Dive Brief:

• Winthrop University trustees on Thursday voted unanimously to formally fire President Jamie Comstock Williamson, declaring that “candor and trust” had been “irretrievably broken.”
• Williamson was fired five days short of her one-year anniversary with Winthrop and has been replaced for now with Debra Boyd, the university’s provost and vice president for academic affairs. Trustees will appoint an interim president before conducting a search for a new president.
• Williamson’s attorney has threatened to sue the university and its trustees for breach of contract, slander, and defamation.

Dive Insight:

Thursday’s vote was basically a formality, after Williamson was suspended with a notice of termination by the trustees two weeks earlier. And the unanimous vote wasn’t surprising, given the long list of accusations by the trustees against Williamson, including that she had lied to them, abused her authority, violated state ethics laws, and acted rudely and with hostility toward staff members and trustees. Williamson denied the accusations.

One alumnus attending Thursday’s meeting spoke out on her behalf, urging the board to give her a chance to correct her alleged infractions, HeraldOnline.com reported. Williamson’s attorney contends that her contract entitled her to a 30-day written notice of any job performance issues, but the board says it had grounds for immediate termination for actions that “bring public disrespect, contempt or ridicule upon the university.”