Nearly two months after Father Timothy Scully's resignation as executive vice president became effective, the position has yet to be filled.
Scully announced May 2 that he intended to leave the administrative post, and the resignation took effect June 30. He did not state his reasons for the decision and the only comments from the University came in a statement largely outlining Scully's achievements.
"The fruits of his dynamic decision-making and high standards for performance will continue to influence this University long into the future," Patrick McCartan, chairman of the Board of Trustees, said in the statement.
"We respect the personal nature of the decision he has made to step down but look forward to a continuing relationship with him as a member of the Board of Fellows and the Board of Trustees and as a valued member of the faculty."
As executive vice president, Scully's duties included the administration of an annual operating budget of more than $500 million, an endowment of more than $2.6 billion and a construction program of $600 million.
While the position remains vacant, University President Father Edward Malloy is overseeing both his normal responsibilities and those normally performed by the executive vice president, University spokesman Matt Storin said.
Storin also said the choice of Scully's successor has not yet been made."One anticipates that we'll learn more at the next trustees meeting, which is in October," he said.
At the Board of Trustees meeting May 2, a four-person committee was scheduled to present a report on Scully's behavior, including a Jan. 16 confrontation with a news crew from the University-owned television station WNDU-TV. However, Scully issued his resigned before the report, which cleared Scully, was issued.
WNDU cameraman Patrick Hartney said Scully grabbed reporter Bonnie Druker by the arm and angrily told them to move their van, which Scully said was parked in the wrong spot behind Fisher Hall. Hartney also said he smelled alcohol on Scully's breath, The news crew was on campus to cover a Mass for missing freshman Chad Sharon, whose body was later discovered in the St. Joseph River.
Druker filed a report with Notre Dame Security Police but withdrew her complaint after Scully apologized.
A May 3 South Bend Tribune report said Scully's departure averted a possible crisis in the upper echelon of the University's leadership, quoting unnamed sources in the University's administration.
The article said a majority of high-level administrators - including University President Father Edward Malloy - wanted Scully to leave the position. The Tribune also reported that anonymous sources said Malloy was prepared to resign if Scully did not.
While he did leave his administrative post, Scully, a political science professor, will continue his work with the Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies, the Institute for Educational Initiatives and the Alliance for Catholic Education, which he founded. He is not teaching courses this semester.
"I'm just delighted to be refocusing my energies full-time on academic and pastoral pursuits," Scully said. "After a decade of service to the central administration, I was granted a sabbatical to re-engage my scholarship on political institutions in Latin America."
Scully said he was traveling this week but would return to campus within the next few days.
