May 9, 2003

Belmont Abbey College President Resigns; Influential Community-College Official Is Ousted; Suspended Law Professor Loses Tenured Job

By JULIANNE BASINGER, JAMILAH EVELYN, and KATHERINE S. MANGAN

MUM'S THE WORD: The president of Belmont Abbey College has resigned after only two years on the job, and the college's board wants to keep the matter quiet.

James L. Gearity, 57, plans to step down from the small Roman Catholic college in North Carolina this month. Belmont Abbey's chancellor, Abbot Placid Solari, who also leads the monastery affiliated with the college, says Mr. Gearity is leaving "on amicable terms." The chairman of the college's Board of Trustees, Louis A. (Jerry)