to insist on following appropriate university policy.
“Ultimately in or around the Spring of 2020, Defendant SHU selected its general counsel who, importantly was not the individual Mr. Marino had been advocating for.”
Mr. Marino tries to pressure then – President Joseph Nyre into accepting underqualified students to the School of Health and Law School. Conflict of interest by Mr. Marino.
According to court papers, Mr. Marino tried to wrongfully force then – President Joseph Nyre to offer admission to underqualified students.
“Then, in blatant violation of Defendant SHU admission policies, and in a calculated effort to deploy deceptive tactics so as to skew admission standards and criteria, Mr. Marino repeatedly pressured Plaintiff J. Nyre to admit students to graduate programs within Defendant SHU’s School of Health and Medical Sciences (the “School of Health”). Similarly, Mr. Marino also pressured the Dean of Defendant SHU’s School of Law (the “Law School”) to admit underqualified students into the Law School.
“In one such instance, Mr. Marino conducted an interview and provided a reference for one particular student (the “applicant”) in connection with their application to the School of Health. The applicant was a close personal friend of a former client of Mr. Marino, Robert Brennan (“Mr. Brennan”) who was, notably, a Board Member prior to his felony conviction.”
There are many questions here. First, why is the Chair of the Board of Regents conducting interviews and providing references for an underqualified student? Surely the administration of Seton Hall University, represented by the President and the Deans, must be doing the interviews? Second, helping out a close personal friend of a convicted felon seems to be crossing a red line. After all, if push comes to shove, it is the Board of Regents that must make the final decision on who to admit to SHU as a student. Thus, Mr. Marino, by virtue of his being Chair of the Board of Regents at the time, would seemingly a conflict of interest.
“Despite being underqualified for the program within the School of Health – which was one of, if not the most, selective graduate programs within Defendant SHU – Mr. Marino repeatedly attempted to force Plaintiff J. Nyre and other employees of Defendant SHU to admit the applicant.
“After the applicant was not selected for admission to the program, Mr. Marino became furious and repeatedly demanded that Plaintiff J. Nyre use his authority as the President of Defendant SHU to admit the applicant, despite clearly being underqualified for admission.
“After the candidate was ultimately not admitted to the School of Health, Mr. Marino demanded Plaintiff J. Nyre use his authority as President to fire the Presiding Dean of the School of Health.
“When Plaintiff J. Nyre refused to acquiesce to same, and noted the termination could be viewed as a violation of Defendant SHU’s rules and applicable law prohibiting retaliation, Mr. Marino demanded an investigation into the Dean’s admissions practices.
“Plaintiff J. Nyre, once again, refused and advised Mr. Marino that same, too, would be viewed as retaliatory and not only cause significant concerns from Defendant SHU’s accrediting body, but also, further violate Defendant SHU’s policies, values and stated mission.
“Next, Mr. Marino demanded that Plaintiff J. Nyre turn over confidential student records for all admitted students to the academic program in the School of Health simply so Mr. Marino could personally evaluate the students’ relative qualifications. When Plaintiff J. Nyre rebuffed this egregiously improper and unlawful demand, citing concerns pursuant to the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”), Mr. Marino became enraged and loudly stated that he was “Chairman of the f…king Board” and a “million-dollar donor” whose unlawful demands must be met.
“Then, Mr. Marino demanded that a policy be enacted across all schools, colleges, and programs which would remove any and all discretion from the particular school’s Dean in admissions procedures. Plaintiff J. Nyre noted his concerns that this could jeopardize both specialized program accreditation standards and the multiple faculty handbooks across the schools and colleges. Nonetheless, Plaintiff J. Nyre committed to asking Defendant SHU’s general counsel to review Mr. Marino’s request in that regard, in light of the multiple faculty handbooks and varying accreditation standards across the schools. To that end, Plaintiff J. Nyre immediately contacted the general counsel with same.
“Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was soon learned Mr. Marino had similarly pressured other employees responsible for student admissions not only with this particular applicant, but also, with several other previous applicants for admission to Defendant SHU’s various programs as well.
“To put a finer point on it, Mr. Marino tried to: (1) force Plaintiff J. Nyre top fire the dean of the School of Health within Defendant SHU without cause; (2) pull FERPA-protected confidential student records for his personal inspection; and (3) unilaterally change admissions policies among the entire university to remove any discretion from the deans of the respective schools, all of which Plaintiff J. Nyre reported to the Special Subcommittee of the Committee on Regents.”
The question arises: how can a man such as Mr. Marino be allowed to interfere not just with Seton Hall University policies, regulations and rules, but with state and federal laws?
Protecting Pirates, a group made of students and alumni that experienced sexual harassment at Seton Hall University, may have the answer. In its Instagram post, dated May 27, 2022, Protecting Pirates wrote, “Seton Hall (University) has a history of dismissing concerns and protecting predators. Why? Reputation is everything.”
According to its Instagram link, Protecting Pirates is dedicated to protecting, empowering, and giving a voice to pirates. Protecting Pirates is “not associated with SHU.”
“Local Talk” covered Protecting Pirates in 2021 – 2023.
According to an article published in nj.com on February 6, 2024, Seton Hall University denied the allegations.
“The claims in this filing are completely without merit, and we intend to vigorously contest them. Beyond this, we will not be commenting on the matter,” SHU said in a statement.
According to the data gathered on university presidents’ pay by Chronicle of Higher Education, Nyre was the highest-paid college president in New Jersey. His compensation, with salary, perks, bonuses and all, was worth $1.27 million.
One key question remains unanswered: if Mr. Marino has been alleged to do all these bad things, then why is he not being sued?
“Local Talk” tried to reach Mr. Nyre’s lawyer, Armen McOmber of the Red Bank law firm McOmber, McOmber and Luber, P.C. As of press time, there was no comment from Dr. Nyre’s lawyers.
According to nj.com, Marino’s attorney, Christopher Porrino of Lowenstein Sandler, said the former board chairman “categorically denies the false and defamatory allegations” against him in the Nyres’ lawsuit against the university and other board members.
“He will seek full legal redress against the Nyres in the appropriate forum after their frivolous and disgraceful lawsuit has been dismissed,” Porrino told nj.com.
