April 22, 2008

Panel Finds That West Virginia U. Erred in Awarding M.B.A. to Governor's Daughter

An independent panel has concluded that West Virginia University administrators erred in retroactively awarding a degree to the daughter of the state’s governor, according to a source quoted in today’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The panel found that the governor’s daughter, Heather M. Bresch, did not earn the M.B.A. she received, the newspaper said.

The Post-Gazette’s inquiry into the degree awarded to Ms. Bresch, a top executive at the pharmaceutical company Mylan, followed a Securities and Exchange Commission filing last year in which Mylan included a short biography of Ms. Bresch. The document said she had received an M.B.A. from West Virginia University.

Reporters at the newspaper called the university to confirm the degree, and were initially told that Ms. Bresch remained several credits short of an M.B.A. Administrators later said she had obtained the degree, raising concerns about whether she had enjoyed favorable treatment, especially since the university’s president, Michael S. Garrison, worked directly with Ms. Bresch for several years when he served as a lobbyist for Mylan, whose owner is a major university benefactor. Mr. Garrison and Ms. Bresch also were classmates at the university.

In an interview two weeks ago with the Associated Press, Ms. Bresch insisted that she had earned the degree, after receiving academic credit for her workplace experience.

The report of the five-member panel has not been made public. Federal privacy laws may prevent its release if it deals with the academic record of a student. Ms. Bresch has told university officials they do not have her permission to release her records, according to the Post-Gazette. —JJ Hermes

Update: For more on the report, see an article in Thursday’s Chronicle.

Comments

1. Pittsburgh Post Gazette Changed the term “erred” to “acted improperly”

   — FPoff    Apr 22, 03:46 PM    #

2. At this point it is Ms. Bresch’s responsibility to answer the charge and she can do that only by releasing her records. Otherwise her degree should be publically rescinded.

   — William Allin Storrer    Apr 22, 04:08 PM    #

3. This latest incident reflects the poor state of affairs in the President’s Office. It is hard to imagine (although I am sure there is deniability) that no one in that office was involved. A controversial selection in the first place, and now a handful of episodes of poor decision-making—someone needs to right the ship!

   — omg    Apr 22, 04:20 PM    #

4. This lady is clearly going to have to disclose the facts – it just depends on how big a black eye she wants to create first by stonewalling. I know that my institution does not grant credit for workplace experience, and unless WVU makes a regular practice of doing so, the degree should be retracted. If WVU does this on a regular basis, then my guess is that the degree will probably stand.

   — Al    Apr 22, 04:23 PM    #

5. This is an insult to every student that juggled job(s), home and school in order to get a degree. Where are their ethics?

   — Janet A.    Apr 22, 04:44 PM    #

6. She claimed that when she “secured” her degree 10 years ago, her father wasn’t governor, etc. But that statement is disingenious. He WAS governor when she was caught CLAIMING to have earned an MBA. Anyone whose father wasn’t governor, and whose boss wasn’t a large contributor to UWV, would have backed down and acknowledged it was a misunderstanding on her part.

   — Martha    Apr 22, 04:57 PM    #

7. Here is the first mistake:

   Reporters at the newspaper called the university to confirm the degree, and were initially told that Ms. Bresch remained several credits short of an M.B.A.

   That information is FERPA protected.

   — wgw    Apr 22, 05:03 PM    #

8. WVU president Garrison was a classmate of hers and served on the WVU board of governors with her. She apparently voted to offer Garrison the presidency aafter he resigned from the board and so he owed her. No wonder she called her cards in.
   Garrison was previously a local attorney in a small office who lobbied the legislature and worked for her father for a while when he was first elected. God only in WV could this happen.

   — james smith    Apr 22, 05:12 PM    #

9. That Bresch didn’t earn her degree won’t be a surprise to most of us. She’s not the first dishonest student ever to have attended WVU and won’t be the last. The real problem is how the university’s highest administrators lied and fabricated about this case, in blatant disregard of academic integrity. In light of what we now know to be true — that Bresch did NOT complete the requirements for her degree, note the following synthesis of the chronology compiled by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

   On the afternoon of Thurs Oct 11, the PPG was told by the WVU registrar that Bresch had not earned her degree. Less than three hours later, the registrar phoned the PPG back to say that President Garrison’s office was looking into the issue and “would entertain a call.”

