Fired Logan College President Files for Abritation Against Board of Trustees

Updated 3/6 with additional information:

The former president of Chesterfield-based Logan College of Chiropractic, George Goodman, has taken legal action against an institution that he lead for nearly 20 years before being abruptly fired earlier this year.

A legal brief filed with the American Association of Arbitration on Tuesday, Goodman is asking to be awarded compensation on several counts, including $569,000 for wrongful termination and $405,000 for breach of contract.

The document discussed a series of failed negotiations concerning Goodman's retirement package and compensation in the lead-up to his dismissal in early February, nearly two months ahead of his planned March retirement date. 

According to a statement from Goodman's lawyer David Cosgrove, the institution's board of trustees failed to comply with a previous agreement outlining compensation for Goodman's retirement as well as his performance in 2012. 

The suit also states that the justification for negating what it said was a "long-standing" agreement centered around Goodman's download of emails and information, including work and personal files, to a flash drive so that he could continue to conduct business from home during the college's transition to a new President. 

The action occurred in January of 2013 and happened with the full knolwedge of Brad Hough, Logan's Chief Information Officer, Cosgrave said.

He added that the suit is merely an effort by Goodman to make sure that he receives the agreed upon compensation, reflecting his years of service to the college. 

In a news releases announcing his retirment last fall, the college credited Goodman with growing enrollment, expanding programs and establshing a $25-million dollar endowment program.

Goodman's compensation also become an issue during the end of his tenure, when it was scrutinized by the Chronicle of Higher Education, according to an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The publication said Goodman was paid $798,198 in 2010-11, giving him the second highest salary of any university president in Missouri. The President of Washington University, Mark Wrighton, occupied the top spot.

Logan College did not immediately respond to a request for comment.