Former history professor Vosburgh contacts students

By Sam Fran Scavuzzo
Collegian Editor
April 18, 2007

A former La Salle University history professor recently released on bail after being charged with destroying records and computer records to obstruct a federal investigation, contacted at least two La Salle students via e-mail, according to a University Incident Advisory released Sunday April 15.

Roderick Vosburgh, 44, was arrested Feb. 27 and charged after members of the FBI attempted to search his apartment in a child pornography investigation (“Professor investigated for child pornography,” March 21, p. 1).

According to the release, Vosburgh was charged by a grand jury March 27 of “destroying evidence with the intent to obstruct an investigation, destroying evidence with the intent to prevent its seizure, and possession of child pornography.”

As a stipulation of his bail, Vosburgh is prohibited from using the Internet.

After being contacted by Vosburgh, the students contacted a member of the University staff. That individual then notified Assistant Vice President for Business Affairs Rose Lee Pauline, who serves as a liaison to the school’s lawyers. Legal counsel notifies the assistant U.S. district attorney and the local office of the FBI, according to Assistant Vice President for Marketing and Communications Joseph Donovan. Then, it was decided to issue an advisory to the campus.

In the University’s release, Dean of Students Dr. Joseph Cicala stated because Vosburgh’s “actions may violate his conditions of release, representatives of La Salle immediately notified law enforcement authorities and initiated other appropriate responses.”

Previously, no official word was released regarding Vosburgh’s legal situation.

In an interview with Collegian March 28 (“Editorial: Keeping us in the dark, the need for honesty and opennessfrom the University,” p. 4), Donovan said that since there is no indication that a student was directly affected by the crime Vosburgh is charged with, the arrest is not classified as a need-to-know occurrence.

The University did not legally need to alert students to this situation as it did not meet stipulations in the Clery Act, which states that schools are only required to report crimes considered to be a threat to students and employees.

“I issued an advisory because Mr. Vosburgh’s recent activity is something I feel the students, faculty and staff should be made aware of,” Cicala said in an interview Tuesday.

When asked what “other appropriate responses’’ meant, Cicala said, “I think you should take us on our word for this one. Certain situations arise where it may not be appropriate to divulge information.”

Cicala alluded to privacy restrictions and protecting students’ identities.

Donovan noted that La Salle Security has Vosburgh on its list of individuals who are prohibited from accessing campus.

“They know who he is, and they know what he looks like,” Donovan said.

Students recently contacted by Vosburgh are instructed to contact Cicala’s office or Asisstant Vice President for Business Affairs Rose Lee Pauline.

Freshman English major Megan Henderson had Vosburgh as a professor for history. She said she was contacted over Spring Break by Director of the University’s Honors Program John Grady, who informed her of Vosburgh’s arrest via e-mail.

All of Vosburgh’s classes were taken over by other history professors.

“He was a wonderful teacher,” Henderson said. “Kids who hated history thought Vosburgh’s was their favorite class.”

“I can understand that he doesn’t want his students to hate him, so that’s maybe why he contacted them,” Henderson said. “But he obviously has his own issues, and I don’t think it was a good idea to contact students.”

In the release, Cicala encouraged students to contact his office, the Counseling Center or University of Ministry and Service (UMAS) for assistance with the situation.

“We will work with the students depending on the situation and the information they disclose to us,” Director of University Ministry and Services Brother Robert Kinzler said. “Then we’ll direct them to the proper authority for counseling.”

As of print, the U.S. District Attorney’s office has not commented on future actions, if any, against Vosburgh.

scavuzzos1@lasalle.edu