PEC Update, March 7, 2008

Upon advice of counsel, the art plaintiffs and Preserve Educational Choice (PEC) have decided to focus ongoing legal efforts on the charitable trust appeal before the Supreme Court of Virginia. The charitable trust appeal promises full protection for the entire permanent collection of art at the Maier Museum as well as the other charitable assets of Randolph-Macon Woman's College (R-MWC). To this end, the plaintiffs have voluntarily 'nonsuited' the pending litigation over the attempted sale of four paintings from Randolph College's Maier Museum of Art - just as the College nonsuited the Louise Jordan Smith Trust case.

As you know, we asked the College directly in January to postpone the art lawsuit until the Virginia Supreme Court issued a decision in the related charitable trust suit. The College refused. The plaintiffs then filed with the Circuit Court asking for the same consideration. Judge Leyburn Mosby, Jr. ruled on February 5 that the art lawsuit could be deferred for up to six weeks but a postponement that would essentially "stop all work" until the Supreme Court ruled was not granted. Originally scheduled for February, the Supreme Court will now hear the appeals the week of April 14. We expect a decision sometime in late May to mid-June.

The art litigation was critical when it was filed in the days after the College removed art from the Maier's walls. The state Supreme Court set a deadline for the injunction bond that made the November sale of the four paintings at Christie's impossible. More importantly, with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) lifting the warning on Randolph College without a sale of art it became clear to everyone that such a sale was simply not necessary to assure the College's continued accreditation. Thus the art lawsuit achieved several key goals.

However, at this point the art lawsuit, after being narrowed to only address the four paintings in Judge Mosby's February 5 ruling, would only protect a few pieces in the Maier's permanent collection. In contrast, the charitable trust lawsuit may provide protection for all of the art in the permanent collection by recognizing that Randolph College does not have the right to use the assets of R-MWC for coeducation.

Counsel has advised us and the plaintiffs that even if our financial and human resources were unlimited, a nonsuit of the art lawsuit and a focus on the charitable trust appeal is the best way to protect the art. Of course our resources are not unlimited, and unfortunately, in attempting to rationalize their decision to sell art, Randolph College and its lawyers have seemingly tried to spend as much money as possible on the case and cause us to do the same. They continue to use expensive discovery tactics and have even attempted to intimidate plaintiffs. More than a quarter of a million dollars has been spent on plaintiffs' legal fees alone and the ongoing art legal fees are running at close to $100,000 per month. There seems to be no end to the money that the College wishes to spend on this suit. While we could work to raise funds to support the continuance of the art lawsuit, unlike the College's trustees, we refuse to allow the College to squander more of R-MWC's financial resources while wasting our own donors' funds in needless litigation that accomplishes nothing more at this point to protect the permanent collection of art in the Maier Museum.

We hope college officials now realize how irresponsible and unethical it would be to sell this art on the eve of a Court decision that may ultimately invalidate their ill-conceived decision to create a coeducational institution. The public outcry caused by their attempt to raid the Maier Museum collection should make them understand how valuable the art is to the Lynchburg community and to the College's students, alumnae and faculty. With the lifting of the SACS warning in December and the College's recent statements that donations to the College are "the best in twelve years" there is clearly no impetus to sell irreplaceable art.

We are focused on preparing for and prevailing in the charitable trust and student contract lawsuits, which we are confident will result in a decision that will both restore Randolph-Macon Woman's College and preserve its historic art collection. If the College decides to proceed with a sale of art before the Supreme Court can rule, a decision that would be reckless in the extreme and counter to their public promises to the contrary, the art suit can be readily re-filed to halt the sale.

We will keep you posted on how these appeals and other matters proceed and as always we are grateful for your support.

Vita Abundantior,

PEC Board

Diane U. Montgomery (R-MWC '85)
Carol Curcio Lang (R-MWC '68)
Anne Yastremski (R-MWC '05)
Madeline Miller (R-MWC '66)

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