UPDATE: Indeed, Steven Sears has resigned.
Provost Gerald Lang Resigns under a mountain of pressure.
Sources tell me that Dean Sears will resign Monday.
But let’s not forget who is ultimately responsible for this disaster. But before you get your hopes up, realize that the only people who can fire Mike Garrison are the same people who hired him.
Side note: was anyone else surprised when they learned that WVU pays Lang a quarter of a million dollars a year? Jesus.
April 27, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Having dealt with “Jerry” a few times, you have no idea how happy this makes me.
He was just an ass back then, and now he’s a disgraced ass.
Karma’s a bitch, ain’t it, Jer? (Sorry Red)
April 27, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Oh, and metronews has the full resignation letter.
April 27, 2008 at 8:47 pm
Still not an ounce of contrition.
These people really need a fucking trip to the guillitone.
All of them.
“Even though the panel looking into the Bresch case did not find any
willful misconduct, their conclusion that the result was flawed and
erroneous has convinced me to resign as Provost and Vice President for
Academic Affairs and Research. I hope this decision will begin the
healing process and focus attention onto the future.”
Unbelievable.
Hey Jer, if I have enough luck that you are reading this, here’s a clue:
Making up grades “OUT OF THIN AIR” was willful misconduct.
April 27, 2008 at 9:04 pm
This whole thing is such an unfortunate event and sorry but I have to disagree with everyone going after Gerald Lang. He has done an outstanding job for the University and is truly an honorable and decent man. Anyone who knows him knows that this was either a (admittedly dumb) mistake or some kind of set-up. And of course he will have made some enemies along the way, people in power always do.
Maybe everyone is too stupid to figure it out but are we actually going to be in a better position with Mike Garrison having the power to appoint a new Provost. Because if you haven’t figured it out yet, the provost is actually the one who gets all the real work done and WVU just lost a good, make that great Provost thanks to all the idiots out there who wanted someones head over this. Way to go!!!
April 27, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Dont hold your breath, this is far from over.
April 27, 2008 at 9:14 pm
It is going to be GREAT when Goodwin and Garrison appoint another buddy to Provost. A trifecta! M might have a point – things might actually get worse.
Wait, what am I thinking – Joe’s going to make the choice.
April 27, 2008 at 9:14 pm
M,
At what point does criminal behavior qualify as decent? M take your head out of your ass. Dumb, like other criminals, you bet. He orchestrated the creation of a false transcript. Put him in jail. He can’t even admit he was wrong. This one mistake has been built over months. He could have seen the light at any point. He’s a crook and convinced himself it was ok.
He would not admit guilt last week and this is just more of the same. When you apologize, don’t tell us anything else. He’s a bum.
April 27, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Nah, M., I didn’t want just “someone’s head”, I want Garrison’s because he’s the guy who pretends he had nothing to do with giving Heather her degree. With Garrison’s chief of staff, Garrison’s attorney, and Garrison’s publicity guy in the room, no one with an ounce of brains believes Garrison wasn’t putting the pressure on Lang and Sears. But the Board isn’t going to fire Garrison because who appoints the Board?….Manchin.
April 27, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Actually, he’s not a bum. He has worked hard for the University and now has made a substantial mistake and (unlike Garrison) at least has the ability to recognize that he can’t function in the role of Provost. I can only hope that the BoG will wake up to what’s happening here, the place is falling apart brick by brick (and no, there was no med school pun intended there, although it is having enough trouble as it is). Let’s see who Garrison appoints (or can convince) to be the interim provost–
April 27, 2008 at 9:39 pm
so if Lang is done by June 30th, who is going to chair the search for a new VP for the HSC ? without him will Mike and Joe be able to control the selection ? maybe we should just annoint bailes now as the chancellor for the university and the hsc
April 27, 2008 at 9:43 pm
M,
I for one didn’t want anyone’s “head over this”. I’m so far removed from WV at this point that I didn’t even pay attention to ANY of the Garrison controversy when he was being hired. But when I read the PPG account on 12/21/07, I saw RED.
I immediately sent an email to Lang with a very short msg: “What were you thinking?” I went on to use every avenue open to me as an alum to get to the “bottom” of this. Academic records can’t be tampered with or the entire system goes down the tubes. Lang and others hurt the students of WVU. They deserve our protection.
April 27, 2008 at 9:44 pm
The students, that is!
