by Joshua Claybourn and Lucas Sayre

On Monday IndyLaw Net (ILN) reported that a multi-million dollar expansion proposal at Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis had been terminated. Financial and moral support from donors and alumni had been secured, and preliminary architectural drawings had even been prepared. But the expansion was terminated, at least in part, according to some sources, because of a desire to keep Bloomington's law school "ahead" of its sister school in Indianapolis.

Subsequent investigations by ILN revealed a series of deceptions and lies on the part of Indiana University Vice President J. Terry Clapacs. Here you can see Clapacs' changing story about the termination, a bogus response on his part, and outright contradictions among school administrators. Clapacs has lied not only to the staff of ILN but, it seems, his fellow colleagues.

The story offers intra-school conflict, multi-million dollar expansion denials, and lying university administrators. But now those responsible have stopped talking, and the mainstream media lost interest. In all likelihood the whole episode will go down as a footnote in the school's history, if that, and the events will fade from memory.

But it doesn't have to be that way. We should not stand idly by as IU officials continually mislead and undermine the very constituents they're paid to serve. The IU leadership style that is largely attributable to Vice President Clapacs is the norm rather than the exception over the past decade. Yet we have reason to hope. President Adam Herbert is new to the IU system and brings a fresh perspective with a record of results. We look forward to real structural reform that will revitalize Indiana University as a leading worldwide institution of higher education.