Olivet University shut down; what Christian group says it will use Dover campus for next
Olivet University can no longer operate its Christian college in Dover, following what a state education official called a “pattern of mismanagement of the institution’s finances" that included criminal activity.
However, the Olivet organization, which also operates its World Olivet Assembly network of evangelical and parachurches out of Dover, says it has other plans for the Dutchess County campus.
A university statement on its website said the Dover property “will be used to serve evangelicals from around the world more than ever, with a variety of facilities and envisioned uses.”
Those potential uses include “space for the worldwide evangelical community, a technology park and Christian innovation center, a hospital to serve the mission community, a ‘business as mission’ center, a sports center, and an evangelical-themed museum, and an entertainment complex, among others,” according to the statement.
In a June 30 letter to the university’s president in California, New York State Education Department Deputy Commissioner William P. Murphy said he upheld the education department’s recommendation to the state Board of Regents not to renew the college's permit to operate, which expired July 2.
“The evidence (including tax liens, civil lawsuits for defaulting on contracted payment terms, failure to pay workers compensation insurance, and the criminal case in which Olivet pled guilty to falsification of business records and conspiracy)” showed a pattern, Murphy wrote.
Olivet: University, officials indicted in money-laundering scheme
Poughkeepsie: Public housing may be changing. Here's how
Fishkill shooting: Grand jury says officers were justified
The Education Department found the majority of lawsuits against the school were prompted by Olivet allegedly defaulting on contracted payment terms. There were instances where Olivet settled cases but again defaulted on the settlement agreement, Murphy wrote.
The university said in a separate statement in response to inquiries it "is disappointed by the decision of the New York State Department of Education to deny renewal of Olivet's authority to operate its campus in New York. While the University is evaluating its legal options with respect to this decision, Olivet is complying and advising its students and constituents of the outcome and its impact."
The school moved from the Binghamton area and officially opened in Dover at the former Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center in 2016, according to its site. In 2018, the university and some of its top officials were indicted in a money-laundering scheme, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's office. Defendants were accused of fraudulently obtaining millions in financing under Olivet's name and laundering the money.
The school was ordered to pay a $1.25 million fine after guilty pleas to one count each of conspiracy and falsifying records in 2020. However, many school officials in command at the time of that activity, including then-President Tracy Davis and Barnabas Jung, who never lost the role of chief financial officer, remain in leadership positions, Murphy noted. He called the school's problems "extensive and pervasive" in the letter.
"In the course of the review, NYSED discovered that Olivet has a well-established pattern of non-compliance with laws, rules, and regulations. Some instances of non-compliance date back several years, further emphasizing that Olivet’s neglect of its administrative responsibilities has been long standing," Murphy wrote.
The organization was founded by David Jang in San Francisco in 2000.
“These failings are part of a larger pattern of poor administration and addressing such problems only after being caught in a criminal conspiracy does not render them moot,” Murphy wrote.
In addition to issues within the school, The Environmental Protection Agency previously sued Dover Greens, an Olivet system company, claiming it violated the Clean Air Act and the EPA's National Emissions Standards for Asbestos rules when it renovated the psychiatric center in 2013 and 2014. The company agreed to accept responsibility to the violations and pay a $575,000 fine in January 2000.
In the statement on its website, the university didn’t address the various reasons Murphy gave for the state shutting down the college.
Olivet's statement said the university "ended a good, 10-year run in the state of New York with the conclusion of our temporary permission to operate by the New York Board of Regents.”
The university “always envisioned multiple uses for our Dover location beyond the school itself, in accordance with the founding purpose of our flagship school and seminary to be a ‘seedbed for mission.’“
Olivet “will be stepping back from offering credit-bearing courses for now,” with the intention of seeking to open a chartered institution “at the right time and place in New York.”
Michael P. McKinney is a breaking-news reporter for the Poughkeepsie Journal, The Journal News and the Times Herald-Record in Middletown.
This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Olivet University in Dover ordered closed; what's next for campus