April 27, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Good point, machinette…let’s be clear about one thing–Bailes doesn’t have the credentials or support to be Dean, VP or anything along that line………..I can’t imagine that something that outrageous could actually come to pass, but I’ve been surprise several times in the last several weeks (c.f., John Prescott “resigning” and Jim Brick ascending–omg).
April 27, 2008 at 9:46 pm
oops, my bad…..Bailes “credentials”–Friend of Mike and Joe……also, he has no support at the HSC for these jobs, but may have support from his “friends”.
April 27, 2008 at 9:47 pm
From Lang interview with WV Public Radio:
“And we believe, and we hold the colleges accountable for certifying those graduation requirements. That is not done at a university level. So when the business college reviewed their records and made their determination, we don’t go in and micromanage those decisions. Now we’re being called in question about why we don’t micromanage those decisions. I think the College of Business made a decision based on the information they had available, and I think that we felt comfortable with the decision they made.”
http://wvpubcastnews.wordpress.com/2008/04/27/wvu-provost-resigns-over-heather-bresch-scandal/
April 27, 2008 at 9:50 pm
oh, and while I am on a rant–who in the hell at the University thought that “MIke’s Blog” was gong to be a good idea? No doubt the same folks who managed the communications for the Bresch story for the University–now they’ll have to deal with the notion that this has turned into a heavily censored and non-function piece of fiction. What a bunch of bozos.
April 27, 2008 at 9:53 pm
But wasn’t it the COB that denied her the degree? She didn’t get it until Lang got involved.
April 27, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Have you guys checked out the campaign finance reports?
For Manchin:
Michael S. Garrison – $1000
Alex Macia – $1000
Stephen Goodwin – $1000
Ellen Cappellanti – $1000
Thomas Clark – $1000
Mary J. Payne (Andrew Payne’s wife) – $1000
Parry Petroplus – $1000
Stephen Farmer – $1000
(Few others with WVU -> James Brick – $200, D’Alessandri – $2,000, John Prescott – $1,000, Milan Puskar – $1,000)
April 27, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Lang is just one, and there are seven or eight more thaty should go.
And you know, this thing is SO much BIGGER than WVU.
Bresch is COO of Milan Puskar’s giant generic drug company Mylan Pharmaceuticals. So they pulled the statement in her vita on the web about having an eMBA, sure, but she has been very arrogant about the bogus degree. If she did this, then I wonder what unethical actions she might have committed for Mylan. It is hard to believe that she has been lily white in the many actions she has carried out for Mylan in their business climb to make millions and millions of dollars. Anybody have an idea how to find out?
And Joe Manchin’s statements about how wonderful and compassionate his daughter is . . .
The really big thing is the corruption involved in the drug business and that they don’t care how unethical their COO may be as long as she makes MONEY for them. Bresch should resign.
April 27, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Word on the street–
Team Garrison testing the waters with Lang to see what it takes to cool the crowd. Team Garrison intends to hang on until there’s nobody left to throw under the bus.
Don’t forget about David Satterfield ascending. He was in the Bob Wise admin with Garrison and Macia and is a VP of WVU.
April 27, 2008 at 10:16 pm
There were three president’s men sitting in that room advocating awarding of the degree. Not one of them has paid the price. John Doe #21 has hit it on the head. Pressure must mount, not decline. Lang is part of their plan, push it lower, take the focus off Garrison and try to put it on Sears. But the pressure came from the other side of the table, from Lang and the president’s men. They must have promised Lang a lot to get him to roll over like this. Or is it just the other side of being a bully, the coward side? Hope you had the offshore account filled already Jerry, cause you cannot trust these guys.
April 27, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Lang should go…and the rest with him.
But, HK, get real: only you are shocked at $250,000
Provosts around the nation make far more than that…dude, you got to get over these salaries. You are talking about people running a multi billion dollar institution………what do you want to pay them?
April 27, 2008 at 10:26 pm
The “M” above is not the same as me, “M.”!
April 27, 2008 at 10:27 pm
Jerry Lang wasn’t hardworking. He spent long hours, perhaps, but he was all about power and manipulation. Deceitful to me personally on more than one occasion.
CB Wilson should be the interim provost while we have a real search.
We must keep the heat up – Lang alone isn’t enough. Sears was a fool, but we need to see Macia and Garrison fired too.
The U needs a real provost, not a political hack.
April 27, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Could “M” possibly be Manchin, sure sounds like some of his bulls–t?
April 27, 2008 at 10:54 pm
Bloggsy asks above:
“who in the hell at the University thought that “MIke’s Blog” was gong to be a good idea? No doubt the same folks who managed the communications for the Bresch story for the University.”
