New President at WVU

[Hoosier Daddy]

[quote]April 14, 2007

Garrison named WVU's 22nd president; says he 'welcomes the challenge' and is 'ready to give back'

From WVU Web site

Morgantown, WV (HNN) --

Michael S. “Mikeâ€

[weaver]

“I especially want to thank the members of the search committee for the many extra hours they put into the screening, interviewing and consultation process,â€

[fearpeddler]

I wonder if south park will spoof it in the next year of so, mr garrison get a new job..... would be funny, him showin up with mr slave at wvu..

[Hoosier Daddy]

Two additional Editorials that add fuel to an already controversial fire ...

Note the dates listed, all were written and published prior to the official announcement.

April 7, 2007

Editorial: Joe Manchin Flip Flops on WVU Presidential Pick


Governor Joe Manchin appears to be speaking out of both sides of his mouth lately on the topic of the imbroglio surrounding the controversial WVU Presidential Search.

Surprise, surprise.

What a shame, too. Until recently the Governor had disguised rather well his own preference, having his press secretary declare repeatedly that he had no favorite. That was the right track to take, even if Manchin were involved all along with the attempt to shove WVU Presidential finalist Mike Garrison through the doors of Stewart Hall.

For now another tune comes from our Governor. Since the comparisons of the backgrounds, education, and similar political connections between current WVU President David Hardesty and Mike Garrison have been drawn by many, we can only gather that Manchin was not merely defending the process but Garrison himself when he said the following this week:

'When David was chosen 12 years ago, he did not come out of academia,' Manchin said. 'But he brought all the wherewithal with him and was extremely successful.'

Yes, so successful that Hardesty has had his own image plastered on the 'Wall of Greatness' on one WVU building on campus, larger than Sam Huff's, larger than Jerry West's, larger than everyone else who is far better known as a WVU alumnus nationally.

But back to Manchin. Clearly, he's running interference for the Goodwins and for Garrison. He need not have injected himself into this discussion at all but felt an obligation to defend a process that has been shown to be highly questionable already. What does Manchin possibly owe Garrison, a former member of his gubernatorial transition team?

As is so often the case in West Virginia politics, it's not Garrison the Governor feels that he owes. Rather, it's Garrison's patrons, the Goodwins, who in turn have the ear of Senator Byrd. If Manchin wants to have any clear shot at having Byrd's blessing to be his successor, the Governor's blind ambition dictates that he must do whatever Byrd says on an appointment of this magnitude. After all, Byrd's name is higher even than Hardesty's these days around WVU's campus.

So the Presidential Search Committee's 'process' has really been just an elaborate hoax on the committee members, as well as the alumni, faculty, and staff of WVU. After all, when David Hardesty was selected President of WVU, he was 48, not 38. Hardesty may not have had deep educational experience, but he had over twenty years of work in state government, as an attorney, and as an advocate for higher education.

This sham process is decidedly not about West Virginia University and its future. Far from it. Rather, this ruse has been about the ambitions of Joe Manchin and Mike Garrison--and the Goodwins who play the marionnette masters for both of them. No matter how badly the Goodwins bungle the job, they are determined to get Garrison in, though a more lightweight candidate would be hard to find.

At the very least, couldn't the Goodwins have gotten Garrison some serious academic experience before now? Garrison was quoted by one television station as calling himself, get this, a 'professor.' That's called resume inflation, an unfortunate development to find in a man who would be the next President of WVU.

Teaching one course, part-time makes one a visiting instructor at best. Real professors have spent an average of eight years learning their discipline and earning their Ph.D., sweating through to tenure, and spending at least ten years or more getting the academic title of 'professor.'

But who's keeping track of this in 'Goodwinville,' the furthest place removed froma serious institution of higher learning.

and

April 6, 2007

Editorial: WVU's Presidential Search Committee: Treated as a Joke

How did it come to this? A state who prides itself on being shrewd enough not to take wooden nickels from anyone being led by appointed leaders who think they're fooling us. Just one of life's ironies.

When Joe Bob Goodwin couldn't win a State Senate seat in his home senatorial district, perhaps that is when everything changed for the his Jackson County clan. Instead of running again, Joe Bob and his entire family--and we do mean entire--got into the business of helping bigshots in the state Democratic Party.

For their collective efforts, the Goodwin family has been rewarded with a federal judgeship, a state cabinet position, and a seat on the WVU Board of Governors. The younger generation has fared well, too, with one holding a federal U.S. Attorney office position, and two others serving as one Governor's general counsel and another Governor's press secretary.

The law offices of Goodwin and Goodwin boast of some of this on their website, never realizing that good taste requires a bit of restraint now and then. Restraint is not a Goodwin family characteristic.

No, when it comes to their power, the Goodwins flaunt it.

They want us to see that they can put in one of their own as President of WVU, even if he has few qualifications. Moreover, they test the limits of the public's patience by putting forward a young man, age 38, so that they can have a reliable puppet as President for the next 10, 15, or even 20 years. No shame to these folks.

