Chronicle: Red Tape Hid Felner's Red Flags

Former UofL Education Dean Robert Felner was big on promises.

Having received a $694,000 grant from U.S. Department of Education funds, earmarked by Rep. Anne Northup, Felner promised to create an elaborate research center to help Kentucky's public schools. Five UofL faculty members, supported by a staff of four, would work at a center under an advisory board headed by Kentucky's Secretary of the Education Cabinet Virginia Fox. The state would be carpeted with surveys. There would be papers and conferences.

Too bad Fox didn't know there was a grant.

Too bad none of the surveys were conducted.

Too bad the Kentucky Department of Education didn't know anything about the surveys.

Too bad there were no papers or conferences.

Too bad most of the money had disappeared.

By the spring of 2008, all but $96,000 of the grant had been spent, but none of the tasks listed in Mr. Felner's proposal had been accomplished.

So he approached Louisville officials for $200,000 more to enter into a subcontract with his buddy Thomas Schroeder's nonprofit organization in Illinois - a group that had already received $450,000 from the Felner grant.

Felner assured UofL officials that the surveys Schroeder was supposedly conducting with students and teachers in Kentucky would "let us give the feds something that should make them very happy about the efficiency and joint commitment of the university to doing a good job with an earmark, as I know we will want more from this agency," he wrote in an e-mail message on June 18.

Two days later, as Felner was preparing to leave for a new job at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, federal agents raided Felner's UofL offices and confiscated his files and laptops.

Turns out Uof L was not Felner's first rodeo.

By October a federal grand jury had indicted Felner on nine counts of mail fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion. The indictment said Schroeder's National Center on Public Education and Prevention was a shell organization that existed to funnel money into the Felner and Schroeder's personal bank accounts. Prosecutors calculate that the men made off with the $694,000 earmarked grant plus $1.7-million in payments from three urban school districts connected to Felner when he was in Rhode Island.

But that's not the way it's supposed to work. There's supposed to be oversight. UofL officials made some promises too.

In their upcoming June 12 issue, the Chronicle on Higher Education takes aim at the lack of oversight at UofL.

When Louisville accepted the earmarked grant, its officials signed the boilerplate language attached to most federal contracts. The university, they promised, had "the institutional, managerial, and financial capability ... to ensure proper planning, management, and completion of the project."

But did it in fact have that capability? For several months in 2007, Mr. Felner charged almost $37,000 of his salary against the grant, but there is no evidence that he ever worked on the project. (In an October 2008 memorandum, Robert N. Ronau, the college of education's associate dean for research, declared that he knew of no
reports, articles, or other products that resulted from the grant.). Federal regulations require that universities use "suitable means of verification that the work was performed" when they prepare time-and-effort reports; Louisville officials declined to comment on how Mr. Felner's time-and-effort reports were processed.) And when he sent his first big payment to the Illinois group, Mr. Felner constructed the deal as a personal-services contract instead of a formal subcontract, which would have been subject to more oversight by the university. But no one corrected that error for more than a year.

Provost Shirley C. Willihnganz, seemed to admit that UofL's procedures could be overridden by an individual of high standing, such as a dean.

"I think what we had in this case was a person who abused the system. And so it's not so much that our policies were bad or that our procedures were bad. We had a person who did not follow them and did not respect them."

"This person was a dean," says Ms. Willihnganz, the provost. "And deans here have a very wide breadth of control. They have a lot of authority. I think, in fact, no one else here at this university could have gotten some of those things through. Because he was a dean, he was trusted."

But that explanation goes nowhere with former UofL education faculty who say they had plenty of reason to distrust Mr. Felner.

Beginning in 2004, the university's grievance officers were approached dozens of times by faculty members and students with complaints about Mr. Felner's temperament and personnel decisions. Many of those records were first described last year by Page One Kentucky, a political blog that has aggressively covered Mr. Felner's story (and whose comment section has become a meeting ground for aggrieved faculty members at Louisville).

The Chronicle lists the most egregious alleged offenses which include harassment of a female grad student, threats, intimidation, violations of governance policies, questionable expenditures and a generally oppressive atmosphere in the department. This was followed by a 27-24 "vote of no confidence" against Felner.

After the vote, Ms. Willihnganz hired a mediation company called Just Solutions to review morale at the college of education — but after interviewing many faculty members, the company never filed a final report.

"I talked to a lot of people" after the no-confidence vote, Ms. Willihnganz says. "There were detractors, but there were also supporters. My hope was that Just Solutions could come in and find some common ground to go forward. They completed some faculty interviews — but in all honesty, at that point I realized that they weren't going to be able to accomplish what I had hoped."

Several months later, a faculty member circulated an anonymous note that read, "It appears that the Provost has chosen to bury that [Just Solutions] report without giving any feedback to faculty. ... Now the dean likes to taunt people about how nothing came of any of our complaints."

By the time university leadership finally recognized that they had been suckered by Felner's unmet promises they were stuck cleaning up Felner's mess. That didn't go all that well.

President James Ramsey and Willihnganz circled the wagons, inferred that faculty complaints were only from the disgruntled who refused to make necessary changes and Ramsey called their complaints anonymous crap.

Calls for Ramsey's resignation could be heard but he was supported by Louisville's board.

Last September he and 20 other faculty members who left the college of education during Mr. Felner's tenure wrote to Louisville's Board of Trustees, asking it to scrutinize how complaints about Mr. Felner had been handled by Ms. Willihnganz and by James R. Ramsey, the university's president.

