Tempest in a Teapot - Fallout #1

A post or two ago, I mentioned that there were 3 other people besides our former president that were cited in the judges ruling as having done bad things--an administrator, a long time staff member, and a faculty member.

This morning when I checked my work email, I found a notice that the long time staff member is retiring, effective TOMORROW.  The soon-to-be-vacant position was never advertised.  No time for a coffee-and-cookies farewell party.  That will be scheduled in about a month, according to the email.  So, connect the dots.

Great Christmas!

I just returned from Seattle, where I spent a lovely 5 days with my son and his wife.  They are very much into amateur theater, especially musical theater.  My son plays woodwinds for the orchestras as he can, and his wife is into costuming.  They were both doing shows this month, so I was blessed to see both of the shows on their complementary tickets while I was there.  What a treat!  Both shows were great.  And, my son and I went up the famous Seattle space needle and got our picture taken.  My daughter-in-law is a gourmet cook, so I ate very well, including an all-fondue dinner on Christmas Eve. 

I can't keep up with all the musical instruments my son is into, so I asked him what he had while I was there.  He has 4 saxaphones (soprano, alto, tenor and bari), two clarinets (B-flat and E-flat), a flute, piccolo, and oboe.  The oboe he just began about 2 months ago, but with the others, especially the saxes and clarinets, he is quite good.  He is also not shabby on the guitar and keyboard.  All of this puts him in demand on the amateur musical theater curcuit.  Forgive me for a little bragging, but he is my favorite son.  (He is also my only son.)

I had realized recently that I must bite the bullet and purchase my first laptop computer, so while I was there I took advantage of my tech-y family to advise me on the purchase and take me around to computer stores.  I settled on and purchased an HP 14" laptop.  I'm glad I bought it while I was there because they were also of great help in getting it set up and loaded with software, some of which was their gift.  No, I am not up-to-the minute on every new PC this and that, but I was smart enough to get the personalized help of not one, but two Microsoft people who are far ahead of even the "normal tech-y smart" people that I know.  So, who's REALLY the smart one, huh?

Tempest in a Teapot - last chapter (I hope!)

Back in September, I posted about our local scandal concerning the firing of our college president in a dramatic way.  He asked for a formal hearing, before a judge, which was in October.  It lasted 4 days.  I did not go, but a friend who is a retired faculty member did go for all 4 days.  He reported back that, based on what he heard, he was unsure how the judge would rule, so we were all on pins and needles concerning this, awaiting the judge's official report. 

The report was released last Friday.  It was 38 pages, and officially on the public record, so the University sent electronic copies to all faculty and staff.  I printed it and read it.  It was surprisingly clear and easy to read.

Oh, my!  What a pull-no-punches report!  It was in 2 parts, the "facts" part and the "conclusions of law" part.  Evidently, there was written evidence, including University emails, that were not presented orally at the hearing, so my friend did not hear them.  But, the judge went through the whole of it in great detail.  Conclusions:  Several people broke the law, others were lax in their duty, and the whole thing was at the direction and/or pressure of the president.  The judge found the president guilty in other matters, as well, and the conclusion was that the Chancellor was fully justified in firing him.  Now, all that is lacking is for the state board to put their seal of approval on the whole thing, which is expected soon. 

The president would have been gone in any case.  The thing to be decide was if the University would have had to buy out the remaining time of his contract or not.  NOT, as it turns out, which will save the school a lot of money.  So, that's great news!  There have been some budget cuts this fall due to the fact that we were paying 2 presidents. The soon-to-be-former president may file a law suit, but given this report, I don't think he has a leg to stand on. 

Now the question is...what happens with the other people in the report that the judge says broke the law? 
Charged?  Fired?  There is one faculty member, one long-time staff member, and one administrator that were cited -- as far as I can tell, all good people who knuckled under pressure.  

Here's a lesson for all of us.  Let our internal moral compass always be our guide.  Those skeletons in the closet can come back to life.