Friday, July 18, 2008

Bad Idea Jeans

Not sure what Interim President Magrath is hoping to gleam from outgoing President Garrison, but it should include when to not answer the phone (like when Heather Bresch calls). It's not that hard to believe that Garrison is sticking around for a month in order to help with the transition to the new staff, but what is hard to believe is that the BOG offered to keep hip on staff until June 30th of 2010 in an undetermined role still making over $250K/year. The Board has made it clear that it was Garrison's decision to leave on September 1st and not the wishes of the BOG.

"On behalf of the board, we want to say how much we appreciate President Garrison's service, his administration's many successes this past year and his love for West Virginia University," Long said.
Meanwhile there are loose ends to tie up in the Garrison administration which are probably not labelled as "successes." One of those is a FOIA suit with the West Virginia Radio Corporation over the release of the R and V Associates Report on the HSC.
On June 3, 2008, Sandra Wilson, legal counsel for WV Radio Corporation called Bev Kerr, WVU legal counsel, asking why WVU had not responded to the FOIA request.

Wilson was told Kerr was not available and would return her call. According to the suit, Kerr had yet to return Wilson's call by the time the suit was filed.
R and V was a group brought in under Garrison's watch. And there is the whole hiding of Garrison's phone records during the Bresch scandal so he could say he had no idea what was going on. Only the PPG hasn't given up yet and is attempting to depose the Garrison Administration. WVU has managed to muddy all records of phone calls from two cell phones and a land line for Garrison during the Bresch scandal.
the university provided "reconstructed" billing records for one of Mr. Garrison's two cell phone numbers. Records for the other cell phone number, which WVU said was Mr. Garrison's personal line, and for his landline have not been provided.
Then this:
Mr. Browning said WVU would not turn over billing records for the second cell phone number assigned to Mr. Garrison because it became Mr. Garrison's private line as of July 12, 2007.

On May 21, Mr. Browning said Mr. Garrison had agreed to search his personal records for proof that he paid for the cell phone service, which he expected to give to the newspaper "in the next several days." Those payment records have not been provided.
I would suggest that Magrath not take any of Garrison's advice on crisis management. One thing the administration did get right was not taking Dow Chemical's land in Charleston even though all signs pointed to them wanting it to create a WVU base in southern West Virginia. Dow didn't want to insure the land it had chemical dumps on after WVU took over and I guess in the end the thought of the 6-eyed Simpson's fish led WVU to say no. Actually it was the thought that they'd get their asses sued off if anything happened to someone on the land. That and it was a bunch of dilapidated offices that Dow has been trying to get rid of for years and not much for actual laboratories.

All that and no sports? Well there is this. Finau is probably not going to qualify meaning Larry Ford better keep on some weight and Zac Cooper's heart better hold up because the line just got a lot less talented.

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