[1]CLEVELAND, Ga. — Former Truett McConnell University President Emir Caner has sued the university, alleging in a complaint filed June 5 that its Board of Trustees breached his employment contract when it terminated him last year. The lawsuit, filed in White County Superior Court, follows the Board’s investigation into the university’s handling of sexual misconduct allegations involving a former university official.
According to the complaint, the Board voted on Sept. 25, 2025, to terminate Caner, who had led TMU for more than 17 years. The filing seeks actual, compensatory and remote damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, attorney fees and litigation expenses, in amounts to be determined at trial.
Truett McConnell issued a statement saying it is aware of the lawsuit but declined to address the specific claims while the matter is in active litigation. The complaint contains only Caner’s allegations, and the university will have an opportunity to respond in court.
The statement added that Truett McConnell “remains fully committed to its mission of providing a Christ-centered education, to the well-being of our students, faculty, and staff, and to the community we are honored to serve.”
“Our focus, now more than ever, is on continuing the important work of preparing students for lives of faith, leadership, and service,” the statement said. “We appreciate the continued support of our community and ask for your prayers as we move forward.”
The complaint alleges the Board lacked contractual grounds to terminate Caner before the end of a 10-year agreement scheduled to run through June 30, 2031. According to the filing, the Board executed the contract in 2021, and it permits the Board to terminate the agreement immediately only for a breach by Caner. Caner contends no such breach occurred.
[2]The complaint states the Board cited Caner’s handling of an investigation and termination involving former Academic Services Vice President Bradley Reynolds as the cause for his dismissal. According to the filing, Caner terminated Reynolds in 2024, immediately after Reynolds disclosed that he was “under investigation for sexual misconduct,” and paid him a severance. Caner alleges he conferred with university counsel before doing so and notified the Board within days.
The complaint asserts that Caner had no knowledge of Reynolds’ alleged misconduct before Reynolds informed him of the investigation in 2024. It further alleges the Board took no action against Caner that year after learning of Reynolds’ termination and severance, nor after the Board received a Feb. 6, 2025, letter from attorney Marcia G. Shein accusing Caner of mismanaging sexual misconduct allegations made against Reynolds and a second former TMU employee.
According to the complaint, the Board’s position changed after The Roys Report, a Christian media outlet, published an investigative story on May 29, 2025, about the allegations against Reynolds. The filing states that one week later, the Board placed Caner on administrative leave and opened an investigation. The allegations against Reynolds were raised publicly by Hayle Swinson, a former TMU student and staff member.
Reynolds, who served as a TMU vice president until 2024, was later indicted by a White County grand jury on three felony counts of making false statements to law enforcement. Prosecutors allege Reynolds lied during a March 2024 interview with a White County Sheriff’s Office investigator, and Reynolds has pled not guilty. Reynolds’ criminal case is separate from Caner’s civil suit, which centers on whether the Board had contractual cause to terminate him.
The complaint says trustees placed Caner on administrative leave in June 2025 and that an investigator presented findings to the Board in executive session on Sept. 25, 2025, the day of the termination vote. The university has not made the investigative findings public.
Since Caner’s departure, TMU trustees have elected Larry Lyon as the university’s ninth president. Lyon, a Georgia native who has served as senior vice president for business administration at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, was unanimously elected during a special-called trustee meeting in February.
[3]Caner alleges the university terminated the agreement with nearly six years remaining, and his complaint describes the compensation Caner alleges he lost as a result. He is represented by Andrew Y. Coffman and James D. Dean of Parks, Chesin & Walbert, P.C.
This article originally appeared in the Christian Index [4].
[5]Related posts:
North Texas pastor arrested over alleged relationship with minor 
YEAR IN REVIEW: Top 12 most-read stories in 2024 
Morris H. Chapman, former EC president, dies 
Finding a Way Forward 
Committee on Committees report released 
Kyler Smith called as pastor of Immanuel Baptist in Little Rock 
SBC entity leaders respond to Guidepost report 
Dallas-area church volunteer arrested for child sexual assault