In the same vein how could the communications director Case and Garrison, Lang and Sears be so incredibly stupid to appear at the press conference to deny they did anything wrong WITH THE BLUE AND GOLD BACKGROUND, the flying WVU logo and WEST VIRGINA UNIVERSITY plastered all over the backdrop for the news videos and photos. What gross stupid dumb asses they are.
April 27, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Sorry to disappoint but I have nothing to do with Manchin and I’m sorry to have offended the other “M” out there but I stand by my comments. The point I’m trying to make is who is going to run the show when you’ve driven everyone out of town. Let’s not forget that somebody has to actually run the University. And it’s pretty scary to me to think that Mike Garrison will be able to appoint his own Provost. Unless Garrison will be driven out too? I’m just wondering who is going to be left, who will be in charge?
And Karen, you are so right, it is critical to ensure that the students interests are first and foremost.
April 27, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Not offended; you’re certainly welcome to say what you wish, and I don’t think your comments are that outrageous — just clarifying who’s who. Typically the school will appoint an interim dean/president/provost/whatever while a search for replacement(s) happens.
April 28, 2008 at 12:45 am
LOL!!!!
You have “sources” now?
Anyway…
Gray Lady picks up the story. Maybe someone like 60 Minutes will stick their nose in too.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/28/us/28westvirginia.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
April 28, 2008 at 12:46 am
There’s probably some more messages in your spam folder, cuz one of mine just disappeared.
April 28, 2008 at 1:57 am
We cannot let Garrison (and Bresch) survive this! Garrison allowed to stay and participate in the selection of a new Provost and other top posts is nightmare scenario. Clean the sewers NOW!
April 28, 2008 at 5:57 am
This ordeal is an embarassment to not only the people that work for WVU and the HSC, but for all of the people of WV. Isn’t it strange that Lang, Sears and all others involved worked here for years and never did anything illegal, but after only several months under the leadership of Garrison they have all participated in illegal activity. The real casualty during Garrison’s leadership is the dismissal of John Prescott. Dr. Prescott had the integrity and high moral standards to say “no” when asked to do something that he knew was illegal. He was asked to resign because of his decision, but he left his position with dignity and can hold his head high because he stood by his beliefs. Unlike the people at the down town campus that gave into the inllegal requests of the Garrison leadership. The resignations have already begun, but unlike John Prescott they will not be resigning with their heads held high, they will be resigning in disgrace. But the resignations should not stop there. Garrison must go, he was the driving force behind this. I shudder to think what he will do to the University if he is here for any length of time. Garrison MUST resign and take the consultants with him. The faculty, staff and students of WVU and the HSC should not stop until this happens.
April 28, 2008 at 7:06 am
can you say what Dr. Prescott was asked to do that he found so objectionable? He is a man of intergrity.
April 28, 2008 at 7:25 am
Lang’s ” … one mistake … ” or the only time a “mistake” became public?
April 28, 2008 at 8:20 am
>>>>>>Isn’t it strange that Lang, Sears and all others involved worked here for years and never did anything illegal, but after only several months under the leadership of Garrison they have all participated in illegal activity.
Good point, JC. The only way Garrison can prove he has even one molecule of integrity is to step down. The buck stops here, Mike.
April 28, 2008 at 8:54 am
Ultimately, Lang was doing the bidding of Garrison. Lang takes the fall but will he fall on his sword and slither into retirement or will he now be free to tell the real story. Lang could gain some of his self-respect back if he just comes out and tells what we all know happened. Start at day one. It started with a phone call to Garrison.
April 28, 2008 at 9:07 am
“Mike’s Blog”–a reminder of the guidelines for comments has been posted, with a link to a document that was last modified yesterday…..several new comments this morning, which disappeared over the course of 5 minutes…..how poorly can this group manage this entire affair?
April 28, 2008 at 9:07 am
Question is what loyalty does Lang have to Garrison and Papa Jo? In my seven years as a grad student at WVU I only met Lang a couple of times and he seemed pleasant enough. Now, if he is as arrogant and cunning as bingmanch et al have stated then I doubt if he is going to have a long academic career go down in disgrace for Garrison or Papa Jo. He knows exactly what happened and in the end will spill the beans, unless he has been promised something more important that his integrity.
April 28, 2008 at 9:23 am
Sears just announced his resignation. Here’s Lang’s letter to the community.
