By now, you’re seen today’s media reports about the possibility of WVU doubling or tripling the salary of the next president “to attract quality candidates.”
Please tell me I’m not the only person finds that laughable.
I’m all for paying people what they’re worth. I really am. But money doesn’t have a damn thing to do with the fact that it’s going to be extremely difficult for West Virginia University to attract quality candidates to its top job.
I’ve said it before and I’ve said it again: no hot prospect on the national college-president market is going to damage his or her reputation by playing punching-bag for the next David Hardesty or Mike Garrison. Period.
The whole world knows Mike Garrison was a hack and a crony who cheated to get the job. And right now, the whole world expects the next president of WVU to do the same. Quality candidates? After Mike Garrison, WVU will do well to attract qualified candidates.
The West Virginia University Board of Governors has hell of a lot of work to do if they want to counter this perception. But they have yet to prove if they’re interested in doing that at all.
June 23, 2008 at 5:32 pm
Hippie Killer,
While i Totally agree with everything in today’s blog about pay, I do not think it is right to put President Garrison and former President Hardesty in the same Category. Garrison is a conniving little weasel who would do anything to get what he and his crony’s want. His credentials were weak at best and as you aid everyone knows he was a political appointee. However, former President Hardesty is a former Rhodes Scholar and a very well respected attorney and consultant in the state. Hardesty Teaches at the law school now as has done a fine job. When he was President of WVU I think he made some great strides with our University. ( and of course he took some steps back as well but nobody is perfect.)
Anyway, what I am getting at is that I truly think Hardesty deserved the position and did a Very good job with what he had. While Garrison caused more problems in 12 short months then WVU has ever seen in years.
June 23, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Yes, let’s see the choices for BOG and see how Carolyn Long does chairing the group. Let’s see the selection for Interim President.
HSC flounders and sinks day by day under interim leadership.
We are a very, very long way away from a new President.
June 23, 2008 at 5:34 pm
What would happen if a couple high quality presidental prospects turned up, and they insisted that state law regarding BoG and Gubernatorial meddling (oops intervention) be amended? Or revamp the WVHEPC (whatever they do, who knows)
Someone may have a unique opportunity to exercise some leverage at some point. What we really need are laws changed, and an accountability process for “friends and family.”
June 23, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Mike Garrison has several months left to hit the one year point. Just think what can happen in the remaining time!
June 23, 2008 at 5:52 pm
If I recall correctly, Hardesty was making double or triple what Garrison is making now, so essentially, isn’t the BOG merely saying, OK we’ll go back to square one?
June 23, 2008 at 5:58 pm
why would MG be paid much less than the previous president? That doesn’t make any sense.
June 23, 2008 at 6:16 pm
I heard rumor that the interim position has already been turned down by someone. Does anyone know with certainty if that is true and who it was?
June 23, 2008 at 6:21 pm
“why would MG be paid much less than the previous president? That doesn’t make any sense.”
Actually, as an outsider, it makes perfect sense to me….
The picture I have gotten from all of this is Garrison was a Yes-man…going along with whatever his superiors demanded of him. This blog has talked many times on the subject.
You add that to a BOG…who I saw someone stating the other day that “well they dont make any money”. It seems to me they make money by utilizing WVU in ways that earn them money. Having WVU buy their land…or use their hotels at a premium etc.
Then you got the Governor…who seems to be catering to special interests such as the pop debate that is currently going on.
So why do they pay Garrison so much less? Well because he wasnt quilified, and cause it leaves more money in the “slush” fund.
What is even better about this whole arrangement is they intended to build some semi-pro teams, and yet qualify them as “college” sports. No wonder Huggy is happy with the arrangement, it isnt like he has a stellar track record of graduating kids in the first place.
From looking in I can tell ya, I only see the almighty dollar at work at WVU….there doesnt appear to be care being put forth towards the academic side of things by the leaders. Instead, it appears it is all about “How can I use WVU to further my interests”.
It is a good thing WVU/WVa has folks like the ones found on this blog, and over at MIR…cause I bet this cluster-frack would be worse than it is. That is saying a lot, cause things are pretty fracked up as it is.
Anyways didnt see anything earth shattering this morning on sports blogs. It finally dawned on me about WVU trying to get away with minor sports franchise, under the guise of a legitimate university, as I thought about the money situation.
The whole frackin system needs to be overturned.
June 23, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Interesting comment, Wolverine. If the university’s athletes suddenly start “graduating” to the pros, who stands to benefit? The University gets a PR boost, but what individuals stand to gain?
June 23, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Let me expand a little on the point made by Aged Wolverine.
If Garrison is paid significantly less than Hardesty, (and let’s face it, for a 38 year old lawyer who wasn’t setting the world on fire, $255K per year, plus all the perks, is hardly slave wages), it’s because he didn’t want the job for the money. He wanted it for influence and contacts and the opportunity to use it as a springboard to whatever he wanted to do next.
Some things are worth more than money, and Garrison’s career arc demonstrates that perfectly.
June 23, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Below is the most recent data available in the Chronicle of Higher Education’s annual report on executive compensation. Hardesty was paid more than Garrison is making.
His contract is also available from the site. If there is interest, I will see if I can do a cut and paste of it. It runs several pages. Since Garrison’s contract was available through the Daily Mail (and MetroNews?) it would be possible to compare them.
West Virginia U.
David C. Hardesty Jr.
$232,500 (public funds)
$42,500 (private sources)
2 cars provided by state
1 house provided by state
$13,950 retirement pay, supplemental retirement plan
$288,950 (total compensation)
2006-7 (year)
June 23, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Looselips, I’ve heard that four people have turned the interim presidency down. I’ve also heard that they are going back to one of the four to try to persuade him to serve.
June 23, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Wolverine -
you don’t have to work hard at “stepping back” to get a good overview. It’s refreshing to hear the doubts and fears appear so obvious so someone with common sense.
It’s true that you have not heard a word about academic quality in this whole mess at all, just how to lie and use double talk to protect the guilty parties.
I believe Hardesty’s base pay was $275K but that could have been upped by the end of his tenure. I have no idea what othe perks he had that MG did not also have.
June 23, 2008 at 6:36 pm
And let me make one more point that’s prompted by Aged Wolverine’s reference to sports blogs.
Based on what I’ve read about a hearing today in WVU’s case against Rodriguez, Rodriguez may have outsmarted himself by having Michigan agree to pay his buyout with WVU. The argument by WVU is that if Rodriguez was concerned enough with the buyout to provide for its payment by UM, then how he can argue that it’s unenforceable?
Rodriguez might be closer to having to pay $4 million than I thought. Garrison’s implosion isn’t giving Rodriguez much to work with.
June 23, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Lou, what is MG’s total compensation?
June 23, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Hardesty’s salary is slightly more than Garrisons–$232k base vs. $225k base. That’s after being president since 1995. Seems like Garrison has a very sweet and undeserved deal. WVU saved a whole $7K in exchange for ruining its credibility and running most of the top (experienced) administrators out of their jobs. Good work Garrison!
June 23, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Lou:
thanks for that salary information.
I wonder if there is a retired nun former college president out there somewhere. If her superior orders her to run WVU, she would do it, and do it right. That kind of interim would be real missionary work. Straight to heaven with that gig!
June 23, 2008 at 6:43 pm
And what was David Hardesty’s starting salary? He made a long commitment to WVU, leaving only when the Governor wanted him to be moved out.
June 23, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Garrison’s contract can be accessed through http://dailymail.com/News/200805210163
It specifies that his annual salary is $255,000. Of that amount, $22,500 is paid by the WVU Foundation. The supplemental retirement plan that Hardesty had is something that you had to work a certain number of years to be eligible for; I don’t remember if it was 5 or 10 years. Thus, Garrison should not be getting that.