   On Friday the 12th, Craig Walker (Garrison’s chief of staff), Gerald Lang (University Provost), and Cy Logar (associate dean in the business school) had several meetings about the matter. Paul Speaker (the former director of the EMBA program, whom Bresch later claimed to have approved the “credits for work experience” deal) was never contacted in the course of these discussions.

   The dean of the business school (Steven Sears) was unable to meet with anyone about this until Monday morning at the earliest. On Monday Oct 15, at 12:48 PM, Bill Case (communications officer) told university spokeswoman Amy Neil that a message to the PPG had been approved by Lang and Bresch, and was awaiting final approval from Sears. Before Sears gave this approval, at 1:30 PM, Neil called the PPG back and declared that “based on verified university records, she has completed her degree.”

   On Wed Oct 17, Walker asked Sears and Case to draft a letter to Admissions and Records confirming that Bresch had completed the MBA degree, so that a copy of that letter could be faxed to the PPG. On Tues Oct 23, WVU faxed to the PPG a copy of a letter sent by Sears to Admissions and Records that blamed the business school for having failed to transfer Bresch’s records to Admissions and Records.

   On December 14, Lang wrote in an email statement that record transfer mistakes in the Bresch case had been “appropriately corrected” and declared that there was “no reason to pursue this matter further.” Lang later declared that he didn’t know whether Bresch had completed the requirements for a degree, and that there was a 50-50 chance that she had not. If he didn’t know whether she had earned the degree, why did he approve the university spokeswoman’s statement of Oct 15 that “based on verified university records, she has completed her degree”?

   The bottom line is that the president, his chief of staff, the provost, and the business school dean, and others have all acted dishonestly and compromised the academic integrity of the university. The best way to salvage what little academic prestige remains for WVU is for them all to resign.

   — amos    Apr 22, 05:26 PM    #

10. Just another example of power and money corrupting our society.

    — Bill    Apr 22, 05:51 PM    #

11. Ironic (or appropriate) that the only truthful statement WVU made on this issue is termed a “mistake.”

    — Robert    Apr 22, 05:52 PM    #

12. Amos (#9): if what you have provided is correct (and I have no reason to think otherwise), then I agree with your conclusion that “the best way to salvage what little academic prestige remains for WVU is for them all to resign.” If they choose not to act honorably and resign, then the Board of Trustees should review the matter — and assuming your facts are correct — and then dismiss all involved, to include the president, chief of staff, provost, and business school dean.

    — Bob    Apr 22, 05:58 PM    #

13. Sounds like a witch hunt. Workplace experience is much better than many university units which in many cases do not deal with the real world. She has shown equivalence and any university worth anything grants credit for DOING!! Many of our practicing engineers have received a lot of credits for work experience and DOING, so universities which do not offer it would be of very dubious nature. They are probably making engineers take courses where they know and are much more experienced than the young academics who are not Professional Engineers. You can only learn so much by taking units. There is an old saying which still holds very true: those who can do, those who cannot teach. She has shown she is more qualified than many so-called course work MBAs by DOING. I would hire her over the course work MBAs any day. By the way the first generation academics of almost all new fields do not have degrees in their new disciplines. They create the new disciplines: biochemistry, molecular biophysics, quantum nanobiology, and bioinformatics, to name just a few. Many universities do not have these as separate departments, but as units in the traditional departs of biology, chemistry, physics and computer science, In Moscow there are three separate and distinct biophysics schools. But the best practicing quantum nanobiologists are those who create the new discipline, not those who have degrees. They are the one show spend useless hours debating which new units to add and degree programs, all the while the researchers who are pushing the new field are DOING research, publishing their results and becoming editors for the new journals.

    Those with so-called MBA degrees are responsible for stuffing up our economy pretty good. It would be nice to fire large numbers of them, and replace them with those who have learned by doing. Many companies have fetishes for degrees from certain universities, the most famous was Enron. And we know what those MBAs were worth. As much as your current stock in Enron.