"Felner often bragged openly at faculty meetings that he had the full support of the provost and president," the letter said. "Faculty should feel free to speak their mind
and be counted. Yet, when faculty did exactly that, they were systematically ignored and targeted for further abuse by Felner."

Former county superintendent and Council for Better Education president Blake Haselton was appointed interim dean of the college of education. Unlike his predecessor, Mr. Haselton's background promises steady leadership, not flashy research grants.

University-wide accounting and research-compliance reforms were undertaken but some current and former faculty members are skeptical that the reforms will go far enough - or that all parties who erred during the debacle will be held appropriately accountable.

The Chronicle concludes that too much red tape hid what should have been red flags to university overseers.

HOW RED TAPE MIGHT HIDE RED FLAGS

The University of Louisville, like other institutions, has struggled to bring order and coherence to its research-administration system. A single federal grant might be monitored by multiple offices there: one office to verify researchers' time-and-effort reports, another office to approve subcontracts, yet another to oversee the protection of research subjects.

Does that fragmentation allow some things to slip through the cracks? Robert D. Felner, a former dean of education at Louisville, has been indicted on charges that he misappropriated a $694,000 federal grant.

At one point, Mr. Felner set up a subcontract as a personal-services contract, which allowed him to bypass some layers of supervision.

In March, Louisville's Board of Trustees received a report on plans to improve the system. Deans will have less unilateral power to make purchases, and the university will "develop a central process to monitor research projects for compliance."

Belated hat tip to Page One Kentucky.

Ramsey Absolves UofL in Deasy Degree Scandal

UofL investigates UofL and Finds Integrity

“Based upon the totality of the circumstances

and information available,

it is evident that waivers were granted by the then-graduate dean

which permitted the student to register

and defend his dissertation in one semester.

The dissertation defense before a committee of

University of Louisville CEHD faculty

was successful, and the degree was subsequently awarded.

“The degree stands; no further action will be taken.

--UofL President James Ramsey and

Exec VP and Provost Shirley Willihnganz

Interpretation: This decision concludes our review and confirms the integrity of our degree granting process. We do not give away degrees.

Alternative Interpretation: We were so totally screwed by former Dean of Education Robert Felner that it took a lot of people months and to dig through all of the bad acts he perpetrated and we still found the record sketchy. What we do know is that Felner influenced a former graduate dean to bend the academic rules for one of Felner's buddies, John Deasy. We have high standards at UofL but sometimes we waive them. Deasy was permitted to register and defend his dissertation in one semester which effectively proves that the work was not done at the University of Louisville. But what are we going to do? Having given Felner the authority to screw us, he screwed us. Since the error was clearly UofL's, we're not in a position to take it back now. Maybe we'll get a big grant from the Gates Foundation some day.

In a letter from President Ramsey and Provost Willihnganz to the university community the issues surrounding John Deasey's easy degree was laid to rest.

• A blue-ribbon panel reviewed the awarding of Deasy's 2004 degree and found...
• In very rare instances, almost always when student well-being was at issue (though no such claim is made here), the graduate dean acted within his authority to grant waivers.
• The Blue Ribbon Panel reinforced the need to reconstitute the graduate school to increase oversight and accountability.
• The panel noted several needed changes that were made in graduate education at UofL since the Deasy degree was granted.
• The authority of the graduate dean was changed so that he or she could no longer allow certain types of exemptions and variances in graduate student programs.

That's a lot of fixin' for something that supposedly wasn't broken.

Hat tip to PageOne Kentucky.

Felner's Lame Explanation

"I'm not innocent because
I've done all these stupid things.
I know it. And I'm in some trouble."
--Robert Felner

At C-J, Nancy Rodriguez has been reading the transcripts of former UofL Education Dean Robert Felner's interview with federal authorities. Her report shows a desperate Felner looking to explain away the inexplicable - how houses in his name were really an investment; that sort of thing. It's hard to imagine any jury buying what he's shovelling.

Felner said he used grants

to build up company

Ex-dean spoke to investigators

Former University of Louisville education dean Robert Felner
told federal investigators last summer that he and an Illinois colleague [Thomas Schroeder] used federal grant money to invest in properties around the country because they were trying to build up a nonprofit company that they had created for educational research, according to a 320-page transcript of the interview...

In the June 20 interview...Felner acknowledged that he deposited into the Louisville account $450,000 in checks paid from a U of L federal grant that was intended to create a different center at U of L to help schools boost achievement under the No Child Left Behind law.

He also said he deposited payments made to the Illinois center from school districts in New York and other states for contract work he said he did.

Federal officials said during the interview that Felner later moved that money into investment and personal accounts, or made cash withdrawals. According to investigators, Felner also used the money to purchase four properties -- two in Florida and one each in Oldham County and Rhode Island.

They say he also used money from the accounts to have landscaping done at the properties, pay property taxes and mortgage costs and fix a home spa.

The properties are all in Felner's name, but he told investigators during the interview that they were bought as investments for the Illinois-based center...

"The reason we invested in the houses, the reason we brokered the account were to just to try to build something up so we could actually have the money to do the kind of work that we wanted to do," Felner told investigators during the daylong interview, which took place June 20, 2008, at U of L's College of Education and Human Development.

But that isn't allowed under regulations governing federal grants, according to James Tracy, vice president of research at the University of Kentucky.