April 28, 2008
TO: Campus Community
FR: Gerald E. Lang
Provost and Vice President
for Academic Affairs and Research
This morning I submitted my letter of resignation as Provost and Vice President to President Garrison effective June 30, 2008.
I have been privileged to be a member of the West Virginia University community for 32 years. In that time, I’ve seen the University grow in size and, more importantly, in reputation. I’ve been privileged to serve the University as a faculty member, an Assistant Dean for Research, nine years as Dean of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and, for the last 13 years, as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research.
In that time, I’ve tried to be a good steward of the University, always keeping the betterment of the institution as my primary goal. As Dean, I led the successful fund raising initiative that resulted in the naming of the Eberly College. As Provost, I have had the opportunity to oversee the improved and enhanced infrastructure of the campus, including projects such as the renovations of Brooks, Oglebay, and Colson Halls as well as the Evansdale and Wise Libraries; improvements to the classrooms; and additions like South Agricultural Sciences, Ming Hsieh Hall, the Life Sciences Building, and the new Downtown Library. I am proud of my work with the Faculty Senate which led to adoption of the current guidelines for annual evaluation and the merit-based salary program. I am equally proud of the successful 2004 reaccreditation of West Virginia University by the Higher Learning Commission, which cited no deficiencies and renewed our standing as a research university. Likewise, the 2010 Plan, developed with input from faculty, staff and other administrators, has established the institution’s strategic direction. I hope that many will agree that these actions have contributed to the University’s improvement.
I recognize the critical role that faculty play in the quality of an institution. As a consequence, my efforts have been dedicated to improve the compensation paid to our faculty and to increase the number of faculty. I’m pleased, for example, that since 2005, overall faculty salaries have increased from being 81.9% of our peers to 84.7%. I’m proud of the salary enhancement program developed for professors, the group that has been farthest from their peers, and the fact that their salaries have improved from 79.3% of peers to 83.4%. I’m proud that in the last three years 58 new faculty positions have been added in those units that report directly to me, and an additional 28 positions are committed for future years. These positions, and the faculty recruited to them, assure our ability to do a better job of educating the students who come to us and enhance research reputation.
Given my history with West Virginia University, I am very sorry that my one action in ratifying a Dean’s decision in a single situation has had a negative impact on the institution. I love this place and would never intentionally take an action that would reflect negatively upon it. Even though the panel looking into the Bresch case did not find any willful misconduct, their conclusion that the result was flawed and erroneous has convinced me to resign as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research. I hope this decision will begin the healing process and focus attention onto the future.
I am pleased to have had the opportunity to be of administrative service to West Virginia University. My hope for the future of the University is that it will continue to thrive.
April 28, 2008 at 9:35 am
The ability to comment on Mike’s blog has now been removed……pretty ironic, give the other blog entry reminding us that “comments are valued” but must adhere to the guidelines. I can only imagine the war room mentality at Stewart Hall right now.
April 28, 2008 at 9:49 am
Lang’s letter of resignation says that he is resigning from VP and Provost, but NOT as professor. Wonder if he returns to ‘teaching’ – wasn’t he a biology professor? With his way og grading, I’m sure alot of students would want to take his classes.
April 28, 2008 at 10:35 am
having followed this from a distance, i think that my donations will now go elsewhere….this is the greatest embarrssment that I have seen……i THINK my medical degree was worth all the hard work i put into it…..hell, maybe i should have waited and gone to the WVU School of Medicine-by-phone-to-Garrison-degree….i hear “phone call on wednesday and degree by monday”……….i am so sorry that you all are putting up with it………
April 28, 2008 at 10:54 am
I have known Jerry Lang since he came to WVU. From the beginning, I pegged him as an arrogant person who freely expressed contempt for colleagues and those in his profession across the country. I remember meeting several of his post-doc students in the ’80’s and hearly ’90’s–yikes they were little clones.
I have watched from afar and close-up as he amassed power beyond his current position until he ended up as Provost. Always, his attitude was one of contempt towards others. Positions were filled w/ those who agreed “a priori” to rubberstamp anything he said or did when he had any influence–and he had plenty during the past 15 or more years.
Under Jerry, good , honest, dedicated people were either not hired, fired, demoted or otherwise punished by him while often rather incompetent ones were hired and elevated because they swore allegiance to him.
As a WVU undergraduate in the 1960’s, I instigated a personal award : “The Drop in the Bucket of Mediocrity Award”–for bullies of small mental stature. Oddly, a man at UNC, Chapel Hill–also an ecologist–was the second recipient and Jerry Lang the third. I have to constantly remind myself that Jerry is actually taller than I perceive him–he is the quintessential small man.
