Sep. 23--WVU has not initiated alternative procedures to investigate academic integrity charges against former provost Gerald Lang, according to court documents.

Monongalia County Circuit Court Judge Susan Tucker ruled in April that Lang should not face an academic integrity hearing for his involvement in the Bresch scandal. She said his due process rights were violated because of conflicts of interest.

Tucker's order gave WVU the option to pursue alternative proceedings against Lang and others facing charges of academic misconduct. But briefs filed by Lang's attorney on Friday and Monday said no steps have been taken to initiate alternative procedures that would protect their rights.

Lang and his attorney, J. Michael Benninger, consider the respondents' "individual and collective failure to consider any alternative procedures to ensure that his due process rights are protected to be a significant and continuing violation" of the court order and Lang's rights, according to the briefs.

Respondents in the case include the WVU Board of Governors; Marjorie McDiarmid, the university's academic integrity officer; WVU attorneys Mary Roberta Brandt and Beverly D. Kerr; and former interim WVU President C. Peter Magrath. Samuel Spatafore, counsel for Magrath and the Board of Governors, has indicated that James Clements took Magrath's place when he became president this summer, however.

"All the respondents have until Sept. 29 to respond," WVU spokesman Dan Kim said Tuesday. "Right now, WVU is just reviewing the filing."

Kim said he was not aware of any academic integrity proceedings involving Lang, but he would not be privy to that information. Academic integrity hearings are a confidential personnel matter, he said.

Tucker set up a briefing schedule after attorneys for all five respondents filed motions asking her to amend or withdraw an April 24 order in the case.

The order terminated an upcoming hearing for Lang related to WVU's decision to award Heather Bresch -- the daughter of Gov. Joe Manchin and chief executive officer of Mylan Inc. -- an executive MBA degree that an investigative panel concluded she did not earn.

Briefs filed earlier this month on the respondents' behalf indicated that the court's ruling was based on incomplete information, and the court should have scheduled a preliminary hearing to collect evidence in the case. They asked the court to withdraw Tucker's April 24 order and grant a motion to dismiss the case, or collect evidence.

But Lang's attorney indicated the other respondents in the case have presented "no legal or factual basis" for the court to reconsider the case. According to Lang's briefs, none of the respondents offered to provide evidence at the April hearing, and they never claimed the court record was incomplete until after the judge's ruling.

Benninger and the respondents' attorneys did not return calls to The Dominion Post in time for this report.

The court is scheduled to review the briefs after Tuesday and rule on any outstanding legal issues. No oral arguments will be heard unless requested by the court.

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