June 23, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Steph, a former nun who would run things right would be heaven, wouldn’t it? And I’m not Catholic. We should be so lucky.
June 23, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Perhaps it should be kept “all in the family” like so many other positions in Charleston and around the state.
Lets see if A James Manchin will take the job as WVU president.
He could not do any worse than Garrison.
June 23, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Lou:
We could be nuns for coffee - and it’s time to start the 7-day countdown for the BOG transition! Let’s meet at the Good Counsel Friary this time.
Best thing about nuns - they’ll follow the rules almost to the death, and anyone who doesn’t - punishment is their middle name.
sorry to any nuns on the blog, but you know this is true.
June 23, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Nuns at the Friary it is. I’ll head about later tonight and see if I can find a habit.
June 23, 2008 at 6:56 pm
But Steph and Lou are men
June 23, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Well, for as close to a nun as you can get, we have the Interim Provost. And as you said, “Best thing about nuns - they’ll follow the rules almost to the death, and anyone who doesn’t - punishment is their middle name.
June 23, 2008 at 7:02 pm
That doesn’t mean that we can’t wear nun outfits. What could be a better disguise for a man The old fashioned kind only showed your face. If we pluck our eyebrows and put on a little lip gloss, no one will even guess that we aren’t women.
Can you use pliers to pluck your eyebrows? If not, I need to add to my evening shopping list.
June 23, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Lou, go light a candle and drip the wax on your eyebrows. Let harden and pull off the wax. You’ll get a cleaner look. The pain will be gone next week.
June 23, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Steph and Lou are men. What gave it away? Were you at Starbucks this morning, Looselips? Besides, it doesn’t even matter if you want to be a nun, for crying out loud.
I’m just getting a good laugh thinking of nuns reading HK.
(Lou - we have got to be more careful with spreading the misinformation. Maybe we should start trying to infiltrate the BOG - tell them we are presidential CPA’s or something like that.)
June 23, 2008 at 7:08 pm
I always thought Lou was a man and Steph was a woman. And I thought Aged Wolverine was a man. And Steph and Wolverine seemed to be flirting. And then Steph talked about doing Dad duty. I am so confused.
June 23, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Threading is the best way to do eyebrows. Not every one knows how to do it. But it’s better than wax
June 23, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Good idea, Molly’s Mom. But that’s a lot of trouble to thin eyebrows when our next outfit is an Afghan burkha. Lou and I are lucky that womens’ clothing affords so many neat disguises. It will be time for cowboys soon enough.
All this hiding and secrecy - I wonder who the interim propsects have been, or if anything even got to the point of a meeting. Lots of phones slamming?
Another plus for nun presidents - vows of poverty.
June 23, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Steph, the candle wax and threading has me scared. Let’s not meet tomorrow but wait until Wednesday in hopes that I can my brows professionally down.
June 23, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Lou, if you want to be part of the HK blog, you need to toughen up. Professionally done or not, it will hurt like hell.
Anyone know Jeff Wakefield, the WVU atty now reporting on the Rodriguez ruling by Judge Stone?
June 23, 2008 at 7:26 pm
In 2006 (his last full year as president), Hardesty made $279,063 (Lang made $231k). This is from the State Auditor’s report.
(Seriously, you people ought to look the facts up before you blather. The difference between a blogging fool and a learned commenter is just a handful of keystrokes.)
Before criticizing Hardesty, one does need to remember what the campus looked like when he started and when he left. A lot happened in “Morganhole” during his 12 years.
No president can solve all problems or be loved by all of his employees. But you have to give the guy credit for doing some good. He left the place better off than he found it.
I will say this about hiring Hardesty. Because he had a soft spot in his heart and probably always dreamed of being the WVU president, he took the job for less pay than anyone in his peer group would have accepted. And he never forced commensurate raises because everyone knew he wasn’t going to leave and apply for the presidency of another university.
This has led to “running things on the cheap” for the past 14 years. Now WVU is looking at playing catch up with its salary schedule.
WVU typically offers professors and instructors applying for teaching positions a starting pay of 70% to 90% of the AVERAGE professorial pay in its peer group of universities. As for WVU professors who hold endowed chairs and make up to $200k, Dr. Stanley Fish (Oregon) recently commented in the CHE that $200k was on the “low end” for a chair.
Just to match average faculty pay levels offered by peer group institutions, WVU is looking at a significant expense. Raising tuition by 7%–9% annually won’t make up the difference.
Welcome to the real world where real people make real money.
Had Hardesty served a typical 5 year stint, WVU would be looking at hiring Hardesty’s third successor in the near future. A pay rate of $400k to $500k wouldn’t look so extravagant when compared to MG’s current salary because each of Hardesty’s successors would have gotten big bumps.
One final point: It looks more and more like MG will get a one-year severance payout. That means MG will have made $500k for his one (disastrous) year in office. Such irony!
June 23, 2008 at 7:32 pm
I can think of two assholes in West Virginia: Joe Manchin and Hippie Killer.
Both of them are clowns in the same circus.
June 23, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Steph and Lou:
I put on my old habit just for old time’s sake and it fit. What a superior mother am I!
As for the next prez, we might be following baseball’s lead were we to pick someone like Judge Landis, who served as commissioer of Baseball following the Black Soz scandal of 1919. He squeezed the poweful owners into giving him some measurable power for the office.
Sadly, I note that the author of EIGHT MEN OUT died this month.
June 23, 2008 at 7:38 pm
http://www.wvmetronews.com/index.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=25207
Molly’s Mom - here is a report on today’s RR activity. It had been said on another thread that WVU is using 6 lawyers on this case. RR often does look and act gullible, but WVU may soon be proving that he knew what he was doing all along.
June 23, 2008 at 7:57 pm
inthetrenches -
you are a sight for sore eyes. It’s about time you got back form Tokyo. Lou and I were just thinking of wimping out, but personally - I’ve seen plenty of nuns with bushy eyebrows.
I guess I gave myself away with my “dad duty” comment on father’s day. You can’t fool me with your superior mother act - you gave yourself away with the sports trivia.
My poor 8 kids - I’ll have to sit them down and explain a lot of things.
Anyway - I think some ambitious and creative prez prospect could be in the driver’s seat, up to a point.
BTW - somebody tell john doe #21 that we didn’t sign on for his mid term exam. Look up whatever you want john. Some of us have been doing nothing but all darned day. I’m too tired to even read yours.
ITT - Lou and I didn’t even get to picking out names this time. We have to stay with the theme - exhorbitant salaires.
June 23, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Jontex: You have some bad manners. We loooove Hippie Killer.
June 23, 2008 at 7:59 pm
And it’s good HK didn’t see that or he would say, F-you
June 23, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Jontex: The judge says that the punishment for your crime is to hit the DONATE button
June 23, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Looselips -
punishments?
you must be a nun! DONATE - very good, or eternal bingo.
June 23, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Jontex, all viewpoints are welcome on HK.
Go to your room.
June 23, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Yeh, I’m a nun alright, and when I get to heaven, the three people I wish most to meet are Hippie Killer, Lou, and Steph
June 23, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Well maybe Lawbot, too
June 23, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Hardesty= political hack under a different governor.
Still part of the problem.
June 23, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Looselips - if you can help us come up with some good nun names, you’re in. You don’t even have to wait until you are in heaven (meaning you’d be dead.)
Something catchy like, Sister Kickback, or Mother Slushfund, things like that.
Keep in mind that since we are always in disguise, none of us know if we are male or female at all. You can’t tell by off hand comments on a blog. We are just as confused as you!
Now - presidential salaries - I wonder how long the list will get of people all across America saying “you can’t pay me enough . . . ”
Seriously, I cannot even imagine how any member of this BOG is even broaching the subject.
