A controversial former Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Navy who retired after a military court found that he unlawfully influenced the prosecution of a decorated Navy SEAL accused of sexual assault and rape is the new president of Felician University in Rutherford.
James W. Crawford III retired as a Vice Admiral in 2018 after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces found that he illegally intervened in a case by giving sham counsel to coerce the prosecution.
The ruling allowed the sexual assault conviction of Senior Chief Special Warfare Operating Keith Barry to be overturned. Barry had been court martialed in 2014.
Crawford has been found to exert political pressure and “unlawful command influence.”
“This is a vindication not only for Senior Chief Barry, but it stands as the first step in righting what is the pervasive unlawful command influence in military justice,” Barry’s attorney, David P. Sheldon, told Navy Times at the time. “In this case, the Judge Advocate General of the Navy, Vice Admiral James Crawford, caused a decorated Navy SEAL to be wrongfully convicted.”
Sheldon had asked the Navy to prosecute Crawford rather than allow him to retire.
The 63-year-old Crawford has been interim president at Felician since last September.
His official biography on the Felician website touts a “long and distinguished career of military service,” but doesn’t mention the controversy that clouded his final day in the Navy.
The university’s board chairman, Christopher Swenson, said in a press release that the decision to hire Crawford case after what was called an “intense 360-degree review.”
“Many we spoke to during this process described him as inspirational, a servant leader and someone who truly lives our Felician core values,” Swenson said. “His hands-on experience in steering the university during one of the most challenging periods in its history enables him to step into the role of President fully prepared to take us to new heights.”
Crawford spent 33 years in the Navy, including four years as legal counsel to the chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff and two years as commander of the NATO Rule of Law Field Support Mission and Rule of Law Field Force in Afghanistan.
“I am honored and thrilled to be appointed the sixth president of Felician University. I look forward to continuing the mission of Felician and working to enhance the lives of our students, many of whom come from challenging and underserved communities,” Crawford said. “My background stands for itself. It was a blessing to serve our nation as an officer in the United States Navy for 34 years and I am exceedingly thankful for that opportunity. While in leadership I was focused on one thing—that the women and men under my authority delivered excellence for their clients.”
“This is exactly how I think of my role at Felician University. The leadership, faculty, staff, and all those associated with the mission of Felician University will be focused on this one thing – to work collaboratively for and with our students to produce the best in positive student outcomes to enable them to have the rich and vibrant future they all desire and deserve,” Crawford said. “We will be unstinting in this effort. Thank you.”
Felician has faced other controversies in recent years.
In 2015, the school was censured by the American Association of University Professors for firing several faculty members without proper notice or review.
This story was updated at 10:36 PM with comment from Crawford.
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