However, this latest power bid of Jackson County's showpiece family is transparent to all. Take for example the WVU student-run newspaper, the Daily Athenaeum, which reported the reaction from those gathered following a faculty forum with Daniel Bernstine, one of the other finalists. Here is the last, telling paragraph from the Daily Athenaeum's report of that event:

'We've had a valid, open, conspicuous process,' said Steve Goodwin, chairman of the selection committee and the Board of Governors, after the faculty forum with Portland State University President Daniel Bernstine.

One faculty member booed, while several others chuckled at Goodwin's comment.'

And the Associated Press account was even worse for WVU, saying that, 'more than a dozen faculty members jeered WVU Board of Governors Chairman Steve Goodwin when he said the search for WVU's next leader was a 'valid, open and conspicuous process.'

How come nobody is buying what Steve Goodwin is selling these days?

Source: HuntingtonNews.net

[Hoosier Daddy]

and ...

April 12, 2007

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: 'Political Theater' on Display in WVU Presidential Selection Process



Dear Editor:

WVU was treated to choreographed political theater yesterday as Mr. Garrison met with campus groups with an entourage of non-WVU supporters sprinkled through the crowd and among the questioners. It appears that Governor Joe Manchin has succeeded in politicizing WVU just as the Bush Administration in Washington has politicized the science reporting in the EPA and elsewhere and the Justice Department.

Sticking closely to vague generalities and a few memorized talking points, Mr. Garrison was not able to answer with any depth simple questions about the how the university would be taken to the next level. Oh, he was very glib on promises to faculty and staff about salaries (a chicken in every pot), but his answer as to how that would be accomplished was that he would use his connections to get more money from the State plus some nebulous private partnerships with the hint that somehow his connections could grease.

Under Dr. Nellis and now Dr. Mazey, the Eberly College has built a strong foundation for the future, IF we have a leader at the top who understands a research university's mission (which includes outstanding teaching), KNOWS what is needed to be nationally and internationally competitive because they themselves have been, and who will focus the resources to make it all possible.

The engineering college under Dean Cilento has also made great strides. The shining example may be Health Sciences (the loss of Bob D'Alessandri is a major blow to WVU) whose success and growth have provided opportunities for both the Eberly College and CEMR in exciting areas of interdisciplinary research that could catapult WVU forward IF successfully addressed.

We need a leader who understands ALL of these issues. We need a leader of international caliber who understands research at a high level. Someone of vision and action that can speak as an equal with national and international leaders and can realize the potential of WVU to take us to the next level.

Both Dr. Nellis and former finalist Dr. Bernstine have proven records on that count, while Mr. Garrison's experiences are limited largely to the confines of the borders of West Virginia in politically appointed positions.

The greatest challenge to America is to retain its international leadership in the globalized economy. Mr. Garrison did not know of the initiatives taken by business leaders, government, and higher education institutions to form Innovate America, and the recent report by the National Academies "Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future".

As a leader in the Governor's Office and on the Higher Education Policy Commission, Mr. Garrison should have known about these issues, especially if he were aspiring to be the President of West Virginia's flagship university and was attuned to national concerns.

There are more than 25 Governor's listed as leaders on Innovate America's website, together with many CEO's and prominent University Presidents such as Dr. Charles Vest, retired President of MIT who is a WVU graduate and whose father was on the faculty here.

A virtual political appointment as President of WVU will not be part of the solution to this growing crisis, it will be part of the problem. Both Dr. Nellis and Dr. Bernstine showed they were well-attuned to these issues. I urge everyone to read the very sobering 22 page executive summary (http://www.nap.edu).

As an institution that aspires to national recognition and is to showcase West Virginia, we must rise above petty politics and choose solely on the basis of merit.

On the basis of merit, there is only one choice M. Duane Nellis. Dr. Nellis was a masterful Dean who had enormous accomplishments in a time of severe budget limitations and reallocation of resources during the implementation of Senate Bill 547.

As a member of the five year review committee for Dean Nellis, I recall that ALL constituents consistently praised him, extremely uncommon for an administrator.

He had the personal skills and style of administration to bring together faculty, staff, students, and partners in business through the Eberly College Advisory Board, for the betterment of the Eberly College of Arts & Sciences.

Dr. Nellis indicated that he is passionate about the opportunity to grow WVU in the directions that will take us to another level. He is a man who listens and a man of action. He is not afraid of bright people with good ideas and has shown that not only does he listen to them, but most importantly, facilitates the implementation of those ideas. He proved this at Kansas State, he proved it when he was here, and he will bring the needed leadership to WVU.

Sherman D. Riemenschneider
Professor and Chair
Department of Mathematics
West Virginia University
Morgantown, WV

Source: HuntingtonNews.net

[AARON SCOTT]

I wish Randy Moss would have ran for president of WVU

[Arp2]

Why are you people surprised?? This is exactly what Democrats and liberals and their socialist and communist comrades do the world over -- use the power and weapons of government to enrich themselves and their anointed.

Your "winner" even admitted so in his speech.
[quote]“At the end of the day, we must all come together to improve our research capacities, our faculty and staff salaries and our classroom experiences.â€