June 23, 2008 at 8:34 pm
The BOG is probably quaking in their boots (Jimmie Choos?) worried that they won’t choose a suitable person for the MOB. If they were smart, they would consult Boyd Edwards, or Mark Perone, or that Brazilitis guy
June 23, 2008 at 8:35 pm
choose a person suitable to the MOB
June 23, 2008 at 8:45 pm
choose a suitable MOB-ster
June 23, 2008 at 8:48 pm
This is really ironic for the BOG - the very quality and potential they hope to use to lure a prospect will be with MIR - the group they tried to portray as a mob. If a presidential prospect believes there is a chance for rapport and productivity with a quality faculty - they may go for it. It sure won’t be because of the quality work and standards of the governor or his appointees. What’s scary is not knowing who else they may have in back pockets to fill the interim.
June 23, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Lou, do you know who turned down the interim?
June 23, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Stepph:
Is “back pockets” a euphemism for a storage hole on the backside?
June 23, 2008 at 8:57 pm
inthetrenches -
Back Pockets seems to be a euphemism for whatever you want it to be!
June 23, 2008 at 9:06 pm
If I get to be in the circus with Joe, does that mean I get to share some of the money he’s going to get for repealing the pop tax? Just a little is all it would take to shut me up.
And regardless of the accomplishments people attribute to Hardesty, that does nothing to change that fact that he was a crony tax lawyer with no qualifications for the job.
One of the primary reasons people argued against his appointment is that regardless of the job he’d do, it would set a bad precedent.
And here we are.
June 23, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Looselips, I join Steph in hoping that we don’t have to go to heaven to meet. I’m not quite ready for that.
Steph, I’ve been out looking and there is not a habit to be found in the stores of Morgantown. So our coffee will have to wait for a habit and my eyebrows.
The names I’ve heard are at least third-hand but here goes: Gaston Caperton, Charles Vest, John Fisher and Gene Budig. Joshua Austin said in a thread a week or more ago that Caperton had indicated he wasn’t going to be a knight in shining armor for this issue and that’s apparently what he said. Vest isn’t surprising; why would he give up his National Academy job for this? Fisher has made quite clear that he is not interested.
Budig is the one that I’ve heard they are continuing to press, even though he apparently said no. His son works for UHA and I believe he has grandchildren in town. However, it’s been a long time since he lived here. Since he was involved with baseball, Looslips may have been prophetic at 7:36.
I know that none of these are new names. My source, however, says that the information comes from a BOG member. I’ve had two sources report Budig. I can’t imagine how they could make it attractive to him, though. For those who don’t know him, I found a profile at http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/mlb/al/budig.html
Another source indicates that he currently lives in South Carolina.
June 23, 2008 at 9:26 pm
he was only 38 when he became president of WVU
June 23, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Fisher is NOT of the caliber required for the job. No national credentials whatsoever from what I’ve seen. Put him there and good candidates will take it as a sign of “here we go again”.
June 23, 2008 at 9:56 pm
I am far more worried about our ability to attract an interim president than I am a permanent president. If we keep the pressure on so the BOG can’t stack a presidential search committee and have qualifications like ‘must be qualified to be a tenured professor” as well as the usual ones, I think we’ll get someone.
But why would anyone serve as interim? There will be an interim provost, very, very inexperienced at that role, not terribly familiar with the General University and, given her age (73 or 74?), likely limited energy. There is an interim vice president for the HSC who is far more experienced but with the R & V contract and the limited confidence in him people have expressed on this site, facing significant problems. So the interim president will not have a team on which he/she can rely.
There’s no future in the role. No one who wants the position on a permanent basis would take the job, given the risks inherent in it. Assuming Manchin is re-elected, do you think he’s going to provide additional funds for WVU? We’ll be lucky not to have a bid budget cut. Why would you take the job?
The best I’m hoping for is a caretaker who will do no further harm. But we may not even be able to find that.
June 23, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Having internet problems here…wanted to follow up what I was saying earlier.
It makes perfect sense to keep the “natives from getting restless”. I commented several times lately about seeing comments like “who cares, everyone does it” and “I dont care…he signed Huggy” pertaining to Garrison.
Man… that is some crafty chit if ya think about it on Manchin and companies part.
Keep em happy with sports(students and locals), provide a party atmosphere while students are here(who cares if they learn anything…outsiders are bringing money into state), rinse and repeat…luring in as many as possible. The appeal of a party/successfull sports school does sell, I would imagine, to those lacking the common sense God gave a pizz ant.
Up until the Bresch scandal, a degree from WVU meant the same as one anywhere else basically. There wasnt the stigma behind a degree’s origin.
In the meantime leaders are using WVU in matters of land/grants/etc to line pockets besides.
Hell of a way to build a mini-empire eh?
By not taking advantage of ways to grow academic departments, makes me consider this type of scenario. Anyone serious about a school would be adding to departments etc…not worrying about giving Huggy a lifetime contract after 1 season(ala Charlie Weiss at ND).
Maybe it is the vicos talking my friends, but if I ever saw something crooked in my life, it would have to be what is going on with your university and its leaders.
And there are so many that ignore the signs.
I feel bad for those on this blog. RR may not be what we are accustomed to, but for the most part when I mention having attended Michigan I am proud. Nothing to be ashamed of, even if it was only the Flint campus.
That is why I stand behind you guys…cause not only do you have to face the crooks, but the idiots that buy into the BS they are selling…all in an effort to take anything negative away from something you all obviously luv :)
June 23, 2008 at 11:44 pm
Hippie Killer in the months that I have read this blog, you consitently seem to have a problem with the salaries many people make. The facts are that major money is oftentimes required to attract good employees. Given the mess that WVU is in, it may very well require $400,000 or above to get the right individual.
I understand from your political view this doesn’t make sense, but it is reality. Unfortunately in WV, too many people like yourself always believe that every high paid employee is a crook, lazy, or a political crony. Success is not valued in WV. WV salaries from the top to bottom are below the national average. When you argue that we can attract top rate talent without paying top rate salaries, you sound just like Joe Manchin.
June 23, 2008 at 11:44 pm
Since Budig hasn’t lived in Morgantown for a while, might we tempt him back with the knowledge that we now have a Target and a Best Buy?
June 24, 2008 at 12:22 am
hey santa’s helper……it would take me twice that amount…….mercenary?……no……realistic yes……….its what folks make outside of west virginia………so again tell me why someone would want to come back?……
June 24, 2008 at 12:23 am
while the mountains are beautiful, and the people are nice……………………..
June 24, 2008 at 5:27 am
santaslittlehelper -
If I were a broom sweeper and stole from the customers and cheated my boss- my boss would also have a problem about paying me minimum wage. And then I would be fired. And then maybe someone else who really needed the job and was honest and deserved it - perhaps they would get it, and rebuild the customer base using trust, respect, and honesty. Minimum wage can also be too much to pay for what money really can’t buy - credibility. Academic integrity is an abstraction, not a commodity. And in WV, every high paid employee has about 1 chance to prove they are not a crook. Who on this blog has been unfairly ID’d as such? I’d like to know.
June 24, 2008 at 5:28 am
RR on front page
http://www.wvmetronews.com/index.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=25207
BoB mum
http://olive.dominionpost.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=RFBvc3QvMjAwOC8wNi8yNCNBcjAwMTAy&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
June 24, 2008 at 5:29 am
Manchin’s BOG list
http://olive.dominionpost.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=RFBvc3QvMjAwOC8wNi8yNCNBcjAwNDAw&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
June 24, 2008 at 5:30 am
As reported earlier on Hippie Killer (by I forget whom it was with the gift of prophecy), it appears to be Carolyn Long, Braxton County school superintendent, who will succeed Goodwin, per this morning’s Charleston Gazette:
http://wvgazette.com/News/200806230641
June 24, 2008 at 5:33 am
MIR Letter
http://olive.dominionpost.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=RFBvc3QvMjAwOC8wNi8yNCNBcjAxMDAw&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
June 24, 2008 at 5:36 am
RR again
http://olive.dominionpost.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=RFBvc3QvMjAwOC8wNi8yNCNBcjAxMDAw&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
June 24, 2008 at 5:40 am
For all I know, Long and Devono may be saints and future Nobel Laureates. But a county school superintendent could be easily subjected to political pressures, especially in this state, no?
