A former College of DuPage president is expected to receive a $4 million settlement after leaving under a cloud of controversy more than seven years ago, according to records released by the school.
The deal would resolve a federal lawsuit between Robert Breuder and the community college, ending an expensive, yearslong legal battle in which the parties accused each other of malfeasance. The school’s insurance carrier will pay the ex-administrator more than five times the amount of his original severance package.
A Tribune investigation toward the end of Breuder’s 7-year tenure revealed numerous issues at the Glen Ellyn-based college, from extravagant tabs for administrators at the campus’s fine-dining restaurant, Waterleaf, to the awarding of noncompetitive contracts to businesses connected with the school’s fundraising foundation. The school’s accrediting agency placed COD on probation shortly after his departure.
While Breuder’s tenure was rocky, he also was credited with modernizing facilities and enhancing curricula, including adding a direct admission program to the University of Illinois’ engineering school. He oversaw the addition of 70 academic programs and $550 million in construction for new and significantly renovated buildings.
As part of the settlement, trustees unanimously voted to drop their counterclaims against Breuder at a special meeting Thursday night in which the lawsuit was the only item on the agenda. It was not immediately clear how the settlement and the steep attorneys’ fees associated with it would impact the school’s insurance costs.
Board members made no comment before the vote, a move that Chairwoman Maureen Dunne said would prevent any “grandstanding.” Instead, the trustees — none of whom were on the board when the lawsuit was filed — issued a joint statement after the meeting and suggested their decision was intended to close a difficult chapter in the college’s history.
“The Board believes that its fiduciary responsibility to the college and community is best served by supporting the settlement agreement between (the college’s insurance carrier) and Breuder and putting the lawsuit behind the institution,” the statement said.
Breuder released a statement through his attorney immediately after the vote, saying that the former president believed the settlement should restore his reputation.
“The settlement marks the end of a yearslong saga that put an undeserving and unfounded blight on my reputation and achievements at the College of DuPage,” the statement read. “Despite the unjust turmoil this ordeal has caused to me and my family, I remain proud of my work and everything that was accomplished during my tenure as President of the College of DuPage. This settlement validates those accomplishments for me and enables me and the College of DuPage to move forward.”
Before the vote, Professor David Goldberg, who teaches political science at COD, applauded the trustees for putting the issue behind the campus. He faulted both Breuder and the board that fired the ex-administrator for failing to serve in the school’s best interest, though the most scathing comments were aimed at the former president.
In 2014, the faculty union overwhelmingly voted no confidence in Breuder, the first such vote in the school’s 48-year history. The union accused Breuder, among other things, of misusing taxpayer funds, abusing the public trust and fostering an atmosphere of intimidation.
“Trauma is a word that has entered our national lexicon,” Goldberg said. “This institution was traumatized by Robert Breuder’s presidency. A climate of fear and intimidation, violation of public trust, misuse and mismanagement of taxpayer support. … All of which occurred with the explicit support of his sycophants on the board of trustees and in senior administration.”
The college’s insurance carrier has spent more than $9 million to defend the lawsuit, court records show. About $3.7 million of that amount involves individual claims related to former Chairwoman Katharine Hamilton, who led the effort to remove Breuder from office and then resigned a few months later.
The former chairwoman made headlines in 2020 after she filed court documents asking for a protective order that would shield her from having to turn over secretly recorded conversations with other trustees. Her attorney said it would expose Hamilton to possible civil and criminal liabilities if she were forced to provide the tapes to Breuder’s defense team because it is generally illegal to record people in Illinois without their knowledge.
Her attorney, Aldo Botti, issued a statement Thursday saying Hamilton opposed the insurance carrier’s decision to settle the case. The settlement states there’s no admission of fault on either side, though only Breuder is walking away with a payout.
“Katharine Hamilton thanks the many taxpayers who supported her during these difficult seven years of litigation,” Botti said. “She is also proud of her COD leadership that results in many positive changes in COD policies and procedures, which have and will continue to benefit the students of COD, the taxpayers and citizens.”
The college board declared Breuder’s contract void in September 2015 based on the theory that his first extension was approved in April 2009 — four months after he began — by a lame-duck board that knew it was handcuffing incoming trustees with a long-term contract. The trustees insisted that boards in Illinois cannot legally bind future boards to lengthy employment agreements and based that argument on 19th century case law.
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Without a valid contract, the majority of trustees said they were no longer obligated to award Breuder the $763,000 severance package that a prior board had promised in exchange for retiring in March 2016, three years early. At the time, the deal was considered to be one of the largest for a public employee in state history.
Breuder’s original buyout deal was initially shrouded in secrecy and billed as a “retirement” package when it was voted on by trustees in January 2015. However, it quickly became a symbol of outsized government spending, and lawmakers responded by passing legislation that limits severance packages and requires heightened transparency for such deals.
In 2017, a federal judge rejected the legal argument the board used to clawback Breuder’s severance, making it difficult for the college to mount a successful defense.
When it fired Breuder in 2015, the board listed eight reasons for the decision, including excessive spending, poor financial oversight and failing to respond to requests made under the state’s open records laws.
Breuder filed a wrongful termination lawsuit the day after trustees rescinded his severance, alleging breach of contract, defamation and violation of due process rights.
He named the trustees who voted for his termination as defendants in the lawsuit, as well. According to the proposed agreement released by the college, claims and counterclaims between Breuder and former trustee Deanne Mazzochi, who is now a state representative, are not specifically included in the settlement. Mazzochi could not immediately be reached for comment.
