Thomas J. Minar PO ’85 is no longer a member of the Pomona College Board of Trustees, following his arrest for child sex crimes in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin Jan. 6, according to an email board secretary Christina Ciambriello sent to Pomona students Monday.
Minar was also the president of Franklin College in Indiana, and was terminated from that position over the weekend.
Franklin said in a statement Monday that Minar was arrested for “use of a computer to facilitate a sex crime, child enticement and expose a child to harmful materials/narrations and was released from custody on bond, subject to no direct contact with minors unless supervised and not to use social media.”
Minar, a former Pomona government major, had been Franklin’s president since 2015 and a trustee at Pomona since 2018, according to Ciambriello’s email.
She added that Franklin Board Chairman Jim Due said Minar confirmed his recent arrest, and that “Franklin’s Board of Trustees Executive Committee felt it was essential to act immediately and sever his relationship with the College.”
TSL was unable to contact Minar. In an email to the Indianapolis Business Journal Monday, Minar declined to directly address the cause of his arrest.
“I very much regret the circumstances which led [Franklin] to terminate our relationship,” Minar said. “My years at Franklin have been very rewarding and I am extraordinarily grateful to so many staff and faculty who have worked hard with me to advance the college in these challenging times for higher education. I wish nothing but the best for Franklin College and for the people who make it the wonderful institution it has become.”
Ciambrello’s email added that students affected by the news of Minar’s arrest can access help through the Title IX Office, Monsour Counseling and other resources.
Hank Snowdon CM ’21 is an economics major with a data science sequence from Columbus, Ohio. He has previously served as TSL’s editor-in-chief, managing editor and sports editor.