Review of staff dismissals under way today

Reinstatement of Lueckert, Sulyok not on the agenda

by Toya Richards Hill

LOUISVILLE — The General Assembly Council (GAC) subcommittee reviewing how Executive Director John Detterick handled two high-level staff dismissals in November is meeting today.

      The committee’s job is to review the procedures used by the administration to dismiss the employees — GAC Deputy Executive Director Kathy Lueckert and Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy Coordinator Peter Sulyok. Lueckert was Sulyok’s direct supervisor.

      It is not an appeal process to reinstate the dismissed staffers.

      “This will be the meeting to deal with this (process and procedure) issue,” said the Rev. Paul Masquelier, vice chair of GAC and chair of the personnel subcommittee that is reviewing the terminations.

      “Some people had alleged that there had been irregularities in how the terminations happened, and that John had not acted property,” he said. “Our intention is to do a thorough review of how that decision was made.”

      In November Detterick fired Lueckert and Sulyok following an ACSWP fact-finding trip to the Middle East that included Lueckert and Sulyok. That trip included a televised meeting with Hezbollah, which is listed on the U.S. government’s watch list of terrorist groups.

      The trip followed a controversial General Assembly action last July to begin using targeted divestment to pressure multinational corporations who profit from the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza or that enable either Palestinian or Israeli violence. That action drew fire from the U.S. Jewish community.

      Masquelier said the personnel subcommittee is looking into Detterick’s actions after questions were raised by ACSWP and others about the process by which the employees were let go. “What we are going to do is in response to some requests that came in,” he said.

      On Jan. 27 Detterick told the Presbyterian News Service that he welcomed the review.

      “I am very supportive of the review by the personnel committee and have encouraged it,” he said. “The decision caused a great deal of pain for all of us … and unfortunately raised questions.”

      Masquelier said his subcommittee’s study will be part of Detterick’s mid-term review and the process will include interviewing Detterick. He said the subcommittee’s findings will be reported to the GAC at its regularly scheduled meeting in March.

      “This is not an appeal of the decision. There is an appeal process that is clearly spelled out in the (GAC) personnel handbook,” Masquelier said. “Neither employee chose to do that.”

      Detterick named the Rev. Helen Locklear to a two-year term to replace Lueckert and Gwen Crawley, a retired former staffer in the Worldwide Ministries Division, has been named interim coordinator of ACSWP, replacing Sulyok.