Also, and forgive me if this sounds “elitist,” but…on the face of it, being a county school superintendent isn’t terribly impressive sounding in light of the situation a deeply troubled research institution now finds itself in, is it?
June 24, 2008 at 5:41 am
thanks ex-Button for the link.
June 24, 2008 at 5:51 am
You’re most welcome, Steph. And thank you in return for all you do. BTW, I think “Hmmmm” answered the question you asked me on Saturday morning better than I might have. I appreciated her/his additional insights to some topics I raised and you sought more info on.
Just a thought on this Long business…It strikes me as a fairly clever move in the post-Hillary world we live in to appoint a woman as Goodwin’s successor. Now, please, don’t anyone get me wrong. One of my dogs would be an improvement over him, but indulge me in this non PC observation: it’s hard to oppose the appointment of a woman. That being said, I know next to nothing about her and it may well be that she has the independence that’s needed for BoG chair just now. But, on the face of it, I wonder. Hope others can shed some light on this.
June 24, 2008 at 5:54 am
http://olive.dominionpost.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=RFBvc3QvMjAwOC8wNi8yNCNBcjAwMTAz&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
I seem to have got my front pages shuffled this morning. Here is the Dominion Post front article on RR
June 24, 2008 at 6:00 am
If Devono’s in play for a WVU governing board appointment, I’m reminded of an old Beatles’ song: “When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me.”
The governor seems to have a real penchant for appointing ethnically familiar members of the Marion/Mon/Harrison County “Mafia” to high state positions, doesn’t he?
June 24, 2008 at 6:04 am
ex-Button:
I barely recall my questions, and unless “HMMMM” is on this thread, I can’t go through the haystack. But thanks for remembering.
HK did some little bios on BOG -more than once I’m sure, and I don’t recall the ties with Carolyn Long. I’m sure things will be brought up now that it’s practically “official.”
I had to laugh at the article today about the BOG appointments, something about “the governor has to appoint hundreds of people to many boards.” What a job that must be - raking yourself over the coals to make sure so many people are REALLY his crony. It’s time for the first press conference with the new BOG for the new members to raise their hands and just tell us - “I am not a crook.”
In my committee experience, the chair is often the only one without a good excuse to not weasel out of the job, and someone has to do it. That could be all there is to it. At this point, “anybody but another lawyer” is a refreshing change.
June 24, 2008 at 6:11 am
Now I’ve done it - I know many excellent lawyers, relatives, even. It’s the political connections that ruin everyone in the WV backyard.
June 24, 2008 at 6:22 am
There is a WVU editorial in the Charleston Gazette, but the site must be very busy. Maybe someone can post the link soon.
I was looking to see if the gazette had a parallel article about Manchin’s BOG list - I don’t see it - Dominio Post generated this. Devono being suggested would be local news.
RipeDogUrine -
the article does not state that anyone has been appointed by the governor yet. The list appearing in the article has to be tiny in comparison to the emails the governor has recevied.
June 24, 2008 at 6:26 am
Steph: “In my committee experience, the chair is often the only one without a good excuse to not weasel out of the job, and someone has to do it. That could be all there is to it. At this point, “anybody but another lawyer” is a refreshing change.”
Damn fine insight, though I would offer this: Goodwin certainly wasn’t a toothless BoG chair. He was the horse-whip master and stage-coach driver. (I’m thinking here of one of those old 1930s horror films where a frightening vassal transports innocents from a fearful country village to the Castle of the Lord somewhere in deepest Transylvania.)
But I suspect you’re right. Given the current post-Garrison political climate, it’s considered better to go with someone vanilla and unthreatening rather than another Ghoulish Specter With Fangs From The Land of the Un-Dead.
And, if that’s the case, color me less than impressed but nevertheless maybe marginally encouraged because Long as BoG chair may mean–and I emphasize the word “may”–that the BoG/Charleston Powers That Be are on the defensive.
For now, anyway.
Like you, I spat up some morning coffee in laughter, too, when I read Tiny Lara’s comment to the effect of, heck, what do you want? He’s got to appoint hundreds of people to many boards.
Yeah, right, like in these circumstances BoG appointments are like filling vacancies on the board supervising funeral directors.
June 24, 2008 at 6:28 am
Today’s to do list is at http://garrisonmustgo.com/
June 24, 2008 at 6:29 am
Here’s the link to the editorial:
http://wvgazette.com/Opinion/Editorials/200806230518
Steph, RipeDogUrine used the crucial word “if” in relation to the Devono speculation.
June 24, 2008 at 6:30 am
Here’s the Gazette editorial link.
WVU: Nothing changed?
http://www.wvgazette.com/Opinion/Editorials/200806230518
June 24, 2008 at 6:34 am
And what an editorial it is! Here’s a snippet:
“In other words, the same politics-laced board, cozy with Manchin, is proceeding to choose an interim president, then a permanent president, in the same manner that it chose Garrison. And it has authority to give millions of taxpayer dollars as salaries to all the central figures in the scandal: Garrison, Chief of Staff Craig Walker, ex-Provost Gerald Lang, ex-business Dean Stephen Sears, ex-general counsel Alex Macia and ex-communications chief Bill Case.
This week, the Board of Governors is to change slightly. Manchin is to fill three vacancies before June 30. And the board’s members are to choose a successor for departing Chairman Stephen Goodwin. Will these alterations bring any improvement, or will the board the same “political animal” as before?”
June 24, 2008 at 6:37 am
Thanks again, Lou. Sorry to miss everyone this morning, but we can’t very well go public in disguise unless we are “good to go.”
ex-Button:
A little more coffee and maybe I’ll find your mystery answers to the questions I have forgotten.
Meanwhle
There is some reason for a little hope with a new BOG chair, and I don’t want to be unfair to Long, since I remember nothing about her.
Goodwin is a good example of the person who is more than willing to take the job, and probably be thanked profusely for not weaseling out of the job, and doing “all that work” for everyone else. At least, that is what my committee experience tells me. Then at some point, even with huge disagreement, the “consensus” takes over, since no one else wants the responsibility.
The best thing Long can do is open some doors and put a stop to the consensus pressure - even the Supreme Court publicizes their votes along with published dissent - it changes nothing about the final decision. A lot of healthy changes are called for.
As for Manchin picking his board members - makes you wonder if he got some of the names and boards mixed up in the past. It’s just a shame that any family has to go through all this every time there is an opening on a board.
I’m heading over to GMG to check out my list.
June 24, 2008 at 6:40 am
I was curious how other schools handled the transition. A quick google search suggests, that they did so with a little more planning. For example, on the day that Harvard’s president announced that he would step down from his position, the INTERIM President was named. Imagine that… they actually had a plan worked out!
See: http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=511467
June 24, 2008 at 6:44 am
This observation: since the politically crucial ‘03/04 time frame, the Gazette has gone out of its way to give Joe and his crowd more than the editorial benefit of the doubt.
Until now, that is.
Almost sounds like Hippie Killer himself is writing their editorials these days.
Here’s to the Charleston Gazette’s editorial board and to the Morgantown Dominion Post!
June 24, 2008 at 6:46 am
Love that gazette editorial -
we need to keep seeing those names again and again. This scandal has so many sides to it that each one is hoping they’ll be forgotten. And the possible lawsuits - I am one of a number of people who also contacted the state investigative unit. Sometimes “deafening silence” means a lot is going on. We can only hope.
And the cost of the Independant Panel was a bargain in comparison to the costs STILL being paid. This entire group was censured by the panel for gross failings, and nothing has been done yet.
