Virginia Supreme Court to hear Randolph College coed cases April 14

The Supreme Court of Virginia soon will hear arguments for the appeal of two cases challenging the former Randolph-Macon Woman’s College’s decision to adopt coeducation.

The court notified plaintiffs over the weekend that it would hear the cases April 14, said Diane Montgomery, president of Preserve Educational Choice, a nonprofit organization that financially supports the plaintiffs and seeks to return the school to its all-female roots.

“We’ve been waiting so long for this,” Montgomery said Monday. “We are so glad that it’s time now. People need to be able to trust the charities that they give their money to, and that is the whole crux to this.”

College spokeswoman Brenda Edson said the school’s board of trustees had the right and duty to vote for what was in the best interest of the college, which in recent years faced decreasing tuition revenues and a high rate of endowment spending.

“It wasn’t an easy decision, but we’ve made tremendous progress,” Edson said.

One of the cases argues that the school may not use the college’s assets to benefit men. The case states that the school is a “non-stock, charitable corporation” that accepted donations from people during a time when its mission was the education of primarily women.

Montgomery said the decision on that case, especially, is one that could have a rippling effect throughout the state.

“This is a serious, very serious issue with respect to donor intent and what it means when people give money to a charity for a specific purpose,” she said.
The school believes that it is not a charitable trust, Edson said.

The other case asserts the board of trustees of what is now Randolph College breached an implied contract with students when it adopted coeducation in September 2006.

Both cases were dismissed by Lynchburg Circuit Judge Leyburn Mosby Jr. in January 2007.

The Virginia Supreme Court granted appeals in September and will decide whether to uphold those dismissals or send the issues to trial, said Anthony F. Troy, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs.

“They will be argued separately, one after the other, 30 minutes per case, 15 minutes per side,” Troy said.

If the court operates on its usual schedule, it would likely hand down decisions on June 6, he said.

Edson said the school will be happy to have a resolution.

“The college is looking forward to presenting our case before the supreme court and proving that Judge Mosby made the right decision,” she said.

In a related matter, an April 22 hearing in Lynchburg Circuit Court will determine whether $500,000 will be returned to a group that opposes the sale of four paintings from the college’s Maier Museum, Troy said.

The money was put toward a bond for a temporary injunction that halted the auction of the paintings in October. That injunction was later lifted after opponents were unable to raise the rest of the $1 million bond requirement.

Last month, the opponents decided to pull their art lawsuit for now and address the issue as part of the charitable trust case to be heard April 14.

“What we have argued is that all the assets of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College are to be used for women’s education,” Montgomery said. “We feel like the art is totally encompassed in the charitable trust case.”