    — Karl    Apr 22, 06:57 PM    #

14. Listen Karl , The Harvard Business SChool has had intensive on campus programs for executives in business for decades. It was and is an excellent program.
    It is true that the degree or certificate has been corrupted over the years by on line for profits and regional universities with few standards in reality.
    However, this is the worst case of fabrication I have ever heard of and the fact that she promoted and voted for Garrison, a totally unqualified person for the job, then demanded he award her a degree she was unable to claim for ten years is a sign of total corruption. When Garrison decided in a half day to “fix the problem” he showed his true colors and true character. There is more to come in this an several other areas including the athletic program which is being tried in court. In that case he will not release his emails and notes to the person the university is wrongfully suing. What a corrupt administration.

    — james smith    Apr 22, 07:08 PM    #

15. This is all so very sad. WVU has so much to be proud of and it has been totally tarnished by this gang of fools. It also tarnishes all of our degrees. If they have any honor the entire leadership will resign. They have no concept of the true meaning of education. Any one who loves WVU should call out for it to be freed from the Manchin Junta. FREE WVU!!!!

    — loyalmountaineer    Apr 22, 07:17 PM    #

16. Karl

    Your preference for experiential education is irrelevant to this argument. Which is the superior pedagogical tool has nothing to do with the fabrication of a degree (any degree) by the President of an accredited institution of higher learning for political purposes

    — FPoff    Apr 22, 07:44 PM    #

17. James Smith –

    I beg to differ – this certainly could occur – and probably has occurred – in numerous places besides WV!

    — TDD    Apr 22, 08:44 PM    #

18. A case study in ethics (or lack thereof), poor decision-making, and a lack of ability to effectively manage a problem. This should be required reading by all administrators, media relations staff, and other University officials in how NOT to handle a situation. It will be interesting to see how the University responds, and whether it will be in an effective and meaningful way.

    — wvu1    Apr 23, 08:27 AM    #

19. In addition to the resignations of Garrison, Lang, Walker and Sears, the Board of Governors should also resign. Their completely unsuitable choice for University President was the source of this problem. The fix was in on that one, and they should answer for their fiduciary malfeasance.

    — JT    Apr 23, 08:30 AM    #

20. “Michael S. Garrison, worked directly with Ms. Bresch for several years when he served as a lobbyist for Mylan, whose owner is a major university benefactor.”

    Enough said…..

    — mjb    Apr 23, 09:01 AM    #

21. Karl, what is it that you think she is so good at DOING? Being the governor’s daughter? Being best buddies of the dupe her daddy installed as President of the university? Well yes, she is very good at DOING both of those things.

    — SED    Apr 23, 09:28 AM    #

22. wgw,

    At most institutions, including WVU, degrees awarded is considered “directory information” and is not protected by FERPA. That is clearly stated in WVU’s bulletin and website.

    — Nancy G    Apr 23, 10:06 AM    #

23. Wait, persons in positions of power, INCLUDING those in higher ed, abused their positions and power? Shocker.

    — Dave    Apr 23, 10:17 AM    #

24. Nancy G, degrees awarded may be directory information, but indicating anything regarding her being short credits is most definately not directory information. Thus a FERPA violation.

    — JD    Apr 23, 10:24 AM    #

25. Right now, Duane Nellis is sitting at his desk at KSU and he’s laughing out loud about all this.

    — Ben    Apr 23, 10:50 AM    #

26. No, Dr. Nellis is probably feeling very sad. He cared about this University and was a world class guy.
    There are several factual mistakes in some of the comments, but the overall issue is apparent. One problem is that Garrison was hand picked by the Governor (queitly) and the Chair of the Board of Governors. The Chair of the BoG loaded the search committee, headed it, and directed the search so that Garrison would be selected. The really sad part is that because of this, the Board of Governors is very unlikely to sack Garrison and Garrison is even more unlikely to resign. Worse, the Governor perhaps could sack the Board of Governors and Garrison, but what are the chances of that??? They were doing him and his daughter a favor.
    Wait till Garrison finishes “reshaping” the med school.

    — Seriously    Apr 23, 11:57 AM    #

27. It will be interesting to see how the Gov & his daughter respond to this truth-telling…I fail to understand how anyone could ‘be mistaken’ about whether they received a degree – you have to apply for graduation at most schools, and they tell you and post it to your transcript if you graduated. It’s pretty black & white – she lied and called in favors to get it smoothed over, everyone involved at the school should lose their job, and she should be fired from hers for her lies on her employment application. Just another example of following the money to the scene of the crime…

    — Linda    Apr 23, 12:09 PM    #

28. Maybe the MBA stands for My Bogus Achievement.

    — first marci    Apr 23, 12:25 PM    #

29. #27, Linda makes a good point when she says this is “pretty black and white”. If a corporation lied on financial statements, it would be held accountable. If a university changes records and lies about a degree, it has to be accountable to its constituencies, particularly students. Universities are generally held to higher standards, as are nonprofit organizations, and are more subject to public scrutiny.

