Judge halts pay to ASU's Lee for now

Photo: Former ASU President Joe Lee.

A Montgomery County circuit court judge has issued a restraining order, temporarily halting a severance package that Alabama State University trustees awarded former president Joe Lee.

The restraining order follows an injunction that ASU trustees Joe Reed and Thomas Figures filed last week in which they claimed paying Lee nearly $289,000 in a lump-sum payment was illegal because it violated Section 94 of the Alabama Constitution.

In issuing the order, Judge William Shashy offered no decision on the legality of the severance agreement, but did order all parties into mediation within the next seven days. Local attorney Lee Copeland will serve as mediator.

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ASU to pay outgoing president Joe Lee nearly $289,000

MONTGOMERY, AL — Alabama State University will pay President Joe Lee nearly $289,000 when he resigns May 31 under a severance agreement reported Friday. Lee announced unexpectedly at a Feb. 8 board of trustees meeting that he planned to resign, ending a seven-year administration that saw a $125 million building campaign and record enrollment.

But he also upset some alumni by firing the football coach and over accounting problems revealed by an audit. Most of the payout — $215,875 — is the balance remaining on Lee's contract that's set to expire Aug. 31, 2009; $47,446 is in retirement and other fringe benefits; and $25,666 is in accrued paid leave.

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A well deserved payout for a president that accomplished many great things for the Hornets.