Hey -
Someone posted (I think) that some students went back to WVU to obtain diplomas WITHOUT Garrison’s signature? Any more word on that?
Now there is a grassroots move that would get headlines.
June 24, 2008 at 6:51 am
Steph, I’m too lazy to post the link. It was in the thread dealing with Rodriguez/Vic Sprouse. I had said there is speculation that Garrison and others may have played nefarious roles in the undoing of Governor Wise, the Great E-Mailer who ultimately (and literally) screwed himself out of meaningful political life.
You asked a good follow-up question, the wording of which I didn’t understand. I subsequently took a weekend break from Hippie Killer. In the meantime, Mr/Ms “Hmmmm” answered your question and added to my initial speculation in interesting ways.
June 24, 2008 at 6:56 am
I’d like to add something else from another Hippie Killer thread. It has to do with Joshua Austin’s stated desire for some kind of consensus of where those seeking practical, formally elucidated reforms should go based on his (naive, in my opinion) sincere conversations with a Bog member. Does anyone disagree substantially with this procedure which Pete Kalis propounded on the Charleston Gazette op-ed page on May 25?
http://wvgazette.com/Opinion/Op-EdCommentaries/200805240262
Peter J. Kalis
When Garrison leaves, WVU must reform search process
With the announcement that Mr. Goodwin will relinquish the chairmanship of the Board of Governors in July, there is a glimmer of hope that our beloved university - West Virginia’s best hope for a prosperous future - can be rescued from the cynical political forces that have enveloped it and that strangled its last presidential search.
With the announcement that Mr. Goodwin will relinquish the chairmanship of the Board of Governors in July, there is a glimmer of hope that our beloved university - West Virginia’s best hope for a prosperous future - can be rescued from the cynical political forces that have enveloped it and that strangled its last presidential search.
The next necessary step is President Garrison’s resignation or removal. Let’s assume that either he or the Board of Governors is willing to do what’s right for the university and reflect for a moment on the post-Garrison world at WVU.
It will begin with a search for Mr. Garrison’s successor. The last search was widely condemned for its nakedly political and anti-academic focus. Unless there is a very strong signal that the new search will meet acceptable standards and focus on the merits of the candidates rather than on their political bedmates, we can expect no better a result than the one that led to Mr. Garrison’s appointment. Moreover, given the stench that has surrounded the university for the last year, the likelihood of able candidates throwing their hats into the ring is nonexistent unless the search process is reformed to reflect the state of the art in academia today.
The next search for a WVU president should look like this:
1. There should be no political involvement. If the governor or any other elected official insinuates himself or herself in the process, he or she should be publicly denounced by the search committee.
2. There should be no Board of Governors representation on the search committee itself. Such political control is outside the mainstream of academic search processes.
3. The search committee should be composed of four representatives of the faculty senate or the faculty at large, two academic deans from WVU, two or three Ph.D.-holding members of the Academy of Distinguished Alumni and perhaps a student representative and a staff representative.
4. The search committee should conduct its deliberations confidentially so that the privacy interests of candidates are protected. This means that there would be no “vetting” of candidates by interest groups or airing the candidates out to the press or to politicians. With the state’s unfortunately well-earned reputation for running politicized presidential searches, anything short of strict confidentiality throughout the process will be a deterrent to first-rate candidates who will not want to put their current positions at risk by publicly seeking the WVU presidency.
5. The search committee should recommend no fewer than two and no more than four acceptable candidates to the Board of Governors, which must also conduct its deliberations confidentially and without political interference. The board will announce its selection from the search committee’s list of acceptable candidates.
6. A leading national search firm with great presidential selection credentials should be retained to lend credibility and expertise to the search process, especially in light of the profound loss of credibility engendered by the last search and the sordid events that have followed. The search firm should be instructed that part of its mission is to denounce publicly any political interference in the process.
A great university is at once resilient and fragile. Its resilience will triumph over its fragility so long as it maintains a sterling reputation. WVU’s reputation has been greatly diminished by those unworthy of its mission. And now its reputation must be reclaimed for the sake of its students, faculty, staff, alumni and the state of West Virginia.
These reforms, or something closely resembling them, must be embraced if WVU stands a chance of reversing the downward spiral of the university’s reputation over the past year.
Kalis, of Pittsburgh, is a 1972 graduate of WVU and a member of the Academy of Distinguished Alumni.
June 24, 2008 at 7:01 am
ex-Button:
I vaguely remember now. You have a lot more past knowledge than I do.
It’s all I can do to get the correct headlines posted, or spell Demented Post.
Then you are finding tiny words like “IF” for me - It’s not fun to be so old and crotchety and need so much help. But I’m good at disguises! I’ll sew an extra nun’s habit just for you, and as soon as we are all ready, we’ll pick a coffee shop and sputter together.
I proclaim a board consensus that we do not tamper with our eyebrows in any fashion. Don’t even bother to comment - it’s a done deal, right men? I decided to be the chair. Lou and inthetrenches - ex-Button is my new crony, so you have to like him, OK?
June 24, 2008 at 7:04 am
ex-Button:
good re-post. I think a lot of those letters of excellence are posted on GarrisonMustGo as well, for a little more ease of review.
Who can not agree with Peter Kalis. I hope he is in this multi-faceted search-within-a-search process all the way.
June 24, 2008 at 7:10 am
Steph and others. Long’s son wrote a blistering letter in support of Garrison and against the MOB (before it was called that). I believe he was running for some office in Braxton County. There was a discussion on HK about it (don’t have time to find it this morning), but several political links were brought out. Given that, Long is NOT a good choice for Chair. It is Goodwin all over again, only not a lawyer.
Ex-button: You are absolutely correct in that school superintendents in general have very little knowledge about or interest in what a good research university should be doing. If that is the best they can do for educational experience on the BOG, we are doomed. Many have sacrificed their academic values to the whims of parents and school boards, and that is partly responsible for larger numbers of students not having a sense of personal responsibility for learning, poor study habits, and a spoon-fed attitude when they hit University.
June 24, 2008 at 7:16 am
I do not know Ms long, but I can assure you being appointed to the BOG is political in and of itself. I surmise she has some very big political connections.
June 24, 2008 at 7:32 am
horse:
If you read the law on BOG eligibility (Lou posted this somewhere), there are very few public employees in education at any level who DO qualify for a BOG. The law not only makes exception for the faculty senate rep, it also specifically lists board supers as qualified. The implication here is that anyone with a full time teaching job (at any level) does not have the time off (probably true), and has the conflict of interest.
This limits us to retirees and higher ed alumni out of state. A superintendnat may be preferable to another politically connected lawyer, and many would have more financial and business experience than a tenured faculty member. Theoretically - it could work. Time will tell.
And frankly, I don’t see how a school superintendant could be compromising their values any more than anyone we’ve seen so far at WVU. They actually have more accountability, do they not?
Not to play devil’s advocate regarding Long - who I have not looked into at all - a lot of the “let’s move on” faction are those who want very much to trust in authority (whoever it is), thereford anyone who questions it is causing dissension. Apathy and status quo can be very strong in many people who really are smart and honest enough to know better, but don’t want to see the boat rocked. It’s just denial - hoping that what they don’t know about what goes on behind closed doors won’t hurt them.
And Long’s son could have simply taken BOG criticism very personally and is defending his mother. And let’s face it - sometimes a scathing rebuttal is enough to shut the other faction up - squeaky wheel tactic. Many people as chairs or leaders get their way because everyone “doesn’t want to make them angry” or tires of oblique insults. So we can add cowardice to the apathy and status quo list.
June 24, 2008 at 7:39 am
You can find the qualifications by going to http://garrisonmustgo.com/ and finding the to do list for Friday, June 20. There is a link in that list.
June 24, 2008 at 7:40 am
Horse, good find re: Long’s son. Thank you.