    — Karen    Apr 23, 12:29 PM    #

30. FERPA protects and governs the disclosure of “student records” and information from such records. According to an April 11, 2008 article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Ms. Bresch did not take the Graduate Management Admission Test, which was required at that time to continue her provisional student status beyond the first semester. The article states that this test requirement could not have been waived in her circumstance.

    Thus, Ms. Bresch was not legitimately a “student” beyond the first semester of the M.B.A. program. As such, the records that are at the heart of this controversy may not, in fact. be “student records.” Therefore, perhaps neither she nor the University can use FERPA as an excuse to prohibit the disclosure of the information that is the subject of the the investigation and the conclusions reached by the panel.

    Furthermore, the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2002 decision in Gonzaga University v. Doe precludes Ms. Bresch from bringing a private cause of action against the University for it release of such records. And, if the information contained in the panel’s report is true, she would have no state cause of action for defamation.

    The University’s overriding interest in preserving its integrity and related academic integrity should have presedence over any rights Ms. Bresch may have in this matter.

    A.L.S.

    — A.L.S.    Apr 23, 01:07 PM    #

31. Dear ‘Seriously’- That’s a tall horse you ride.

    I met Dr. Nellis several times while attending WVU and found him to be a man of high integrity. My point wasn’t to impugn his character, but to remind folks of the terrible choice that was made in passing him over for the likes of Garrison.

    If Nellis hasn’t taken any guilty pleasure in the result of that poor, poor decision… he’s a better man than I.

    — Ben    Apr 23, 01:16 PM    #

32. FERPA should have been used to deny the paper any info that would have saved the university from getting a black eye. But who here believes that this gal got her job at Mylan on merit? her daddy and Mylan are buddies and Garrison just got caught in the middle poor guy…

    — james smith    Apr 23, 03:34 PM    #

33. I am graduate and former employee of WVU and remain active in many WVU activities. The WVU president has accepted full responsibility for this matter. He has only one activity left in his present position – resign. It is the only honorable thing to do.

    — Next Step    Apr 23, 05:36 PM    #

34. TDD, I doubt if many major land grant universities picks a local attorney who then directs an effort to give his former girl friend a degree that she did not earn. The question came to the president’s office and within 24 hours she had been awarded a degree which she did not earn which has now been verified.
    I repeat this woman’s lack of course work has been “verified” and the mob mentality in WVU has been exposed. The faculty senate opposed the appointment of Garrison for they knew he was not qualified and it was not an honest search.
    This is a rarity in American higher education…and some say only in West Virginia could it happen.
    So please all you Garrison employees dont lie any more.

    — james smith    Apr 23, 07:33 PM    #

35. The Board of Governors instructed Garrison to “take responsibility” for this incident—he said only that he would take responsibility for implementing the recommendations of the panel—what a farce! Great job at leadership and inspiring our students to understand the role of personal responsibility in leadership decisions! Let’s hope the faculty senate will have a spirited discussion and recommendations (not likely, but…..)

    — wvu1    Apr 24, 07:05 AM    #

36. Having completed both a master’s degree and doctoral degree from WVU and knowing the extensive amount of work that I did, in addition to the record keeping paperwork that verified my grades and credits, I am quite angry that Ms. Bresch was awarded a degree without comlpeting all program requirements. It is an embarassment to WVU and demeans the degree that others have worked so hard to earn. I also question what grades Ms. Bresch received. I know that many professors drop grades by one letter for each absence. If Ms. Bresch NEVER attended any of the 22 hours she claims having credit for, then how could she possibly have passed the courses? I also quiestion her veracity in stating that she got credit for work experience. Most employers request a transcript of grades. Was Ms. Bresch simply given grades? The president and others who were involved in this sham should be fired.
    Embarassed WVU grad

    — Mary    Apr 24, 07:50 AM    #

37. WVU’s Board of Governors, faculty, alumna & students should demand WVU’s President resign immediately because of flawed character and leadership. The new President should do spring house cleaning starting with the administrators and counselors who stained WVU’s reputation with poor judgment and advice. You can tell a deadhead organization when its leaders have to waste money on committees to make a special report of what was obvious to everyone outside the Ivory Tower.

