Pressure Builds for WVU President to Resign
Board of Governors Delays Decision Until June 6.
by Tony Rutherford
HuntingtonNews.net
May 20, 2008
Huntington, WV (HNN) – Following a three hour executive session by the West Virginia University Board of Governors, board chairman Steve Goodwin indicated that no decision had been made on the future of WVU President Mike Garrison.
Garrison has been under intense scrutiny following the E-MBA degree scandal involving Heather Manchin Bresch, Gov. Joe Manchin’s daughter.
“We’re going to wait for his report on June 6,” Goodwin stated during a reporter’s conference call. The President had previously stated that he would correct institutional problems which had been recommended by an investigative panel.
In his April 24 blog, Garrison wrote the report “is not pleasant reading for me, nor for anyone associated with our University.” Lauding the value of a WVU degree, he stated the institution would implement recommended changes by the panel:
“This includes developing standard operating procedures for making decisions about academic concerns, strengthening academic record management policies, reviewing procedures for making and tracking changes to grades and transcripts, and training all employees who deal with academic records in Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act regulations… I take full responsibility for implementing the changes needed to ensure that this never happens again.”
Ironically, Justin Selbert, writing at http://www.directom.com, on April 28 revealed that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which was one of the first newspapers to break the discrepancy involving Bresch’s MBA, carried a Google content ad on it site the same day the allegations broke: “Master’s Degree in MIC, exclusively on line at WVU. Succeed on your terms.” According to a May 19 posting, the ad was removed several days after the scandal hit the media.
[Editor's Note: As of at least May 19, WVU is still showing ads for its MBA program on Post-Gazette.com. These show intermittently based on a variety of factors including campaign budget. I updated the post mentioned above and have e-mailed HuntingtonNews.net's editorial staff.]
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