Paul Irwin

Dr. Paul G. Irwin is the current president and CEO of Elephants in Crisis,[1] former president of the American Bible Society (2005 - June 2008) and former host of American Bible Society Presents.[2] Prior to that, he was president of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) between 1975 and 2004.[1]

Irwin is an ordained minister of the United Methodist Church and taught for six years at the Boston University School of Theology.[1]

Controversy

In 1996, the Humane Society of Canada (as an affiliate of HSUS) filed a lawsuit alleging that Irwin and other HSUS officials transferred $1 million from their account to HSUS without authorization. They also alleged HSUS "took its donor list, and overcharged for administrative costs." In January 1997, a Canadian judge ruled in favor of the Humane Society of Canada, writing: "I cannot imagine a more glaring conflict of interest or a more egregious breach of fiduciary duty. It demonstrates an overweening arrogance of a type seldom seen."[3][4]

Irwin's tenure as president at the American Bible Society (ABS) ended after his contract was not renewed by the organization's trustees.[5][6] He was placed on paid leave (along with chief financial officer Richard B. Stewart, Jr.) after a New York Times article linked him with Richard J. Gordon, a web consultant hired by ABS, who was a convicted felon with ties to online pornography and gambling enterprises.[6][4] At that time, it was revealed by USA Today that, while president of the Humane Society, Irwin used $85,000 of Humane Society money for renovate a home in Maine in 1987.[4][7] In April 2003, the Humane Society paid $881,000 to Gordon's Exciting New Technologies (ENT) company; ENT hired Irwin's son (Christopher) as director of business development.[4] As president of ABS, Irwin hired Exciting New Technologies again, paying the company more than $5,000,000 for Web design, e-mail marketing, and digitizing the Bible.[4][8]

Works

Losing Paradise: The Growing Threat to Our Animals, Our Environment, and Ourselves (2000) Garden City Park, NY: Square One Publishers, ISBN 0-7570-0003-7.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Dr. Paul Irwin". Elephants in Crisis. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  2. ↑ "Bible TV show expands on satellite". religionandspirituality.com. 19 October 2007.
  3. ↑ "Paul Irwin". Center for Consumer Freedom. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Brad Stone (18 May 2008). "An E-Commerce Empire, From Porn to Puppies". New York Times.
  5. ↑ Madison Trammel (9 June 2008). "Bible Society Drops President". Christianity Today.
  6. 1 2 Tony Carnes (23 May 2008). "American Bible Society Seeks Revelations". Christianity Today.
  7. ↑ "ABS Board Fires its CEO Following a New York Times Expose" (PDF). Ministry Watch. June 2008.
  8. ↑ Rusty Leonard and Warren Cole Smith (14 June 2008). "Problems at the top?". World News Group.
  9. ↑ "Losing paradise". Open Library. Retrieved 11 May 2013.



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