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Free the Dean! Dr. Tom Chandler headed to ‘jail’ for a good cause
June 16, 2010
Tom Chandler
Maybe it was the heat that made him do it. Those sultry Southern summer days – when the heat-index makes temps climb well above 100 degrees -- can cause a person do wild and crazy things.
Maybe it was too many late-night hours spent poring over the school’s budget for the 2010 – 11 academic year.
Perhaps it was the curse of the crustaceans from his laboratory. Or maybe his lapse as a law-abiding citizen was a possible side effect from the nanomaterials that he was studying.
Still, the news that the Arnold School of Public Health’s esteemed dean, Dr. Tom Chandler, was being jailed was met with an appropriate amount of “shock and awe” by faculty, staff, and students.
The email from the dean that read, “I need bail money,” came as many in the school were leaving for vacation or summer research presentations and caught nearly everyone off guard.
Still, a few said they weren’t surprised – then quickly headed to the airport. “He hasn’t been himself lately,” said an Arnold School insider, who asked to remain anonymous as he sped away.
“Say it isn’t so!” said a student, seen later that evening being interviewed by Nancy Grace on CNN about the dean’s unfortunate incarceration.
“Bless his heart!” said a staff member, who slammed the door on an inquisitive reporter.
Whatever! Dean Chandler is headed to jail.
But, his stay behind bars is for a very good reason!
Chandler will be locked up Thursday, June 24, to help Jerry’s Kids© and the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
“To be released on good behavior, I have to raise bail and I need your help (not for the good behavior part, I can handle that, although you know how hard it is for me to Behave),” he said in his email. “What I need is your money, honey!”
He went on to explain: “A generous pool of donations means I can make bail after only an hour or so of incarceration. Little or no money, however, means I spend all day in lockup with some pretty scary characters.”
On a serious note, however, he said, “Your donation will help families living in our community and help guarantee me an early release. “So, please, everyone, help Jerry’s Kids! Together we’ll make a difference.”
To see the movie about the dean’s arrest – and most importantly, to make a secure, online donation before June 24 -- cut and paste this address into the address bar of your Internet browser: https://www.joinmda.org/columbia2010/tchandler/.
Free the dean so that court-ordered ankle bracelets won’t be de rigueur for those of us “on the outside”!
Free the dean!
Free the dean!
