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05/08/2008

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Hoppy's Commentary For Thursday

Talkline Host Hoppy Kercheval

WVU President Mike Garrison may well survive the Bresch scandal. The calendar is working in his favor.

He has to get through Wednesday's assembly in which the entire faculty is invited to weigh in on the Bresch mess. Based on Monday's Faculty Senate vote (77 for resignation, 19 against, one abstention), one would expect most of the professors at the assembly will want Garrison gone.

Then there's commencement next weekend. Rumors are swirling about the possibility of student protests. Garrison faces the embarrassing prospect of getting booed.

But after that, summer kicks in. The campus pace slows dramatically as most students leave Morgantown and professors who are not teaching summer school tend to scatter.

Garrison has been trying his best the last few days to focus on "the good things" happening at WVU. It's the right strategy, but it's like trying to call attention to the paint job on a lifeboat while riding out a storm.

The president said Tuesday while in Charleston that he had "seen no empirical evidence to indicate that WVU's reputation has been ruined."

That's true, but it's beside the point.

WVU's reputation has certainly been damaged by one story after another about WVU handing out a degree to the governor's daughter even though she didn't come close to finishing the work.

Furthermore, empirical evidence is evidence that is derived by experience or observation. I can tell you by "observing" the phone calls and e-mails I have received, and by sitting in on the Faculty Senate meeting Monday, that there is plenty of empirical evidence that WVU is badly bruised.

Conspiracy theorists cannot get past the notion that Gov. Manchin was somehow involved in this. After all, they say, Bresch is his daughter and he appointed nine of the 15 members of the Board of Governors, which engineered the hiring of Garrison.

West Virginia's history is laced with stories of incestuous politics and cronyism that breeds cynicism. That history makes Garrison a victim of his own success: He got the job because of who he knew and he may lose his job for the same reason.

If Garrison can hold on another week or two, and if no other damaging information surfaces, he may get through this. Who knows? The whole experience may make him a better president.

But West Virginians have long memories. For many, the Bresch scandal will be a reminder of why we lose faith in the very institutions that are supposed to inspire us.

User Comments

Hoppy,

I just got back from a training session in the Baltimore Washington area for my agency. My colleagues from other offices know I used to be a proud WVU alum, since I usually wear a flying WV tie and have always talked well of my Alma Mater. I was asked many times about what is going on at WVU. I was asked if I was "given" my degrees and how they could get their free MBA degrees. Needless to say, those with children ready for college aren't considering WVU. Garrison's assertion that this scandal has not tarnished WVU's reputation is pure hogwash. Thanks to you, Manchin, Goodwin and Garrison, for making WVU and West Virginia a laughing stock yet again.

As a WVU alum living in the DC area, I was horrified this week with the number of national news articles on the Garrison debacle- yesterday's Washington Post had a front section article, and there was an AP article earlier in the week. Garrison and Goodwin seem to have little respect for the WVU faculty, and that attitude will hurt WVU in attracting quality professors and graduate students. Who would want to work in a climate where the message is- If you don't like it- tough! I am truly pained by the turn of events in Morgantown, and feel the only thing stopping the restoration of our reputation is the complete stubbornness of Garrison- I think he should resign.

If they survive, they have taught their children well. CHEAT-LIE-DENY.

Hoppy,

From what I understand, the faculty did not want Garrison to begin with, but wanted a "professor type president", so the fact that they voted to oust him is not a shock. While I am neither friend or foe of Garrison, I don't care if the faculty senate doesn't like him. I do care if he is doing a good job. When was the last time employees got to decide who their boss was going to be? If Garrison was involved in wrong doing then he should be fired and if he is innocent then leave him alone! Bill Stewart, an honorable man, seems to have a high opinion of Garrison and that means a great deal to me, so until some damming evidence surfaces, I intend to give him the benefit of any doubt. By the same token, the two that admitted to wrong doing should be fired. They are the ones who (at least at this juncture) damaged WVU's credibility. Their deceptive and dishonest actions should not be be rewarded by giving them a teaching job or having anything to do with WVU. I suggest the students protest against them keeping their jobs.

With respect to Gov. Manchin, I have a hard time believing that he had no knowledge of the situation. My daughter is working on her doctorate and I know most every grade she has made and she lives 167 miles away. If she was given a special credit for anything, I would know it within 24 hours.

Surviving a "bad patch" or scandal seldom makes a leader a better leader. It often only refreshes the idea of "I talked my way out of it once and I can do it again" and increases arrogance away from the public view. One must first acknowledge fault for a scandal to have a bettering affect.(think of ex-Pres. Clinton skating free) Garrison lowered the bar as President of WVU...directly opposite the role for which he was hired. At what point does integrity in a position fall second to supporting the ability to pull in donations or repaying a political appointment? Perhaps now we know the answer.

Hoppy, you hit the nail right on the head with this commentary! I think Garrison will survive since the West Virginia Primary coverage next week will push the Bresch story off the front page (and probably off the media radar altogether!). Garrison knows this, so unless something new develops in Bresch-gate AFTER the primary, he will be safe. It's not fair, but that's the way it goes in today's modern microsecond attention span media news cycle.

Wait till the lawsuits start rolling in. Seems clear that WVU's goods and services were fraudulently taken and delivered. Also, apparently accepted. Seems like fraud and theft with at least the intent to receive a stolen degree, involving President Mike Garrison's office, other WVU administrators, a Milan executive, at least. West Virginia (not unlike much of the US) is run like it's some sort of Fifth World country. Sometimes it shows more than other times. The lawsuits should help flush out and treat the current outbreak of the disease. Perhaps fairly rapidly.

But those aren't the only forces that are gathering. The end of the main school year won't bring an end to this and related matters. Far from it.

People get what they deserve. They elected Manchin and now they have him, complete with the cronyism and incestuous politics. The mess at WVU is just one more example of why we are at the bottom of nearly every measure of success. Manchin appointed a majority of the Board of Governors and I can only imagine he had quite abit of sway in the hiring of Garrison. Yes, WVU is bruised as is every student who either worked and graduated or is attending now and working for their degree. The operative words being "work and earned". Niether Garrison, Bresch, nor Manchin has the right to look any graduate or student of WVU in the eye. As Harry Truman said, "The Buck Stops Here". In the WVU's case, the buck stops at the Governor's Office.

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