Settlement reached on Armenti ouster
CALIFORNIA — The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is giving ousted president Angelo Armenti until 4 p.m. Saturday to move his belongings out of his office.
The out-of-court settlement was reached Friday morning, ending the need for an injunction ordering PASSHE to give Armenti access to his former office.
Armenti had been informed late Tuesday afternoon that he had to be out of the office by the close of business that day. Armenti sought the injunction to prevent documents in his office that may be needed in a future law suit from being destroyed and to obtain more time to pack 20 years of accumulated papers and possessions.
Armenti was packing boxes in his office when contacted Friday morning. He said that under the agreement, he was allowed to access his office Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.
“If I need more time than that, then my attorney has to request it through the state system attorney, but it’s my understanding that no reasonable request will be denied,” Armenti said.
Armenti said he was about half packed by lunchtime Friday, so he didn’t expect to need extra time, though he will still have items in the office.
“My cartons are going to be here because we have no room in the residence. There are cartons everywhere,” Armenti said.
Armenti said his son and daughter who live in the Philadelphia area have come to help with the packing of the residence. Armenti and his wife Barbara live in an apartment on campus. Armenti has said that under the terms of the email he received Tuesday, he is banned from all but the public areas of the campus and his residence.
Karen Ball, the vice chancellor for external relations for PASSHE, said Friday’s agreement only addresses Armenti’s access to his office suite.
“There are no other issues in the agreement,” Ball said.
A clause limited access to those assisting with the packing. A HeraldStandard.com photographer was turned away from the private office by campus police even though Armenti had agreed to the photo. Armenti’s attorney, Steve Toprani of Leech Tishman in Pittsburgh, said the agreement was to preserve the integrity of the office.
There are still questions regarding the ownership of media and electronic files on university-owned computers used by Armenti. The materials will be preserved until ownership is determined.
An injunction hearing before Washington County Common Pleas Judge Katherine Emery had been scheduled for Friday afternoon, but was canceled, according to Emery’s office staff, when the the complaint was discontinued in light of the agreement between the parties.
Emery had ordered Armenti’s office sealed under a temporary injunction Wednesday to prevent any of Armenti’s materials from being disturbed before the case could be heard. That seal was lifted when the request was withdrawn.