Should people in glass houses throw stones???
WVU vows independence during degree investigation
By Vicki Smith
Associated Press Writer
MORGANTOWN — Provost Gerald Lang promises a “fair and honest” investigation into whether West Virginia University gave Gov. Joe Manchin’s daughter a master’s degree she didn’t earn.
Bruce Flack, a vice chancellor with the Higher Education Policy Commission, received the formal charge as chairman of the independent panel late Monday. Serving with him are professors Michael Lastinger and Roy Nutter, both of whom have previously served on WVU’s Faculty Senate.
Lang did not set a deadline for a report but said Tuesday, “Obviously, we want it done as soon as possible.”
WVU officials allegedly rewrote records to award Heather Bresch an executive MBA in 1998, even though she only completed 22 of the required 48 credit hours, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Bresch, 38, works for Mylan Inc., a Canonsburg, Pa.-based pharmaceutical company with a lab in Morgantown. Its chairman, Milan Puskar, is a Manchin benefactor who also donated $20 million to WVU in 2003 for its athletic department and scholarships.
Bresch has insisted she earned her degree and is offended by suggestions to the contrary, assuring the newspaper last month that her word is “better than a transcript.” She did not respond to an attempt to contact her Tuesday.
Lang, meanwhile, said the faculty is confident Lastinger and Nutter will be independent and thorough.
“I think everyone is very comfortable with these individuals and confident that a fair and honest review will occur,” he said. “The people that have been appointed have been appointed with the support and endorsement of Faculty Senate leadership. I think they will do what they need to do.”
Lastinger has shown he’s willing to articulate an unpopular view: He opposed the appointment of WVU President Mike Garrison last spring while serving as faculty representative to the Board of Governors.
Garrison, chief of staff under former Democratic Gov. Bob Wise, was chosen to succeed David C. Hardesty Jr. despite critics’ complaints of political cronyism. The Faculty Senate had endorsed the other finalist, Kansas State University Provost and former WVU dean M. Duane Nellis.
Nutter, too, has taken minority viewpoints “more than once” in his three decades at WVU.
“I don’t know that I have ever seen a faculty member who was unwilling to speak up. It’s kind of the definition of a faculty member,” he said. “Untenured faculty? Many times, yes. But tenured faculty, I believe, think it’s part of our job to do this.”
Nutter understands skeptics who question the panel’s independence.
However, “I’m a graduate of WVU also,” he said, “so I have some vested interest in making sure this process works.”
At WVU, faculty review and approve course content, authorize new programs, determine whether curriculum is appropriate for a degree and certify students for graduation, Lang said.
“Since the accuracy of a WVU degree is at issue, it is only right that WVU faculty investigate the matter at their own institution as they do for any other curricular issues,” he said. “It is the faculty who know what to look for as they have a knowledge and history of administrative processes.”
Lastinger said the faculty shares governance of WVU with the administration, and the inclusion of that language in the panel’s charge convinced him the university wants a serious investigation.
“This is our responsibility, and we do take it with full seriousness,” he said, declining further comment.
The EMBA program is designed for people who continue to work full time while pursuing a degree, primarily through evening classes. The university has said a switch from paper to electronic records is to blame for the appearance that Bresch received favorable treatment.
Nutter said he doesn’t expect to find evidence of fraud, but will find it if it exists. He says it’s more likely that student records were lost or destroyed.
Lang said the panel’s report will be shared with the Faculty Senate and the Board of Governors before being made public.
“All findings will be a matter of public record except those protected by federal privacy laws,” he said. END
Mssrs Valenti and Foster, I expect a comment on this.