April 28, 2008

Another West Virginia U. Official Resigns Over Degree Scandal

R. Stephen Sears, dean of West Virginia University’s College of Business and Economics, has resigned, according to a university-issued news release, making him the second official at the university to quit today. Also stepping down is West Virginia’s longtime provost, Gerald E. Lang.

Both officials were cited often in a report, released last week by an independent panel, that criticized university administrators for retroactively awarding an unearned executive M.B.A. to Heather M. Bresch, the state governor’s daughter and a top executive at a pharmaceutical company whose chairman is a major benefactor to the university.

The trouble may not be over in Morgantown. The Daily Athenaeum, the university’s student newspaper, reported on Friday that a faculty member may propose a no-confidence measure concerning Michael S. Garrison, the university’s president, while other faculty critics are calling for Mr. Garrison’s ouster, according to the Associated Press.

Mr. Lang, the university’s provost for 13 years, told The Chronicle in January that the degree controversy pained him as a “steward of the university.” He also defended Mr. Garrison’s actions. “It’s unfortunate that this particular case has been linked to the president,” he said. “It is a case that really resides in the College of Business and Economics. The president was not involved in any of the decision making on this.” —Paul Fain

Comments

1. Have you had a busy day, Mr. Leach?

   — first marci    Apr 28, 11:26 AM    #

2. Ah, come on Jerry – Do you think all WVU alumni are so stupid as to believe that WVU President Garrison was not involved? You have done much for the university over the years. Your only hope for redemption is to come clean and tell the real story.

   — Next Step    Apr 28, 12:34 PM    #

3. What is up with West Virginia? A corrupt Supreme Court in the back pocket of Massey Energy and now this? This state is run like the Jackson presidency.

   — Brian    Apr 28, 12:46 PM    #

4. The sad conclusion to a very unfortunate affair. As a WVU alumni, I have really been dissapointed with the actions of the administration. The real mistake here was hiring Garrison over Duane Nellis. That terrible decision set WVU on a collision course for this sequence of events. Sad, sad, sad.

   — Ben    Apr 28, 01:00 PM    #

5. Sounds like some higher level officials in WV need to answer some questions as well. The governor should be ashamed that WVU felt that had to award his daughter a degree in order to receive favors. I also find it extremely unbelievable that Heather Bresch thought that she earned 22 credits through work experience. Didn’t she have to meet regularly with a faculty advisor to have that reviewed and discuss job goals, etc? What college program offers 22 credits through work experience for an advanced degree program?

   — jackie    Apr 28, 01:30 PM    #

6. This whole situation is a “slap in the face” to all graduates in WVU’s graduate degree programs. They completed their degree according to the rules and worked twice as hard as Heather Bresch did.

   — Janet A.    Apr 28, 04:00 PM    #

7. Garrison was never, ever qualified for the job. he was put in the dunce puppet of a governing system that is totally corrupt. This will make history in American higher education. It is what the institution will always be known for…unless they clean house and bring President Hardesty back to clean it up. He did a great job.

   — fred smith    Apr 28, 04:21 PM    #

8. Everyone involved in this sordid affair should fall on their swords including President Garrison.

   I wonder how many other colleges have bowed to political pressure and taken favorable action for relatives and friends of politicians or wealthy donors.

   They ought to hold a ceremony at commencement where they rip up Ms. Bresch’s bogus diploma.

   — DPH    Apr 28, 04:39 PM    #

9. My friends who formerly lived and worked in higher ed in West Virginia are very glad they no longer do. This situation has repercussions beyond WVU — throughout all West Va. institutions of higher education. All of the state’s publics are tainted by this tarbrush. A major ‘mea culpa’ on the part of the governor, his daughter, and the entire administrative team is in order first. Then the administrative team should step down and new leadership brought in.

   Glad I’m not there.

   — JPS    Apr 28, 04:43 PM    #

10. Looks like Provost Lang may be taking one for the team on this one. I believe others who were part of the decision making process need to be held accountable as well besides Lang and Sears. Perhaps President Garrison may need to own some of this?

    Could Provost Lang’s resignation also mean his retirement? He celebrated his 63rd birthday this past March, and I believe his wife turned 65 this month, and his mother is in her 90’s (last time I heard). I doubt if he’s ready to job search again.

    He’s done a lot of good for WVU over his 32 year career, so it’s sad that his career has to end on this note. Presidents often get all the glory, but faculty and administrators like Lang deserve the spotlight too.

    And we wonder why corporate America is so amoral and corrupt? This happened in WVU’s College of Business. I doubt very seriously that this would ever happen in a College of Education.

    — Tommy    Apr 28, 06:19 PM    #

11. Y’all, do what your neighbors VT did. Hire Burson-Marsteller, a top global PR firm. Pay $10s of millions, extol your ineptitudes like virtues, chant your slogan, keep telling the same lies, don’t give anyone a penny, throw a vigil, & camoflage your corrupt image. Include the governor.

    Once students find out how easy it is to get a WVU degree, exclaim that enrollment is up!

    — debster    Apr 28, 06:39 PM    #

12. It’s really unfortunate. The reputation of the university is been greatly jeopardised. The resignation is welcomed. All other people involved in the scandal should resign as well and face the full weight of the law. Predident Garrison should be made to explain the reality behind the scandal.

    — Peter Abraham    Apr 28, 11:35 PM    #

13. It was reported in a local newspaper that Governor Mansion hoped this would be resolved so no other student had to go through what his daughter did. Is this the only incident of this nature? Ms. Bresch had to know that she had not earned her degree as did her father, the governor. They need to come clean and spare the school and state the embarassment. It is not fair to all alumni who have worked to earn a degree in any discipline. President Garrsion should be gone immediately.

    — alumni2    Apr 29, 09:30 AM    #

14. The governor ought to step down over this debacle, but there are so few college graduates in West Virginia that the governor knows that the majority of voters could care less about academic affairs. What else would you expect from the state that invented the term “Redneck” as a badge of honor?!

    — docbram    Apr 29, 12:10 PM    #

15. To WVU faculty colleagues visiting this site:

    Dear Colleagues,

    Given the current state of affairs on our campus, it seems important to me to assess the views of WVU faculty (and not just faculty senators) regarding the calls for President Garrison’s resignation.

    Yesterday (Apr 28) Kevin Leyden (Political Science) claimed that “most people believe Michael Garrison has performed his duties beyond expectations.” Perhaps Leyden has polling data to support this claim. If evidence can be shown to prove that most faculty believe Garrison’s resignation to be unnecessary, I for one will pledge not to speak another word about it. The last thing that I hope to do is to make an already terrible situation worse, against the wishes of most members of the faculty community.

    But if most WVU faculty believe that the restoration of university’s integrity requires Garrison’s resignation (at a minimum), then the Faculty Senate, the BOG, and the President’s Office must be made aware of this fact. For that I reason I am willing to compile a list of faculty members who support the proposed Faculty Senate resolution calling upon President Garrison to resign.

    If you email me, I would be happy to add your name to what would in effect become a petition that could be distributed to members of the Faculty Senate prior to Monday’s meeting. I realize that this is a methodologically flawed procedure, but at least it should provide a somewhat more accurate sense of faculty views concerning this issue that so closely affects our collective reputation.

    So, send me an e-mail (matt.vester@mail.wvu.edu) if you would like me to add your name to a petition calling for Garrison’s resignation. Please also indicate whether you would be willing for your name to be made public.

    Thanks for your help with this modest research project. If you are willing, please circulate this note to your department listserves. Yours, Matt Vester (History Department, WVU)

    — Matt Vester    Apr 29, 05:28 PM    #

16. A man of integrity and love for the state would step down. This has set the state back by decades. Please add my name to the petition. I would rather not make my name public.

    — vickie williams md    May 2, 03:53 PM    #

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