    — WVU alum    Apr 24, 08:31 AM    #

38. I’m troubled by the tone of many of these posts: “these people used to work together, so of course there were favors granted.” Should we also assume that, because faculty members work together, they also arrange inappropriate favors for one another? Or is it that all politicians, business people and administrators are corrupt and can always be assumed to be guilty of anything they are accused, while all faculty are above reproach?

    There is a remarkable lack of critical thinking here and a lamentable willingness to assume guilt in the absence of all of the facts.

    — drj50    Apr 24, 10:06 AM    #

39. James Smith – You continue to make substantial facutal errors that detract from any other legitimate points you may want to make.

    Heather Bresch was not Mike Garrison’s “former girl friend (sic),” as you assert in post # 35 above.

    Garrison was not just a “local attorney;” he was a former governor’s chief of staff. The process to approve a degree was unquestionably hurried and incorrect, but it was not “24 hours later.” (all mistakes from post #35)

    Heather Bresch never served on WVU’s Board of Governors. (mistake from post #8 above) She never served with Mike Garrison, whom I also don’t think was ever on WVU’s Board of Governors.

    Bresch did not “promote … and vote for Garrison;” (your post # 14 above) she had no vote since she was never on the WVU Board of Governors or the WVU presidential search committee that selected Garrison. Why do you keep asserting incorrectly that she was?

    Again, there are certainly enough problems with this whole chain of events to raise serious concerns. Why make things up? It just undermines your own credibility. Get your own facts straight before ripping others for not doing the same.

    — mab    Apr 24, 12:44 PM    #

40. mab

    Just because Bresch did not vote for Garrison, does not mean that she did not Promote Garrison.

    Whether a romantic relationship between Bresch and Garrison ever occurred is not as important as the fact that they do have a documented history since childhood both personally and professionally.

    Garrison was a “local” attorney at the time of the appointment.

    Just because Garrison was part of the Wise administration it does not make him qualified to be the President of West Virginia University or any institution of higher education.

    Nor does 1 year on the HPC.

    The blame lies with Steve Goodwin and the Board of Governors for manipulating a search where the criteria used left only one possible choice. A fraudulent search and ascension of a political person has been even worse that predicted: Fabricated degrees; loss of a football coach; the forced resignation of the respected head of the Health Sciences; and most tragic, the loss of value in the WVU degree.

    Anyone in higher education knows that 1.) Garrison is probably the most unqualified President working at any college or university, and 2.) Presidents are given a lot of leeway to use their power living under one cardinal rule: do not hurt the integrity of the degree. Garrison as done that and should resign as a result!

    I can only say that I am happy I have my job, because going on the market with a WVU Ph.D. will not be a positive experience for years to come.

    — Jpoff    Apr 24, 01:19 PM    #

41. A case study in ethics (or lack thereof), poor decision-making, and a lack of ability to effectively manage a problem. This should be required reading by all administrators, media relations staff, and other University officials in how NOT to handle a situation. It will be interesting to see how the University responds, and whether it will be in an effective and meaningful way.

    — wvu1 Apr 23, 08:27 AM

    Also the Nifong case in North Carolina and now the case in Texas where over 400 children were kidnapped and taken hostage by Texas authorities based on a fabricated and false report. Any evidence gathered with an illegal search and kidnapping should be thrown out. The judge and DA in the Texas case should be disbarred and face federal kidnapping charges. Just when President Bush is asked to get tough on China for human and civil rights violations in Tibet, the authorities in Texas kidnapped and take hostage over 400 children and women based on a total fabricated lie. And it is becoming more and more clear that the authorities with held information from the judge, similar to the Nifong case in North Carolina to get the illegal arrest, search and kidnapping. If so, the DA in this case should face the same fate as Nifong in North Carolina. If the judge knew that the report was fabricated and still issued the search warrants, seizures and also kidnapping of the children, she should also face disbarment and federal charges. Human and civil rights violations are occurring right under our eyes. Instead of protesting about China’s treatment of Tibetans, people should be out protesting the treatment of the people in Texas and the kidnapping of their children by the Texas authorities, based on fabricated charges and no REAL evidence. This is just what the Nazis did in Germany. We need to wake up. The Germans could not believe these events were happening. And many Americans cannot believe such things are happening here in the USA. But they are, in Texas. The Supreme Court has already ruled that Texas does not have to follow UN directives and the President’s recommendation that they do so. This puts President Bush in a various precarious position to ask China to follow United Nations and Human Rights directives, when the authorities in Texas, judges in Texas and even the US Supreme Court does not feel that they need to. We need to have an amendment to our USA Constitution to protect mums and dads and their children, the family human and civil rights bill. It is long overdue. The authorities should not be able to kidnap children from their parents, It is a fundamental human right for families to be together, to be with their Mums and Dads. The Australian Prime Minister Kenneth Rudd just gave a official federal apology for the kidnapping of aboriginal children from their Mums and Dads, the Stolen Generation. President Bush should send in the FBI to make sure the children are returned to their Mums and Dads, and investigate human and civil rights violations, which are occurring and have occurred in Texas with the kidnapping over over 400 children. The Stolen Generation of Children in Texas. They should be returned immediately President Bush should offer an apology for not intervening sooner.

    — Karl    Apr 24, 01:20 PM    #

42. #

    wgw,

    At most institutions, including WVU, degrees awarded is considered “directory information” and is not protected by FERPA. That is clearly stated in WVU’s bulletin and website.

    — Nancy G Apr 23, 10:06 AM

    Degree conferral yes. But not college transcripts. If so, it would be nice to see the transcripts of many of the graduates from BCS conference football teams and also basketball teams. Would be very interesting to determine the GPAs and also courses they took, and degrees granted. Recently at the University of Michigan and many other BCS conference universities it has been documented that some degree programs have mostly student athletes. It appears that these degree programs were designed specifically to keep football and basketball student athletes eligible while they are eligible to play. Whether they ever graduate has been a thing which when came to light, changed the policies of the NCAA. Now graduation rates matter. But like this young ladies degree, it would be interesting to investigate all degrees and non degrees of the BCS conference university football and basketball players. All of these student transcripts should also be examined. The course syllabus should be examined, along with the exams given.

    I think we will find the case for this young lady to be very very light in comparison to some of the cases which kept starting QBs, RBs, centers, guards, … of the football and basketball teams eligible. Even many of the honest and ethical student athletes have admitted this, but very few follow ups by administrators and the NCAA.

    Recently many student athletes have been ruled ineligible before the bowl games. NSF should fund a study that goes back 20-30 years and investigate grading and course work taken at the BCS universities in both basketball and football. How many of the BCS basketball and football players got special treatment, extra credit, took exams either before or after the other students, …
    I think this is a much bigger scandal than what occurred at UWV in the MBA program.

    It would also be nice to see the football and basketball players to also all have their transcripts examined under a microscope, all exams, term papers, home work assignments compared with all of the other students. What applies to this young lady, should apply to every BCS conference football and basketball student athlete, current athletes and all graduates for the past 20-30 years. I for one think that academic integrity also applies to student athletes, where most of us know that some very very dodgy academic affairs have occurred to keep star athletes eligible.

    — Karl    Apr 24, 01:37 PM    #

43. For RMIT in Australia (which is like UWV).

    Credit Transfer and Recognition of Prior Learning

    RMIT University offers Credit Transfer, Recognition of Prior Learning and Recognition of Current Competency, to recognise the skills you may have gained through formal and informal education and training, work experience and/or life experience including volunteer work, committee responsibilities, family duties and hobbies.
    Why apply for credit?

    If you apply for credit and your application is successful, you may reduce your fees, the overall length of time to complete a program or receive a full qualification (award) based on your previous experience. You may simply want some formal recognition of your skills, by gaining credit in individual TAFE modules.
    Costs

    The costs may vary depending on the type of credit you apply for and how many courses or modules you wish to be credited. More information is available on each application form.
    How to apply

    If you believe you are eligible for Credit Transfer or Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), an application should be lodged with the relevant RMIT school.

    So it is common to grant credit for prior learning at RMIT, the top engineering university in Australia. An MBA is suppose to be about learning business practices. What better place to learn about business then by working and/or setting up your own business. The top business professors the top universities know this. Those who have their MBA degrees on the wall and are unemployed are the ones who are envious and taking pot shots at this young lady who has performed. Actions speak louder than transcripts and degrees. Many top universities and top academics realize this and hence will grant university credit for work and life experience. Take an exam which documents you know the material or equivalent and get credit. It is very very common at top research and business universities in the whole world. So WVU in is very good company in their practices.

    — Karl    Apr 24, 01:52 PM    #

44. To WVU1 – post 36 – You are correct. I missed that fine distinction, as I am sure many others did. None-the-less, President Garrison has only one next step. He will be visiting Washington DC in June to give the annual State of the University speech. I wonder what the mood will be… Maybe a boycott is appropriate?

    — Next Step    Apr 24, 03:13 PM    #

45. Well, there has been a strong calling in many newspaper editorials across the state for resignations (starting with Mr. Garrison) and a criminal investigation (of tampering or altering state records). Even the newspapers that didn’t want to touch the story in the beginning are calling for action, so this will get interesting. The university has yet to figure out how to get in front of this from a communications perspective.

    — wvu1    Apr 25, 11:15 AM    #

46. Time for the WVU faculty senate to show their true colors. We have the Provost, General Counsel, Dean of the Business School and the President (through his personal representatives), in the conference room which shares a wall with his office. What are they doing? FALSIFYING ACADEMIC RECORDS. Creating out of thin air 22 credits (out of a required 48)— COMPLETE WITH FAKE GRADES, all for the sitting Governor’s daughter. They should be fired instantly. The only person in that meeting with integrity was Paul Speaker, the former director of the EMBA program, who refused to accede to the lie.

    As for the relationship between Garrison and Bresch — we shouldn’t speculate on their personal relationship (as one comment did above). Let’s focus on the ACTUAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST in this situation:

    -Before his appointment as President, Mr. Garrison’s full time job was an attorney-lobbyist for a local WV law firm. His largest client – Heather Bresch, who at that time was Dir. of Govt. Relations for Mylan Pharmaceuticals.

    - Her boss, Milan Puskar, is the largest donor to WVU and the largest private employer in Morgantown. The football stadium is named for him. The breast cancer center at the WVU hospital is named for his wife.

    -Garrison was appointed to the WV Higher Ed Policy Comm by her dad, Gov. Manchin. That was his primary credential to get the President’s job.

    - Garrison’s biggest supporters for becoming President were Gov. Manchin, Heather Bresch, and Milan Puskar. They worked quietly, behind the scenes with Goodwin (BOG Chair), but openly supported him in many private meetings in Morgantown and Charleston.

    -Dean Sears is the Milan Puskar Dean of the Business School, courtesy of a multi-million dollar gift. He came up with the fake grades for Mylan’s COO, including apparently grades for a class on corporate ethics.

    -Mylan Pharmaceuticals is the largest corporate user of the EMBA program. The program is very dependent upon companies paying for their mid career execs to attend. If Mylan pulled out, the EMBA progam would be hurt very substantially. The other guy in the room falsifying the records was the current head of that program.

    I don’t know how this could be any worse. Really.

    Let’s see if the WVU faculty senate has any fight in them.

    — Former WVU Prof    Apr 26, 10:34 PM    #

47. Things are happening now—Provost has resigned, Business Dean rumored to resign tomorrow…….Now if only the President could see the light, accept responsibility, and do the right thing.

    — wvu1    Apr 27, 09:52 PM    #

48. Business Dean resigns, BoG issues statement supporting the president, president says he won’t resign citing that he handed it off at the beginning and therefore knew nothing about what went on. Yeah, right, his three top advisors Chief of Staff, Communications VP, VP legal affairs were in the room, and the Chief of Staff pressured for an answer. The VP communications was feeding the press what turned out to be lies the whole time. None of the three got the axe.

    Academics is not a concern at WVU, hasn’t been for years, rising enrollments, fewer faculty, and now crass disregard for academic integrity.

    — seriously    Apr 29, 07:29 AM    #

49. Okay, so heads are rolling at WVU with the resignation of the provost and business school dean. But what about Ms. Bresch? Is she going to be penalized by Mylan for falsifying her credentials? Or are they arguing she “honestly” thought she had completed her MBA?

    — Don    May 13, 09:54 AM    #

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