When it comes to federal grants, the general rule is: "You personally cannot gain or divert federal funding to benefit yourself," Tracy said.

"You can take a salary from a grant, but you have to say that and you have to account for that at the university," he said, adding that what Felner said he was doing "doesn't sound reasonable."

Asked why he didn't file conflict of interest forms as required by the university Felner claimed that oversight on that matter was pretty much absent.

Nobody around here, I mean, I'm sorry, but nobody around here submits their
conflict-of-interest forms," Felner said.

Provost Shirley Willihnganz admitted previously that faculty had not always filed such forms, but that the university has since improved its monitoring.

Has Ramsey's Post-Felner PR Campaign Resorted to Lies?

The allegation being made over at Page One Kentucky is that UofL President James Ramsey "lied his rear end off" in a radio interview this week on WFPL's "State of Affairs."

When the interviewer asked Ramsey about the "damage to trust" due to numerous faculty grievances that were swept under the rug at UofL's College of Education, and whether those concerns were "heard and responded to" Ramsey responded that his trust was violated by former Dean Robert Felner.

To a degree, that must surely be true.

But still surprisingly, he treated the whole matter as if the only problem was a failure of the process - that Felner, not being from Louisville, did not follow the process. But Ramsey seemed to wash his hands of the process saying,

"I'm not involved in it, and really, the Provost is not involved in it." ...

"There were four grievances filed, against the former dean and none of them really made it to my desk as a problem."

Really? ...as a problem?

So is Ramsey suggesting that he was unaware that there were real problems? This, despite as many as 33 grievances consultations for sexual harassment and intimidation, four of which lead to formal grievances being filed under UofL's process, but most of which did not due an acknowledged fear that complaints would only lead faculty to be retaliated against.

And if Ramsey didn't see any real problems, why not?

As PageOne Kentucky reported, in 2005 the College of Education and Human Development was responsible for 42% (13) of faculty grievance consultations campus-wide. The 2006 report from Faculty Grievance Officer Suzanne Meeks showed that 15 (56%) of the 27 grievance consultations that took place were from the CEHD. Meeks confirmed in her letter that the Provost was very well aware of the problems.

Due to the number of consultations from CEHD, and the level of negative affect associated with those consultations, I have worked with the Provost’s office to recommend that they use administrative mechanisms to restore morale, faculty governance, and collegial interaction there. Although I believe interventions have been attempted, it is not be sense that they have yet been effective.

Again in 2007 more than 33% of the grievance consultations on campus came from the College of Education.

No problem?

Meeks reported to the Faculty Senate,

As with previous years, a disproportionate number of consultations have related to the College of Education and Human Development (one-third). Over the three years of my tenure as FGO, I have consulted with at least one-third of the CEHD faculty. Throughout this time, I have heard talk of retaliation against faculty members who file grievances or requests for mediation. The majority of those I have spoken with are not willing to file grievances because of this fear of retaliation, which extends to those who testify at grievance hearings as well. This situation demonstrates a significant weakness in the grievance system, in that there is no way to prevent such retaliation when one files a complaint against someone who has the power to determine work load agreements and salary increases, approve expenditures, and allocate resources.

Is Ramsey suggesting he and Provost Shirley Willihnganz were unaware of faculty senate proceedings? Both admitted they discounted the rare "no confidence" taken against Felner.

More likely, they didn't want to see the complaints as "a problem" - therefore, they weren't. In their minds Felner deserved credit for raising CEHD's ranking in US News and World Report. In his now famously unfortunate quip, Ramsey reduced such complaints to "anonymous crap." Calling faculty who were afraid to put their names on such complaints “cheap,” Ramsey credited Felner with “bringing about change that needed to be made.”

Willihnganz acknowledged that "the heat on this one is on us."

Now Ramsey says, "We're taking this very seriously," and called the whole episode "an opportunity to improve."

In an August letter, Ramsey assured the university community that an audit would take place. Now, the quality of that audit is being called into question. Page One Kentucky now reports,

Thanks to open records requests, we have been able to determine that there isn’t an audit per se. ...What is available, however, is a PowerPoint presentation from [Cotton + Allen] given to the Board of Trustees. It’s ‘Grants Management Internal Control - Preliminary Report to the Board of Trustees.’

See it here.

Ramsey called for a review of the grievance process and the entire shared governance model but the faculty committee that undertook the review was not charged with exploring infractions at the university, so it didn't.

Meanwhile, WLKY reports, a federal judge will hear arguments on March 25th about whether to suppress evidence in Felner's fraud case. Judge Charles R. Simpson also ruled against a separate motion asking him to suppress evidence taken from Felner's new office at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

UofL Committee Raises Questions about Shared Governance

A faculty committee report submitted to President James Ramsey by, and with the full concurrance of Provost Shirley Willihnganz, calls into question the university's adherence to, and consistency in, enforcing its own policies.

"while the central administration typically abides by the principles of collegial governance by consulting in a timely fashion with the leadership of the faculty, staff, and student senates on policies that affect those groups across units of the university, the events in the CEHD have raised some concerns about how consistently the rules of shared governance are followed within units."

Citing insufficient orientation, training and evaluation of unit administrators, the committee states,

"In particular, it appears that accountability for adherence to established principles of collegial governance may be weaker at the level of unit administration than any other level of administration."

The balance of the report contains a set of recommendations that the university follow its own polcies and the establish a new University Ombudsperson to mediate problems.

The committee did not set out to uncover infractions at the university, and it didn't. Rather, it offered a set of recommendations for "looking forward."

Find a copy of the report at PageOne Kentucky.

UofL Continues the PR Campaign by Reporting Continuing Investigations of Everything Except Leadership

This from Biz First of The Ville:

U of L provides investigation updates

Officials with the University of Louisville provided updates on steps the school has taken in the wake of former College of Education and Human Development dean Robert Felner’s federal indictment on charges of money laundering, mail fraud and conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service...

• U of L officials said auditors have completed an internal audit of the College of Education and Human Development’s finances - due out after Thanksgiving.
• Auditors with Louisville CPA firm Cotton and Allen presented findings of an external audit of the university’s grants management and contracts practices earlier this month.
• Ramsey's campus-wide task force to review the findings and recommend action steps plans to meet again in December.
• A faculty senate review of the school’s faculty grievance policy is "under way."
• A separate U of L committee currently is reviewing U of L’s managerial and administrative practices, but the report will be given to Provost Shirley Willihganz (so it's safe to assume that neither the practices of her office or those above her are being investigated).
• Another committee is reviewing the university’s conflict of interest policy.
• And happily, the university also continues to investigate the university’s awarding of a Ph.D. to John Deasy, deputy director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, during Felner’s tenure.

Over at Page One, Jake is raising the question of "any potential conflict of interest with the Cotton Allen firm."

This from Nancy at C-J:

And this from WFPL:

Thanks Jake.

The Felner Chronicles

The Racine Post listed a series of Felner stories last week. The now infamous former UofL Education Dean Robert Felner -- who was trying to get out of town (and into a new funding stream, perhaps) was appointed Chancellor at UW-Parkside but was forced to resigned before his investiture.

The Post's "cautionary tale" has been significantly expanded by KSN&C to include more of Felner's collateral damage.

Felner case may bring U of L new scrutiny on grants Oct 26
Felner Stink Sticks to Deasy Oct 25
Sifting the Ashes as UofL Oct 24
Felner in handcuffs: The Money Shot Oct 23
Reaction to Schroeder indictment in Illinois Oct 23
Felner and Schroeder Indicted Oct 22
INDICTED! He pleads innocent Oct 22
UofL President James Ramsey's Statement on the Indictment of Robert Felner Oct 22
Deasy's Easy Degree raises questions about Doctoral Quality Oct 3
Louisville Grad Students Uneasy about Felner Investigation Oct 2
Another U of L Instant Degree For Sale? Sept 26
Ramsey's PR Campaign Continues Sept 25
Deasy has Resume Errors. Ray & Associates was on the Job Sept 24
Ramsey got Felner's assurance. Now we get Stone's Sept 19
Don’t say the f word Sept 17
Felner Attny Defends Deasy's Instant Doctorate Sept 17
Ramsey says U of L broke no rules on disputed doctorate Sept 13
It's Time to Begin the Search for U of L's Next President Sept 12
SACS, NCATE Look Into U of L Accreditation Problems Sept 12
Was the Price of a Ph.D. at the U. of Louisville 9 Credits and a $375,000 Grant? Sept 11
Probed: The four-month PhD Sept 10
U of L's Integrity on the line Sept 10
Deasy Blames U of L Sept 10
Accountability for John Deasy Sept 10
Need a Doctorate? Hire Felner. Let him Chair your Committee Sept 9
At Last: The Ville's Ramsey apologizes over Felner incident Sept 6
Change agent, class clown or criminal? Sept 3
21 Former U of L Faculty complain of inaction on Felner Sept 3
University distances itself from earlier compliments paid Felner Aug 31
Ramsey Tosses the Faculty a Bone Aug 30
C-J smacks Ramsey, Willihnganz and Porter Aug 29
Felner’s follies - Former U of L dean Robert Felner racked up grievances, not grants Aug 29
UW-Parkside: WHEW! He's not our problem! Aug 27
Felner Update: U of L funds used to keep Rhode Island center afloat Aug 21
A trail of outrage
Feds: More 'threads' probed Aug 13
U of L's Felner tried to get more funding, investigation reveals Aug 10
Lack of Oversight of Felner Conflicts Compromises Research Integrity at U of L Aug 9
U of L grant checks end up in local bank Aug 7
Charge it! he said ($31,000 worth) Aug 4
Emails detail fraud, collusion, fear of IRS and much, much more! July 28
Felner and Schroeder's Sweetheart Deal July 28
Felner Attny hints at Schroeder involvement July 27
Felner: Anatomy of a Fraud? July 26
31 Felner Grievances not typical...so only 4 count? July 22
A Letter from Ramsey and Willihnganz July 21
Felner Pal got Bulk of Money July 20
UofL president raps 'anonymous crap' July 17
33 Grievances = Excellence at U of L July 17
FOI brings stack of grievances July 14
That $694,000 grant was for us? July 10
Grant money went to fake company? VIDEO July 10
Grant monitoring ignored -- VIDEO July 9
The Grievance King July 7
Feds widen probe July 7
He was crime victim, too July 2
UW System finger-pointing July 1
Retaliated against critics July 1
Troubles began in '80s at C-U June 30
Try this, Unified and UW-P! June 27
THE NEVERENDING STORY June 26
Withdraws before taking office June 24

Hat tip to Page One.

Jake on Francene on Felner on Schroeder ...OMG!

I can't (but will have to ) wait to listen to this.

Felner in Handcuffs: The Money Shot

Screen shot from Video at WDRB Fox 41:

After a six month investigation involving hundreds of pages of evidence, Robert Felner was indicted on charges of fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion. Close friend and co-conspirator Thomas Schroeder of Illinois was also indicted.

Felner appeared at the Mazzoli Federal Building to turn himself in to agents from the Secret Service one of several agencies which investigated Felner's alleged misuse of tax dollars and federal grants while serving as the Dean of Education at the University of Louisville and the University of Rhode Island.

Felner was perp-walked to court in handcuffs.

He appeared briefly this afternoon before a Federal Judge where he entered a plea of not guilty on all counts.

Felner was released on a $100,000 bond after surrendering his passport.

Yesterday's indictments charge Felner with pocketing $1.7-million that belonged to the University of Rhode Island and taking more than $500,000 in federal grant money that should have gone to U of L.

Meanwhile across town, UofL President James Ramsey was announcing $11.6-million dollars in grants received by UofL medical researchers to study and treat diabetes and obesity.

Stung by the Felner affair Ramsey proclaimed, "There are great things happening at the University. He told Fox News the school would better monitor grant money and would listen to staff complaints - a direct reference to criticism that he and Provost Shirley Willihnganz ignored 33 complaints including four formal grievances and against Felner while he was dean of the College of Education and Human Development.

"This has been a difficult experience. We're gonna learn all that we can from it to make the University more focused and strong going forward," said Ramsey.

Raw Video At WHAS.

Big hat tip to Page One Kentucky.

Shout Out to Jake at Page One

A big thanks to Jacob Payne for being the fly in the ointment of Robert Felner, and unfortunately by extension, U of L President James Ramsey.

For the first time the Courier-Journal and other news sources are reporting that the alleged fraud ranges in the millions of dollars. Jake reported that months ago.

But it's hard to know what standards of verification bloggers use, especially when reporting unattributed matters where folks don't want to be quoted on the record - a major and necessary hang up for the mainstream media - which explains why C-J was so slow to report the extent of the fraud.

So we had to wait for the official processes to tick away before knowing whether Page One's reporting could be trusted. In the end, clearly, it could be trusted.

I'm not sure that explains why C-J was so slow to pick up the story to begin with. Was it homegrown protectionism? Was it a lack of news-gathering resources? Something else?

It was unfortunate that Ramsey and Provost Shirley Willihnganz were so protective of such a renown jackass as Felner. They clearly paid too much attention to the man behind the curtain. There's a big lesson in there somewhere.

Better would have been a strong response from Ramsey that upheld the best ethical principles at U of L and assured his commitment to discover and correct whatever nefarious individuals may have done to tarnish the reputation of this fine institution. Instead he chose a type of blind loyalty that allowed him to gaze fixedly at U S News and World Report rankings while ignoring all of the smoke - until there was a fully-stoked blaze.

It is obvious from internal emails that university leadership was caught totally off guard by the incident. They were slow on the uptake and chose to go totally defensive in their public relations responses - a move Ramsey later regretted and apologized for. Many U of L faculty were dismissed as malcontents and some called for Ramsey's head.

It seems clear from the public comments that the U of L trustees have accepted Ramsey's explanations and seem to want to go forward with him at the helm. I am told by some who know and respect him, that he is much more capable than this sorry episode would lead one to believe. Ramsey did respond belatedly with a series of efforts to relook the obvious problems uncovered by the whole affair.

It's now up to the citizens (and I suppose, the Governor) to decide if the trustee's handling of this mess was OK with them.

It is not clear that accountability, beyond what lies in "Dr Feloner's" future, will extend to any of his lieutenants - or to what degree the trustees may have formally "evaluated" the situation.

One would hope new Dean Blake Hesselton has his dustpan out for a little house cleaning. I guess we'll have to wait for that as well.

But here we have yet another situation where "the press" (including citizen journalists like Jake) is threatened and painted as the bad guy for reporting "unattributed lies" that turn out to be the truth.

Good job, Jake.

Also a big thanks to Adam Walser at WHAS (and Mark Hebert for catching the definitive Ramsey quote) and the Courier-Journal. You can't ignore that big megaphone the mainstream media wields, and after a slow start both outlets did a fine job of elevating the story to its proper place as the lead story and on the front page.

Battlelines Drawn in the Ville: U of L goes after Page One

Page One Kentucky's

Publication of "incorrect information"

about Donor's Degree Program Cited

The sabre rattling that began last week has escalated as the University of Louisville fired a shot across the bow of "the messenger" of bad tidings. Page One has responded on its pages with invitations and promises to defend itself.

This U of L press release from...you guessed it - Page One:

Sept. 26, 2008 Contact: John Drees
502-553-9793
John.drees@louisville.edu

UofL outraged at release of student records
Information on Internet blog is incorrect, possibly illegal

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The University of Louisville has learned that a local internet blog has printed incorrect information about a degree program and a student’s academic career.

The university expressed its concern at the release of the records, which may violate the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

"The University takes seriously its obligation to protect our students’ records and privacy," said University Provost Shirley Willihnganz. "We are outraged that anyone would violate that trust."

The program in question, the Bachelor of Science in Workforce Leadership, is offered through the university’s College of Education and Human Development. It is designed to allow mid- to advanced-career level working professionals to receive academic credit for their workplace learning experiences. In addition, students complete a program of core competencies with a concentration in workplace performance, career and technical education or executive development.

Two hundred thirty eight students currently participate in the program.

The degree program was created in response to a request from the Council on Postsecondary Education and has been praised by Greater Louisville Inc. and Kentuckiana Works as a model program that will help the commonwealth reach its 2020 goal of doubling the number of college graduates.

"This program clearly benefits the community, which has asked us to develop programs that will help in workforce development. And it benefits hundreds of individuals who wish to further their education," Willihnganz said.

More information on the degree is available at: http://louisville.edu/education/degrees/exec-perform.html

Jake Payne responded today at Page One saying,

...If there was major concern, why didn’t John Drees return telephone calls? Why didn’t Shirley Willihnganz email us directly? We have worked with her in the past and have communicated via email.

We have reviewed the leaked information we published time and time again. We can find no super-private confidential information. There are no grades, no specifics. Just communication among University of Louisville employees discussing ways to fake a degree by doing all the portfolio work for a major donor.

This is called damage control and it’s ridiculous.

Payne had previously called for an legislative investigation of events surrounding former Dean Robert Felner, his shady dealings with federal grant money, and an apparent sweetheart deal that granted a doctorate to Superintendent John Deasy, and now, major donor Lewis "Sonny" Bass.

Another U of L Instant Degree For Sale?

Recently Marina Karem complained in the C-J that the "quickie degree" granted Prince Georges County Superintendent John Deasy by former education Dean Robert Felner devalued her own hard work and accomplishments.

I'm sure she's not alone. It must be galling to those honest hard-working Cardinals to see their beloved university drug through the mud.

U of L spokesman John Drees assured the C-J today, "...we have one goal: to prevent instances like these reported at the College of Education from happening again."

But it now appears easy degrees from U of L may be more plentiful than originally thought.

Page One is reporting another sweetheart deal may have been under way with major Ville donor Lewis "Sonny" Bass. It was Bass who defended Felner in the C-J on August 28th suggesting that C-J's investigation and publication of the facts related to Felner's alleged wrongdoings were "perverted, cruel, twisted, malicious and probably anti-Semitic." He said C-J was crucifying the trustworthy Felner.

But according to [high-level] sources at UofL ... Mr. Bass was offered an honorary degree over the summer. But he wasn’t satisfied. He wanted an actual, earned degree. So individuals within the College of Education enrolled him in a fast track program that would give him credit for life experience, which has to be documented in the form of a portfolio.

A student was assigned (and paid) to assemble a portfolio for Bass but eventually grew to be uncomfortable with the arrangement. At one point, after complaining, she was reportedly offered more money to appease her worries but eventually backed out of the process. A new student was then assigned.

According to professors we spoke with at UofL, Bass never showed up to classes he was supposed to attend this summer. He never did any of the work required of him. And professors were uncomfortable giving grades to him– that he didn’t earn– since he was never in their classes.

Go read the emails. In one July message to Bass, Program Coordinator Carolyn Rude-Parkins outlines how she and a graduate research assistant would work on his "interview and written materials...[and] develop a Portfolio that will document [his] expertise..."

Sounds like they do all the work. He gets interviewed, and the degree of course, and apparently - stop me if you've heard this one before - without attending class.

Meanwhile, as President James Ramsey and Provost Shirley Willihnganz continue to be under fire for their misjudgment and support of Felner's activities - U of L spokesman Drees told C-J,

Louisville's accreditation and alumni donations have not been affected by federal and internal investigations of its former education dean, a school spokesman said yesterday.

"Based on the facts we have at this point, our accreditation is not threatened," John Drees said during a press briefing.

But six financial, management and governance reviews are still under way, and that does not include the SACS and NCATE reviews to follow or the federal investigation of Felner set to conclude in October.

Ramsey got Felner's assurance. Now we get Stone's.

I was talking recently to a friend. He's a former Frankfort insider, and refugee from the Fletcher Administration, who had met with Louisville President James Ramsey a few times on business in recent years. He thought Ramsey was a heck of a fella. Still does.

He thinks its a shame that Ramsey is now being tarnished by his protection of former CEHD Dean Robert Felner. But he knows how it goes. One bad act, or a major failure of judgment, can indeed outweigh tons of other good acts in the eyes of the public.

Unfortunately, in Ramsey's case, the long-term protection of Felner despite very disturbing evidence of several varieties of harassment lays heavy on the balance sheet. Then there's the recent revelation of worse; missing grant money and Prince Georges County Schools Superintendent John Deasy's instant degree.

But all is not lost. Just as Felner had Ramsey's support, Ramsey has the support of at least two members of the Board of Trustees. Previously J Chester Porter declared,

"We have worked with (U of L President) Jim (Ramsey) and (Provost) Shirley
(Willihnganz) long enough to know they, too, care deeply about the welfare of
all the University's employees and students."

One supposes that caring is the attribute that trumps all else.

In a letter to the editor in today's C-J, another Trustee, William Stone, jumped in the bunker with Porter.

As just one trustee of the University of Louisville, I want to publicly declare my support and confidence in the ability, integrity and judgment of our outstanding president, James Ramsey.

My friend would concur about Ramsey's ability. But in the Felner case, it is specifically integrity and judgment that are in doubt. When relatively weak persons sought his help to redress grievances, there was none to be had.

Stone laments the "almost daily hammering" at the hands of the Courier. Others lamented that it took C-J three weeks to get on the story to begin with. But Stone would assure us that Ramsey "has been pushing the right levers to get to the essence of the issues confronting us."

Then Stone tries and fails to compare the situation at Louisville with the Duke University lacrosse team. He thinks that Ramsey addressing the issues publicly is "courageous."

Apparently Stone, Ramsey, and the media agree that "the facts and truth should dominate the ultimate judgment of an individual." That's why media reports have all been based on university documents and verified facts. Stone would prefer that the media just kept it to themselves.

But not to worry. All is well. We have his assurance.

I can assure all those who read this offering, from the perspective of someone who has been intimately engaged with U of L as an 30-year overseer before becoming a trustee, that the leadership of our beloved U of L is in steady and skilled hands. We will come out of this stronger and better as we continue our inevitable journey toward national academic prominence.

I'm pretty sure Ramsey had Felner's assurance, too.

Hat tip to Jake.

Encore Presentation of the Felner Story (so far) in LEO

This from the Louisville Eclectic Observer (LEO):

History repeating?

As former U of L Dean Robert Felner faces the feds, colleagues and students shed light on his turbulent pastThe e-mail’s subject line read “Justice at Last?”

The message relayed sordid details about the brewing scandal surrounding Robert Felner, the former University of Louisville dean under federal investigation for potentially mishandling hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant money.

When Paul Hutchinson — a student of Felner’s at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign two decades ago — opened the e-mail from an old college friend, the message linked to recent media coverage of the criminal investigation here in Louisville.

As Hutchinson read news of the saga, he wasn’t surprised by the allegations against Felner, whom he describes as problematic, neglectful and unprofessional. What was more shocking, he says, is that it took so many years for accusations of wrongdoing to surface.“During his tenure the morale of the student body was going downhill fast,” Hutchinson says of Felner’s time in Illinois, where he served as director of clinical training. “His tenure in that role was widely seen as very problematic.”

The controversial figure ultimately was ousted from his leadership role 20 years ago: “All of a sudden, seemingly without warning, Robert Felner was being removed from his post, and there wasn’t any official explanation for why that step was being taken.”

In reading of the escalating scandal in Louisville, Hutchinson stumbled upon dozens of grievances filed by U of L faculty, staff, students and alumni — which were listed in their entirety on the blog www.PageOneKentucky.com — charging Felner with a laundry list of inappropriate behavior ranging from sexual harassment to fostering a hostile work environment.

For Hutchinson, it was déjà vu.

“I remember reading that list of grievances … and being struck by how familiar the complaints were. It sounded quite in keeping with the Bob Felner that I knew,” says Hutchinson, now a psychologist in Bellevue, Wash. While earning a master’s degree in Illinois, Hutchinson says Felner served as his faculty advisor. Although the former student does not recall any rumors of financial malfeasance, he says Felner’s tenure at the university was marred by an array of other criticisms. “It’s amazing that it took so long to catch up with him,” he says.

By the time the criminal investigation became public in late June, Felner had already announced his resignation as the dean of U of L’s College of Education and Human
Development, having accepted a job as chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. But as a result of the allegations, Felner — a licensed psychologist and longtime academic administrator — resigned from the new position before his tenure there even began, and he remains in Louisville as the investigation unfolds. Rather than keeping a low profile, the 58-year-old Felner continues popping up around town, frequently attending Bats games at Slugger Field, where he sits solo behind home plate, sipping beer and appearing remarkably unfazed for someone who is the target of a federal investigation.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Louisville began investigating Felner several months ago in response to suspicions regarding his handling of a $694,000 No Child Left Behind grant. The federal grant was supposed to be used to administer education surveys, work that apparently was never accomplished.

Instead, at least $450,000 of the grant money was funneled to a defunct nonprofit group in Illinois headed by a longtime friend and associate of Felner.

In the months before the criminal probe became public, Felner clearly feared that his job was in jeopardy, and e-mail correspondence suggests he was furiously trying to gather paperwork proving the legitimacy of the Illinois education organization where much of the grant money landed.

“I am already needing to relentlessly look for another job as this one I have been told is probably not long,” Felner wrote in an April e-mail to longtime friend Thomas
Schroeder, the director of the National Center on Education and Prevention in Port Byron, Ill., alleged recipient of a large chunk of the grant.

In a follow-up e-mail, Felner wrote: “Situation is getting real dicey. I could lose my house and you too.” In some of the messages, Felner addressed Schroeder as “honey,” sometimes closing the correspondence with the word “hugs,” adding a bizarre twist to the scandal. In addition to being the subject of a criminal investigation, Felner also is in the midst of a divorce from his wife, who resides in Rhode Island in one of the couple’s four luxurious homes.

“We are in the first phase of investigation. We’re going to wrap up this initial phase of investigation in four to six weeks,” says David Huber, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Kentucky. “There are other threads of this issue that are being investigated as well, and these other threads will continue to be investigated.”

When asked if the investigation is focusing primarily on the alleged mishandling of $450,000, or if additional money is in question, Huber simply repeats his statement that “other threads of this issue” are being looked into as well.

The university notified the U.S. attorney’s office about potential wrongdoing by Felner, and the administration is cooperating in the investigation, according to Huber. Although he declines to provide specific details — including when the suspicious activity was brought to his attention — Huber says it was the University of Louisville Police and the school’s general counsel that ultimately relayed the information to federal prosecutors.