April 28, 2008 at 11:04 am
Maybe Garrison was put in place to devalue WVU to the extent that it would seek a merger with that other great West Virginia university.
Not Marshall, you idiot.
West Virginia STATE University! LOL!
April 28, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Did you know you could find the transcripts of the interviews the panel did with President Garrison and the other players in the Heather Bresch investigation?
http://wvpubcastnews.wordpress.com/2008/04/28/interview-transcripts-from-heather-bresch-mba-investigation/
April 28, 2008 at 4:54 pm
bloggsy Says:
April 28, 2008 at 7:06 am
can you say what Dr. Prescott was asked to do that he found so objectionable? He is a man of intergrity.
Yes, he was requested to falsify a legal document for a CT surgeon that Wheeling Hospital wanted to hire. If he did not posess the integrity that he does this could have been a second Heather Bresch situation. There needs to be legal action taken so that everybody that has information that could force the resignation of Garrison could take the stand and tell all that they know without the fear of repercussions.
April 28, 2008 at 6:05 pm
wait a minute, are you saying Prescott refused to do something that involved Wheeling hospital and got canned, when Violi who is one of the consultants reviewing the HSC is also the CEO at WHeeling hospital ? this really is another Heather B situation ! is the Governor involved in this one too ? I think the PPG needs to FOIA those documents too !!
April 28, 2008 at 7:22 pm
exactly, there is something rotten going on at WVU and it begins and ends with Garrison. He MUST resign if there is any chance at all to redeem the institution.
April 28, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Joan,….are you suggesting that Lang’s arrogance and being an ecologist are related?
April 28, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Google WVU scandal and see how many items come up. The story is spreading across the country from major newspapers to Edu. web sites. It is such great publicity for the entire State, Gov., and BOG who continue to support Garrison. Bresch is not commenting–on something that could have been avoided had she been honest. How does she continue in her position? How does WVU recover from this?
April 28, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Maria, I’m asking the same question about Heather Bresch. The main brunt of this is being felt by WVU. Bresch is formally supported at Mylan and is letting administrators at WVU take the fall. If Mylan is an unethical place to work, the corporate culture will continue to support her.
April 28, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Whoever made the comment about John Prescott being fired due to his refusal to allow innocent people to be hurt by an unqualified CT surgeon is right on. He would not allow suits to dictate who was qualified to do surgery….very surprised the Pitts papers have not picked this one up yet. The link is the Pres, the consultants..which resulted in JP being fired….an hour after he was front and center receiving an award for the School of Medicine!
The revolution for doing what is right and with honor cannot stop people! Push on….
April 28, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Graduation is 2 weeks away? What a great atmosphere that should be. I guess the students who don’t find jobs might look back later and ask why that kid from Pitt or Penn State was chosen over them. A WVU degree–earned or given? Hmmmmm…………..but then again……it isn’t what you know, but who you know–is it???…….sadly.
April 29, 2008 at 12:23 am
WVU: Where greatness is learned. And ethics are spurned.
April 29, 2008 at 8:39 am
“Lurking in the Gass” wants to know if I equate arrogance with being an ecologist?
Over the years, I have found ecologists to fall into 2 distinct camps: very nice or very arrogant. This is one case where I have seen no continuum. I have known ecologists in both camps.
April 29, 2008 at 4:13 pm
It looks like Lang and Sears are returning to well-paying teaching jobs, not resigning from WVU.
http://wvpubcastnews.wordpress.com/2008/04/29/lang-sears-to-return-to-teaching-after-heather-bresch-scandal/
April 29, 2008 at 4:18 pm
It looks like Sears and Lang didn’t really resign after all. They’re going to teach at WVU instead, at about three-quarters of their salary.
http://wvpubcastnews.wordpress.com/2008/04/29/lang-sears-to-return-to-teaching-after-heather-bresch-scandal/
April 29, 2008 at 6:47 pm
http://www.wboy.com
Scroll to the bottom. Online poll–should Garrison go?
May 1, 2008 at 11:08 am
If the Garrison administration played fast and loose with the eMBA degree, it seems likely they have cut other legal corners in the last year. I am calling for whistleblowers to contact me about illegal activities of the Garrison administration, at 304-216-6443, or pbrown4348@verizon.net. I will protect your confidentiality while helping you contact the proper authorities.
Paul Brown, Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology.