Rodriguez Calls Quits to Lawsuit

The lawsuit between West Virginia University and former head coach Rich Rodriguez is all but a done deal. Word began to leak out overnight that Rodriguez was interested in settling his case against his former employer surrounding his $4 million buyout in his contract.

The case was scheduled to go to trial in the fall in the midsts of the college football season. Rodriguez and West Virginia University made the right call in seeking this settlement, but it should have never gotten to this point.

Rodriguez signed a contract with West Virginia that called for a $4 million buyout should he leave. He left, but felt that because West Virginia didn’t live up to some promises that he was entitled to offset the costs of the buyout. What took place was a bitter feud that regardless of today’s settlement news may be years before its fully settled.

The hope is that West Virginia University, as a public institution, will learn from this mess. Also, perhaps higher education and its athletic programs could learn something as well. Are the high salaries paid to college coaches worth the expense? WVU will lose a good chunk of that $4 million buyout in legal fees. Was it worth it?

Certainly, coaches should be paid well, but multi-million dollar contracts that are easily broken are enormous and huge cost burdens to the institutions, especially when players do not receive any compensation from marketing, television, or ticket revenues. College athletics is a business and perhaps the new Congress next year should take seriously attempts to look at the tax status of collegiate athletic programs.

But here is to WVU and Rodriguez settling a case that should have never gone to trial. Perhaps now we can worry about more important things like the quality of education at WVU and improving its reputation.

Garrison out at WVU

The long public nightmare is over at West Virginia University. Mike Garrison has made the right decision and has resigned as the school’s president effective September 1.

This was the only option for the embattled leader after his administration came under fire from alums, students, faculty members, and others in the higher education community for its awarding of a MBA degree to Heather Bresch, daughter of W.Va. Governor Joe Manchin and an employee of one of the school’s top donors. That decision has sparked a national controversy centered on academic integrity and the school’s leadership.

In his public statement during a meeting of the Board of Governors in Charleston, W.Va., Garrison recognized the controversy would only stop if he was out of the picture.

No word on any possible candidates to fill the opening at Stewart Hall. Regardless of who that person is, they will have an uphill battle restoring the school’s academic integrity and regaining the trust of the faculty, students and alums.

Editorial Tells Faculty to Move On

I’m fairly fond of The Register-Herald in Beckley, W.Va. It’s where I received my start as a writer working part time in the sports department. I learned a lot about what you can and cannot do as a writer working for that newspaper.

However, an editorial published in today’s paper might be the worst that I have read. Not because it tells faculty and others at WVU to move on and that WVU President Mike Garrison is not going anywhere. It is poorly written in that the argumentative style is not one you would expect to find in an editorial, but more like a heated discussion in which the one writing feels as if he has to defend himself for his views.

Take for instance this statement,

Hopefully, Monday’s session made those members of the faculty feel better. They got up in front of their colleagues and the media spotlight, many denounced Garrison and referred to the academic crime that was perpetrated and that WVU’s image would be tarnished until the president stepped down. They can keep on with the criticism as long as they want, but they better get out the silver polish to rub out the stains because all of their verbalization still isn’t going to change the name on the desk plate at Stewart Hall.

It’s uncalled for to claim that faculty used the meeting Monday only to seek the media spotlight. It shows a complete lack of understanding of higher education and faculty. For faculty, academic integrity is the most important thing for an institution. I cannot disagree. (Sorry, college athletics are not everything on a college campus.) Faculty had every right to make the moves that it did, regardless of how it voted. What has been wrong is the treatment faculty at WVU have received from the state’s political leaders and in this editorial.

A black eye, sure, but black eyes heal.

This is more than a black eye. Institutional situations like these force faculty to leave. Sure, you may argue that faculty are easy to replace and who wouldn’t want to teach at WVU in the mountains of West Virginia. What many learn when they make those statements is that some professors are hard and if not impossible to replace, as my own master’s degree institution has learned.

Perhaps in time the faculty and alums will move on. However, media in West Virginia must understand and begin to understand that this is a serious charge that was levied against WVU and its academic leaders. It’s reputation is soiled and it may take years for it to recover in the eyes of its peers. And that’s just not something you can “spit out the bad taste and move on” about easily.

Faculty: No Confidence

West Virginia University’s faculty Monday voted overwhelmingly on a motion that calls for WVU President Mike Garrison to resign in the wake of the Heather Bresch scandal that has rocked the academic integrity of the institution.

The vote was 77-19 in favor of seeking Garrison’s resignation and declared no confidence in the new president. A vote of this magnitude, while true it holds no official barring on Garrison’s future, puts to vote the fact that Garrison has lost the respect and the trust of his faculty.

It’s hard to recover politically from a vote to that degree. But, Garrison thinks he can. He has told media outlets following the vote that he has no intention of resigning. Garrison quotes the support of W.Va. Governor Joe Manchin, Bresch’s father, and the Board of Governors as the reason he will not resign.

This is hubris at the extreme level.

In a written statement, Garrison said he received a “clear message,” but another one from the obvious clear message from faculty members that believe it is time for Garrison to resign. He said,

The essence of all the motions presented in the Senate today contains a clear message: we at WVU must work to create an environment that assures everyone that this will never happen again.

Garrison has no choice but to resign. His administration cannot be trusted to restore the academic integrity of a great institution. It was his administration that awarded an MBA to a politically connected student when she did not earn the degree. How can the faculty, alumni, or anyone else trust Garrison to rebuild the academic standing in that situation?

Should West Virginia University ever recover it must do so with a new president, one that is committed to academic integrity and honesty in governance. That will not happen under Garrison’s watch.

WVU Faculty to Vote Today

Faculty at West Virginia University will have their voice heard today regarding the on-going controversy surrounding the awarding of a MBA degree to a well-connected alum.

Members of the school’s Faculty Senate will meet in special session today with three motions on the table for consideration. Two of the motions would seek to place the blame squarely on the shoulders of the school’s administration, while a third would seek to put measures in place to insure academic integrity.

One of the motions would censure WVU President Mike Garrison for his and his administration’s involvement in awarding an MBA degree, last year, to Heather Bresch, an employee at Mylan, Inc., and daughter to W.Va. Governor Joe Manchin. Mylan, Inc., and its co-founder Milan Puskar, are among WVU’s top financial backers.

Another would out right call for Garrison, who took over for David Hardesty, to resign.

Should the censure motion pass, Garrison would have all but lost the support of his faculty, something that is important for an institution’s leader to maintain. Passage of the third motion would likely mean that Garrison will remain on the job and will be able to withstand the pressures to resign.

Needless to say today’s Faculty Senate meeting is important and could go a long way in determining the leadership fate at West Virginia University.

WVU Faculty Making Moves

As would be the case at any institution of higher learning, faculty at West Virginia University are organizing themselves in groups regarding the Heather Bresch Scandal.

You have a group of faculty members that have drawn up resolutions seeking WVU President Mike Garrison’s resignation or termination over the school’s handling of giving an MBA to Bresch when she didn’t earn the degree. Bresch is an employee at Mylan, Inc., a top financial backer of West Virginia University, and is the daughter of W.Va. Governor Joe Manchin. Then there is the group of faculty members that are circulating and organizing support for the embattled new leader.

Manchin Doesn’t Understand Seriousness of WVU Scandal

West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin doesn’t understand.

For the past three years, Manchin has done an admirable job leading the Mountain State. However, when it comes to understanding the seriousness of the WVU-Heather Bresch Scandal, Manchin has left a lot to be desired. In fact, one has to wonder if he understands that this does not just affect the reputation of his daughter, Heather Bresch, but also the reputation of the school officials, West Virginia University, and higher education in West Virginia.

We can give Manchin a pass for wanting to protect his daughter and friend, WVU President Mike Garrison, from media scrutiny saying things like,

“I just think it’s wrong to go into this vigilante mode and throw everything out. If mistakes were made fix it.”

However, when comments like this next one are made we begin to question Manchin’s understanding of the seriousness of this scandal.

Why is it being driven by an out-of-state newspaper? What’s their purpose and reasoning? Why the out-of-state newspaper hasn’t printed all the FOIA information that’s now coming out and showing some facts.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is not the ones at the center of the scandal. The Pittsburgh newspaper just broke the story. Manchin here is attempting to use the old ploy of protectionism to deflect criticism of his administration and those he supports, attempting to place the blame on others.

This is typical play in the Manchin playbook. Remember, Manchin blames agents for Rich Rodriguez leaving West Virginia University for Michigan.

West Virginia University is in the midst of a serious scandal that attempts to damage the school’s academic reputation. This is not the time for silly comments placing the blame on the media. Mistakes were made. Favors were given to someone who is both politically connected and an employee of one of the institution’s top financial backers (Mylan, Inc.).

The scandal is already having financial impact at West Virginia University as donors are starting to pull back contributions to the institution.

If it was up to Manchin, he would just have you cancel your subscription to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Lang, Sears Out at WVU

Heads are starting to roll at WVU in the wake of the Heather Bresch Scandal.

Provost Gerald Lang and Business School Dean Stephen Sears will step down from their current positions on June 30. According to WSAZ, Lang and Sears will remain at WVU as professors, hopefully not teaching ethics.

Lang will receive a salary of less than $200,000, down from his $243,000 pay currently. Sears will receive $145,000, $55,000 less than his current salary of $200,000.

For those of you keeping score at home, Lang and Sears were in the wrong by granting Bresch a MBA she did not deserve and they get to remain at WVU, though in different capacities.

Sure, this makes sense to you, right?

In other news, Gov. Joe Manchin supports WVU President Mike Garrison.

Of course he does. Garrison and Manchin are friends, just as Garrison and Bresch are friends. So of course Manchin is going to support Garrison.

Calls for Garrison’s Resignation Increase

Turns out we’re not the only one calling for WVU President Mike Garrison to resign following a recent report regarding the administration’s involvement in the Heather Bresch ordeal. This is where WVU thought it would be smart to give Bresch, daughter of WVa Governor Joe Manchin and a Mylan, Inc., employee a MBA degree she did not deserve. Garrison is a personal friend of Manchin and Bresch.

Add Peter Kalis, a WVU alum and Pittsburgh lawyer and was a Rhodes Scholar at WVU, to those saying Garrison should resign. He says,

When the chips were on the table, WVU, an institution that we all love and honor, acted like a dishonest political institution rather than an honest academic institution.

Agreed.

Garrison doesn’t, sadly. He told the Board of Governors,

I have no plans to resign.

He should have plans to resign as he has harmed the school’s academic reputation with his actions and involvement in this case. His job is to protect the school’s reputation and so far he has done nothing but harm this reputation of a great institution.

It’s time for Garrison to step aside.

Manchin must focus on job, not athletics

W.Va. Gov. Joe Manchin was elected to his first term in 2004. Since that time, it could easily state that Manchin is more concerned with the state’s future in athletics.

Take for note that Manchin was the lead negotiator in the creation of the Friends of Coal Bowl (jokingly referred to as the Friends of Joe Bowl) where he managed to get Marshall and West Virginia University to agree to a series of football games.

In the midst of the Rich Rodriguez divorce from WVU, Manchin was at the forefront in negotiations to keep the former WVU head coach in Morgantown, even releasing a statement when Rodriguez announced his departure. It was in that statement where Manchin blamed agents for Rodriguez to leave.

And now, months after Rodriguez left and as WVU is in the midst of a lawsuit with the former coach, Manchin is at it again, ignoring the state’s problems and even real problems at WVU involving his daughter, in order to be the state’s athletics director. In a meeting with the editorial board of the Charleston (W.Va.) Daily Mail, Manchin continues to show his outrage over agents in college sports saying:

I’m sure that after we collect the $4 million that maybe we’ll start healing.

Now is not the time for Manchin to be the state’s athletics director. We understand the intrigue and the value of athletics. We get caught up with them from time to time. But, when you’re elected to lead an entire state, sometimes that means putting athletics aside only for the ceremonial functions of awarding trophies and showing up to the games.

Manchin has bigger issues to worry about, as we have said before. One of them has to be to come clean on his own involvement in the WVU-Heather Bresch situation. Did the governor seek the master’s degree for his daughter, using his status as governor, his friendship with new president Mike Garrison, and his relationship with the school for his favor? Manchin has no choice but to be honest with the people of West Virginia and supporters of West Virginia University on his involvement.

But, it’s time for Manchin to be honest. Again, we won’t hold our breath.