June 24, 2008 at 7:47 am
yes, horse - I’d like to reread what you posted about Long. I can’t very much about her at all.
June 24, 2008 at 8:15 am
I can’t find the letter or discussion about Long and Long’s son, but that’s OK. It’s doubtful that anyone currently on BOG would make a good chair, so it’s “let’s move on” on this issue.
Who IS in a driver’s seat is any new person and any interim person. A lot is at stake, and anyone putting their reputation on the line to step into a national scandal has undefined clout, IMO. We must hope that in our “beggars can’t be choosers” state that people with integrity are not only chosen but know how to make things happen. What we don’t need are token “good guys” who say and do nothing.
June 24, 2008 at 8:49 am
Back before the Powers that be removed the thread on “Mikes Blog” about the “report”, there was a fairly long comment from a gentleman named Derek Long. Derek Long is the son of BOG member and Braxton County Schools Superintendent Carolyn Long and the late Harold V. Long, a Braxton County business man and former member of the House of Delegates. The elder Long was also a former member and chairman of the Braxton County Democratic Executive Committee
Derek Long is the owner of a “chain of convenience stores” including the Flatwoods Sunoco. He also made a recent bid for Braxton County Commissioner where he lost int the May Democratic primary to Terry Frame.
June 24, 2008 at 9:03 am
Thanks, GMG. I’m with Steph; I don’t expect much from a new chair nor did I expect the current group to pick anyone substantially different from Goodwin. We can just hope that Carolyn Long may not be as insulting of those who disagree with her as Goodwin has been.
June 24, 2008 at 9:35 am
Don’t forget that Hardesty maneuvered himself onto the Consolidation Coal Board(”so I can get some corporate overnin experience”) for 70K per year about a year before his step-down. He still serves there….part of the “energy ghetto”/ pollution angle of this whole scandal.
June 24, 2008 at 9:51 am
Thanks, GMG for the update on the Long family.
My comment about “insults” on the BOG was made more from shared committee experiences. You imply that you are aware of leadership by Goodwin that enforces consensus in the same manner. It’s so common - I would not be surprised. His own comments to the press indicicate as much, and the fact that he permitted and probably set up the public attacks on MIR at that June meeting. He has allowed all insults to the faculty to stand - and for that he is totally inadequate to even serve on that board.
And besides - let’s not lock anyone on ths BOG into a static stereotype based on old PR. Things can change, and people can rise to the occassion. Even Mike had that chance - sworn in under a vote of “no confidence.” He had a nearly glorious opportunity to change history with one stand off against princess heather. He coudln’t do it.
Hope springs eternal. A BOG member, or a delegate, or a courageous interim will come out looking like a hero for WVU at some point, and the rest of us will still look like the mob. Being part of the anonymous crowd and hoping to stay that way - it’s all fine by me.
June 24, 2008 at 9:52 am
My comments about about “insults” were directed to Lou - sorry to have left that out.
June 24, 2008 at 10:30 am
Thanks for articles Steph…
Helps me, and others like me, find the information quickly.
I didnt see the new BOG chair mentioned on Rivals today…unsure if they will bring it up. Will check for it later, and get over to scout as well.
I dont typically go to EPSN as their brds are un-moderated for the most part…so it is continual flame fest.
Anyways… a bad dream woke me up, going back to bed for a bit.
You all have a good one…will check ya later :)
June 24, 2008 at 10:41 am
Off to Vico-Land, Wolverine? Take care of yourself, and pleasant dreams. It’s good of you to subject yourself to the flame fests just to find us more information.
This male nun is now done flirting for the day.
June 24, 2008 at 11:07 am
The Daily Mail has several articles that I don’t think have been mentioned yet. The first deals with the fact that the contracts for Walker, Macia and Case expire on June 30 and asks if they will be extended.
http://www.dailymail.com/News/200806240131
The second has a link to the contracts and expense account reports.
http://www.dailymail.com/News/statenews/200806240151
The third is about possible BOG members. I think it has a longer list than did the Dominion Post.
http://www.dailymail.com/News/200806240152
June 24, 2008 at 12:28 pm
State employees and elected officials are not eligible to be on the BOG (with the exception of the elected faculty and staff members of the BOG). Many of the names on the list are not eligible.
June 24, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Wager on 1 (the people Mojo would like to appoint if he thought he could get away with it without public outcry), 2 (the people who would be really good BOG’s but who don’t have a prayer) and 3 (who will get it). Stephen Farmer is not on list? I’ll start the wagers with 1 being Stephen Farmer, again, duh!) 2 being Janis Rozena Perry, couldn’t even think Mojo “business as usual” but would have academic intergrity and cultual diversity) and 3 — I forsee one of the winners is: Jay Cole, Goodwin groomed, Mojo approved, seems academic, but thouroughly grounded in the business as usual thought policepolitic that made him) Anyone else want to venture?
June 24, 2008 at 2:32 pm
To add to what garrisonmustgo said, Long also cited the usual trite “academic radicals” in his post:
“As I read the host of negative comments toward President Garrison I was reminded why, as West Virginians we are constantly defending our position in society. Some West Virginians are scared of progress, or anything different from status quo. People are intimidated by a young, energetic, and successful University President who does not meet some cookie cutter standard a few radical academics think is a must for a successful University climate. So when any type of problem arises these radicals set out on a head hunting mission to smear President Garrison. This mentality must end! If we truly want to make our University the best it can be we must support President Garrison while he takes the nessisary steps to hold the guily parties responsible and move the University forward. Keep up the good work Mike! Derek V. Long B.S. Business Administration Little Birch, West Virginia”
June 24, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Is that really how he spelled necessary?
June 24, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Yup. Copied and pasted from the original.
June 24, 2008 at 2:59 pm
I recall gagging when I read this the first time: “People are intimidated by a young, energetic, and successful University President who does not meet some cookie cutter standard a few radical academics think is a must for a successful University climate.”
June 24, 2008 at 3:20 pm
This guy was one of the first proto-fascists who came out of the woodwork to defend MG and at the same time accuse the university faculty of being “radicals,” “pin-head” academics, “mob”, etc. If the state were full of people like him — and I know it is not — W. Va. would not even deserve a university. It sounds his university education — in CoB, if I recall correctly — did not do the young Mr. Long much good. DA did a good job in identifying this guy as a BoG member’s son.
A late, venerated WVU faculty member once said that the elites of this state resented the university because it gave them an education and let them leave the state for better job, rather than serving as uneducated, exploited labor force for the mining jobs and minimum wage jobs. Probably like this guy’s gas stations and convenience stores.
June 24, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Dear Santa’s Little Helper:
Maybe you misread my post. I said:
If it wasn’t clear enough for you, My point is that they can raise the president’s salary all they want, but that alone isn’t enough. Quality candidates will not bother applying for a job if they know that the last 2 searches were fixed. They will avoid WVU like the plague. No qualified candidate wants to be a punching bag for the next Mike Garrison.
The BOG has a long way to go towards correcting the very real perception that presidency of WVU is just another political patronage job. The president’s salary clearly needs to be raised, but simply throwing money at the problem won’t fix it.
And while I do reject the idea that the people at the top are the ONLY people entitled to top salaries, I didn’t say a goddamn thing about what the next president of WVU should or shouldn’t be paid.
Do not put words in my mouth.
June 24, 2008 at 5:12 pm
HK, read my post please…..you are exactly right……….i dont know any good candidate who would want to get into this mix……ITS ROTTEN AT THE TOP……and before that gets fixed,you’ll be left with the same crap you have been dealing with for decades…….thanks for providing this forum.it is a great outlet of human ideas!……
June 24, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Rotten at the top indeed.
June 24, 2008 at 5:17 pm
And yet, if I were qualified to be a university president and I wanted to make a mark, I might want this position. If the next president does the right thing, he/she will be heroic in the eyes of many and will have a position in history. Joan or Jonah of Arc.
June 24, 2008 at 5:26 pm
hey looselips…..that’s what WVU did for me when i was there……….and thats why i believe in its’ potential……
June 24, 2008 at 5:29 pm
clarify, did you get a position in history?
June 24, 2008 at 5:32 pm
Lou and Steph, if you are there, I was thinking about the two of you today. I was thinking you might be the same person. Or maybe you live together. That would explain why you post at the same time in the morning. Just a thought.
June 24, 2008 at 5:33 pm
I just looked at the documents posted at the Charleston Daily Mail, and one of them was Alex Macia’s contract, dated July 2007, in which he is appointed to the position of “Vice President for Legal Affairs”. Is that strange, or is it just me? I thought he had been General Counsel up until recently when he was moved to the VP position as part of the whitewashing — oops– pardon me — clean-up of the President’s Office.
June 24, 2008 at 5:34 pm
loooselips………no, not a historian at all………i just barely passed history….
June 24, 2008 at 5:37 pm
it really doesn’t matter if you are male nuns or female nuns or whether you are the same person or different persons, I’m a fan. Let’s have a party sometime. We would have to come in disguise, of course. I certainly don’t want anyone to know who I really am. It would be quite shocking.
June 24, 2008 at 5:40 pm
I just had another thought: if one were a multiple personality, a blog could be very therapeutic
June 24, 2008 at 5:43 pm
So, Looselips, if you are suggesting blogging as therapy, are you head of Chestnut Ridge?
June 24, 2008 at 5:45 pm
and is there a billing code for that therapy?……….
June 24, 2008 at 5:49 pm
no, Poe Dunk, not a shrink at all. When I was in medical school, my psychiatric rotation really confused me. I just didn’t get it: everything was sexual. The student rotating with me was told not to stroke his tie on morning rounds because it meant something. I was afraid to lick my lips.
June 24, 2008 at 5:51 pm
looselips…..so ,you went to wvu too…………..
June 24, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Looselips, we may be confused about our gender but we are not multiple personalities in one body — so far as I know. We just both happen to be early risers. Most days Steph is up and has posted by the time that I get up. I hope, too, once this is all over and we feel more comfortable reviewing who we are, we can all meet someplace. Maybe we can burn a couch in Sunnyside and welcome back the days when that was WVU’s biggest scandal.
Agatha, Macia was VP for Legal Affairs. When he started, Tom Dorer, a Harvard-educated lawyer was General Counsel. Dorer knew his presence wasn’t welcomed by MG and crew and left soon after they started; he went to a university in Connecticut or Rhode Island or someplace like that. Within the last week or so, the DP had a real estate transaction listed that suggests he recently sold his home in Morgantown.
On the WVU web site, Macia is still listed as General Counsel. See http://www.wvu.edu/~gcounsel/attorneys.html
I don’t know if anyone has been moved into the General Counsel role or if Macia is till doing what he did before that title was “removed.”
June 24, 2008 at 6:00 pm
I meant revealing who we are but I guess we can review it, too.
June 24, 2008 at 6:06 pm
its ok, Lou, I read it the way you meant it.
I have a question for the masses: How did that Sunday full page ad in the DP hit you?
June 24, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Looselips:
Settle down. Your imagination qualifies you for romance novel status.
What you have here are 2 names - I guess they are not gender specific - of people who wish to remain anonymous in the first place.
What more do you need to know, and why would you?
A couple other early risers frequent the blog - inthetrenches, and our newbie, ex-Button.
I may have natural abilites in many areas, but I can’t be THAT many people.
What kind of doctor are you? and BTW - I was not thinking of you today, and I don’t mean to be cruel. Try to compartmentalize.
Hey Lou - thanks for those links. I’m going to check them out finally. Oops, there you are, right behind me.
June 24, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Agatha, you’d make a fine “Witness for the Prosecution.” Apparently “They Do It with Mirrors” - and a whole lot of smoke too - up there at WVU.
By the way, how are your progressing with your latest novel “The Purloined Letter Grade”?
June 24, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Given the Sunday DP ad for HSC, I expect the boys to do a series of specials soon. Buy one colonoscopy, get another one free; free prostate check with coupon; coupon for BFS gas with purchase of mammogram.
Butcher has the nerve to say that putting a personal face on what is done at WVU HSC is all it will take to turn things around. And that PR will make the difference. Apparently, the other signers of the ad agree.
Dumb, dumb, and dumber. A friggin’ waste of money. Yet another quick fix.
June 24, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Thanks, Lou, for enlightening me on the fact that Macia held both titles of VP for Legal Affairs and General Counsel. I was so accustomed to hearing him described simply by the latter title that I assumed that was all there was. Do you know, was there a VP for Legal Affairs in the previous administration and what is the difference in the job descriptions?
June 24, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Okay, so maybe Butcher didn’t say that PR was the only thing that needed to be done. I exaggerated a bit. but so did he in saying that things are pretty danged good at HSC.
I’m curious about their FOIA situation. Surely, the press is after information at HSC.
June 24, 2008 at 6:29 pm
that is Butcher’s shortfall, doesnt have a clue what it takes to run a successful ANYTHING………always led a parade with no one in it…..
June 24, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Hello, Happy,
I’m stalled on my latest whodunit, “The Purloined Letter Grade,” because I got a lot of new ideas during our Clue game last week and I can’t decide on the ending. Will it end September 1 in Stewart Hall? Or in November at the polls? Or in April at the Statehouse?
June 24, 2008 at 6:33 pm
I was dismayed to see this handled with an ad. Interviews in newspaper articles are a better way to go. I wonder if Bill Case had something to do with it.
June 24, 2008 at 6:34 pm
One of his shortfalls, wvuhscex. He didn’t raise a fuss about R&V until the interim report was presented to Garrison. And now he acts as if that report is the sole problem at HSC. Fence sitting is not becoming in a leader.
June 24, 2008 at 6:35 pm
it has been a learned tactic for that man………which is something that someone with no credentials uses to survive………
June 24, 2008 at 6:35 pm
and as the Interim VP, he didnt see the report initially
June 24, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Lou:
That longer list of potential BOG folks is interesting. Do we assume this is Manchin’s short list? You know he had to have received tons more. At least there were real people to suggest. How sad that when we go to vote against him, we can only write in a protest vote, which I certainly will do. I have not decided if it will be Disney, Marvel, or an unknown real person.
Lou - please don’t give away too much - remember - there is a specific ratio of misinformation that must be maintained at all times. At this point, we have it so that any nun on the street will be followed with mumbles of “Lou, Steph, zat you?”
Rotten at the top has been echoed - with good reason. But despite our skepticism that anyone in their right mind would want the job - someone is still going to step in and do it! The reactons could be violent, vociferous, or some version of a golden calf for all I know.
At least I haven’t seen too much criticsm of any of the names so far - no one is perfect, but it’s a start. We’ll have to watch out for any “oath-taking” meetings.
June 24, 2008 at 6:42 pm
is there a leadership course that is offered at WVU?………….and dont tell me that Garrison teaches it PLEASE
June 24, 2008 at 6:43 pm
That is probably true about not seeing the interim report, wvuhscex, but don’t believe everything you hear from him.
June 24, 2008 at 6:44 pm
FYI, Tom Dorer is now at the University of Hartford, Hartford, CT.
June 24, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Agatha, I do not remember us ever having a VP for Legal Affairs before. It was my sense that Garrison wanted Macia. He had no basis for firing Dorer. So he created a new title for Macia, hoping Dorer would leave. It’s possible he told Dorer he should leave so knew that once he got a new job, Macia could be general counsel and the VP was just a basis for bringing Macia in.
Macia’s letter includes a position description, See http://dailymail.com/static/amacia.pdf/ The things the description identifies as duties and responsibilities look an awful lot like what Tom Dorer and his predecessors did.
I decided to search for the news release about Dorer leaving and found it at http://wvutoday.wvu.edu/news/page/5902/ He went to the University of Hartford and was WVU’s general counsel for five years. He was associate counsel at the University of Massachusetts for 8 years before coming to WVU. I was wrong about his education, though. His law degree was from Berkeley and he has a master’s degree from Harvard with a bachelor’s from Brown.
Clearly he was unqualified by virtue of education and experience to be WVU’s legal counsel. I can certainly understand why it was important to replace him, can’t you?
In effect, we replaced a general counsel who had specialized in higher education law with a friend of Mike’s. Macia may be a good lawyer; I don’t know. But if you look at his bio at http://www.wvu.edu/~gcounsel/attorneys.html you don’t see qualifications that suggest his speciality is higher education law.
June 24, 2008 at 6:48 pm
what kind? THE BEST
June 24, 2008 at 7:03 pm
binky @ 2:32
Thanks for the posting of the Derek Long letter. I must have missed it first time around. For some reason today, I have a gut feeling that Mrs. Long needs some latitude. As the parent of 8, I can attest to the fact that plenty of what is uttered by grown children can fly in the face of what the parent agrees with. He sounds like a Mike crony, that’s all. Mom truly cannot be held responsible for anything from offspring over age 18 (thank you, God.)
But we’ll keep our eyes on her anyway.
Lou - did you like that touch? “gut feeling?” I’m thinking over your idea about revealing ourselves. It’s been cozy each morning with the disguises, but I am fearful that we may already be enemies. I do have a few, and what if that is the case? It’s all I can do to get out of the house, after that “the enemy is us” mirror experience. A guy can only take so much.
I am impressed with your investigative talents. Today’s media focus on the “gang that couldn’t shoot straight but still collecting paychecks” is overdue. Mike could keep them on until the end of the year, and issue checks from thin air.
You and Agatha could collaborate very nicely to finish that mystery. You are both up to the challenge of having 3 possible endings.
Don’t you think we should all be proud of the diversity, quality, and imagination evident in the potential BOG list?
June 24, 2008 at 7:20 pm
believe anything i hear from BUTCHER?………ha……………i dont believe a word he says, and only believe 1/2 if i actually witness something……..he’s a spinmaster, and an expert on “how can i save my own ass” type of guy….really sad to have to live that way…………spending the majority of your academic career as a loser………..could have been different if he didnt sell his sole to the devil
June 24, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Right on, jontex–and add to the A’holes - Mountaineers for Ingrity, etc or Boyd Edwards, Mark Brazaitis and Perrone who know about the daughter in audiology who has her father on her committee–so much for faculty integrity. They won’t look into their own faculty corruption - too busy reading and wimpering on some drop out’s blog–hiding behind their little monikers. I’ll bet they’ll just drool over Lang when he returns in the fall. HYPROCRITES AND THE LEADER OF THE HYPOCRITES IS THIS BLOGGER, A COWARD WHO HIDES AND WON’T CONFRONT PEOPLE FACE TO FACE.
June 24, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Stonecold — I take it that you are not a hyprocite, so it must be real awsome to have the name stonecold on your birth certificate
June 24, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Dorer left on his own, seeing the writing on the wall. He would not serve under a windbag like Macia, and it was clear that he was not wanted since he is not a yes man by anyone’s definition. In fact, if Tom had been here, the Manchin-Bresch problem would never have occurred. He was and is a stickler for following black letter law.
June 24, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Stoner, why don’t you post your photo, name, address, employer for us to see?
June 24, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Stonecold - bitter much? Seriously, though, if there is such a conflict of interest in HR+E it should be dealt with. Such things are not uncommon in academia but nevertheless should be made right. I know some folks in speech path and they do a good job with their BS and MA programs, generating lots of enthusiastic and competent majors. I don’t know the case you mention specifically.
Anyway, if Lang were to try to come back in some administrative capacity, their would be as much wailing as about Garrison. Lang fell on his sword, purposefully or not, and is done with that. His tenure is another matter and should probably be reviewed but honestly, Sears is the one who signed his name on those grade changes. Lang just stamped them through which is bad, but not the same level as perpetrating the actual erroneous data.
June 24, 2008 at 7:37 pm
and another thing… I still feel like Lang had the nuclear option. If Garrison had held out or had tried (or if the BoG tries) to revoke his tenure, he likely still had the option to declare that Garrison directed him to give her the degree even though Lang himself told him that is was a fraud.
June 24, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Lang knew what he was doing. He always does. Do you think there will be an outcry, if he works on Bucks for Brains, as another person said here on HK?
June 24, 2008 at 7:46 pm
Stonecold, lodge your concern/complaint with the Office of Academic Integrity. See http://www.wvu.edu/~lawfac/mmcdiarmid/aic/Office%20of%20Academic%20Integrity.htm
The site suggests that you may wish to consult with the Academic Integrity Officer, Marjorie McDiarmid, before lodging a complaint. Her phone number and email address are on the site. She is a faculty member in the College of Law and as straight an arrow as you can find. If there is a basis for your complaint, she will see that appropriate action is taken.
If you’re unwilling to lodge a complaint, you have no basis for calling others hypocrites. We may use aliases on this site but because of that, you have no idea what we may be doing under our legal names. I can assure you that I have taken action to follow through on what I’ve said on this site and on Garrison Must Go.
June 24, 2008 at 8:07 pm
The important thing for selecting a new president is qualification. The salary goes with that. We need a president who understands and can manage complex academic organizations–including research and who has integrity. He or she needs to have relationships and experience with organizations like the National Academy of Sciences, the Defense Science Board, the NSF, NIH, and other research and academic organizations to help us develop into the university that we can be. It’s not a job for “wannabes” or political cronies. We’ve had enough of that. And enough interim appointments that can’t stand up to political hacks.
There is no room for Lang or Garrison or the rest of the crowd in the new WVU. Giving them positions anywhere in the university or the foundation or the research/corporation/park will just give them a power base from which to chip away at the great potential of WVU if we can just get our house in order.
Do the headcounts again of the people Garrison forced out. And now he wants to stay. He should go now out of decency–after all he kept moving Hardesty’s departure date up. The same is good enough for him and his crowd. If he truly cares about WVU, he will go. He and his crowd must go to clear the way for a new administration. !We Ourselves!
June 24, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Agatha, I really understand your dilemma. So many possible endings, so little time. But at least you’re thinking there’s going to be an ending. For those of us waiting to hear the “r” word from President Garrison, we’re not so sure.
By the way, I heard that Parker Brothers just licensed Clueless: The Mountaineer Whodunit? game. Our friends at Parker Brothers think it will be the biggest thing since Morgantown Monopoly, the game where people try to get WVU to buy their property so they can build a hotel right next to it. If you’re lucky you land on “Waterfront Place” with enough money to buy it and build a hotel on it. If you’re unlucky you land on “WVNET” and the Governor makes you sell your property to another player. The only thing missing from the Morgantown version: there’s no “Go Directly to Jail, Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect Millions of Dollars” card.
I was especially disappointed to hear that Parker Brothers expressed no interest in the Stewart Hall version of Sorry! though. They didn’t like it that everyone in Stewart Hall seemed to move forward, never backwards, in our version despite resignations and reassignments. Plus they didn’t think the name was realistic because no one in Stewart Hall ever seemed to be Sorry!
June 24, 2008 at 8:15 pm
Agreed, Lou
As for the committee situation stonecold mentioned - committee activity is part of a student’s private record, and the committee is answerable to the graduate committee of that school if at all. More than the minimum can be selected for a committee. In that case, not all are required to vote. Committee members also determine their level of involvement, high or low. Really, only another committee member can file a complaint about another committee member. The student has the right to simply change the membership. In full s