An open records request to the university for communication between campus police and the U.S. attorney’s office was rejected under the ongoing-investigation proviso of Kentucky’s open records law.

So far, federal agents have seized paperwork and computers from Felner’s U of L office, as well as boxes that had been sent to his next job at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha, Wisc. Federal investigators also have visited the University of Rhode Island’s South Kingstown campus at least twice in recent months.

In response to the investigation, U of L has announced plans to review its policies for
overseeing federal funds. But some critics say the measure is too little, too late, suggesting the college should have addressed the corrosive and hostile environment during Felner’s reign as dean long ago. Maybe then, any wrongdoing would have been uncovered much sooner.

“My real beef is with the administration and how they have handled all of this,” says one university staffer who knows Felner and asked not to be named. “I do think there were serious issues going on, but I also think there are serious issues with the stifling of voices by upper administration … for me, that’s the real issue.”

Acknowledging that Felner at the very least made some bad judgments, the staffer went on to say: “I do think Robert was a jerk … but what I have more concern about is that there are a lot of things that happen in the university that aren’t handled in a very good way.”

Another U of L employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity says staffers still are reluctant to talk about Felner for fear of recrimination, suggesting the former dean and his “clique” at the university had a history of waging “fear tactics” against anyone who made waves.

For example, when two graduate students complained to Felner about repeatedly changing their assignments, he allegedly threatened not to renew their contracts at the school. “That’s the kind of thing that happened if people stepped out of line. And it went from full professors all the way down to students,” says the professor, who teaches in the college of education. “The one term that was used over and over again was ‘irrational.’ If you tried to make sense of it you’d drive yourself crazy because it just didn’t make any sense.”

Almost from the beginning of his tenure at U of L in 2003, Felner has been a controversial figure on the campus, and in 2006 he was the subject of a no-confidence vote called by the faculty senate.

The no-confidence vote, which passed 27-24 (with two abstentions), accused Felner of an array of unethical behavior, including publicly humiliating faculty, unfair hiring practices and workplace harassment. One anonymous grievance accused Felner of being “a cruel man who enjoys ridiculing others, depriving those he doesn’t like of resources,” adding that the dean liked to “taunt people about how nothing came of any of our complaints.” Another stated, “We have a mentally ill man in charge, and the university has pretty much told us that we can continue to suffer under his leadership.”

University records show that the college hired a mediation firm to look into the matter, but the results apparently were never shared with the faculty.In fact, it seems the matter simply fizzled out, and the former professor who called for the no-confidence vote says he was never even contacted by the mediation firm during its investigation.

In addition to calling for the no-confidence vote, Pedro Portes, now a professor at the
University of Georgia, says he also sent an e-mail to Shirley Willihnganz, university provost, and James Ramsey, president, alluding to the possible mishandling of federal grant money in the college of education. Portes sent the letter — which did not specifically mention Felner — prior to his departure in 2006, and he believes his warning was ignored.

University officials have repeatedly praised Felner for his accomplishments over the years, essentially dismissing the numerous grievances against him as growing pains, a natural part of institutional change.

But U of L spokesman John Drees says this support has been only “of the college,” and he declines to comment further, saying he cannot discuss personnel matters.
As droves of former colleagues continue to come forward with criticism of Felner’s past work at various institutions, some wonder how the University of Louisville could have hired him in the first place.

Not only did U of L officials fail to uncover (or simply disregarded) his stormy professional past, they did not heed the many warnings and complaints from faculty, dismissing the more than 30 grievances filed against him over the years. Continuing to downplay such grievances, U of L’s president just recently referred publicly to the bulk of those complaints as “anonymous crap.”

In the midst of criticism at a different institution 20 years ago, Felner was suddenly,and without official explanation, removed from his post as director of clinical training in the psychology department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. After receiving a host of complaints about the director, Emanuel Donchin, then head of psychology at the university in Illinois, booted Felner from the position.

In a recent phone interview from his home in Tampa, Fla., Donchin says he’s surprised no one — either at the University of Louisville, or at the University of Rhode Island, Felner’s previous place of employment — ever bothered to ask about Felner before hiring him.

“Over the 20 years since he left … nobody has ever asked me a question about Felner until today,” Donchin says.Faculty members reached at the University of Rhode Island were unwilling to comment on Felner’s tenure at the school.

But former colleagues and students of Felner in Illinois were more than willing to talk about his stormy leadership, which came to an abrupt end. Donchin, now a professor and department chair at the University of South Florida, says Felner was relieved of his duties as director largely because of his “personal style.” Although Felner briefly worked with another department on campus, he continued to be affiliated with the psychology department. But his ties with the psychology department ended when his “irresponsibility with respect to managing” one of his grant projects came to light, says Donchin.

Despite such complaints, Donchin reiterates his belief that Felner did nothing illegal while at the University of Illinois. “All he was guilty of was irresponsibility and being a mean and unpleasant person. … there was nothing criminal or reprehensible,” Donchin says. “We were very pleased that he left us. … He was really an unpleasant character, but that’s basically the story.”

Interestingly, Donchin says he received an angry, anonymous letter after Felner took over as dean of education at the University of Louisville. The letter essentially asked how Donchin and the psychology faculty at the University of Illinois in Urbana could have kept quiet and covered for Felner for so long.

“Nobody — no search committees, no deans, no provosts, no faculty members, nobody — has ever asked us for our views on Felner,” he says. "We weren’t quiet or anything like that, we just were never asked.”

It's Time to Begin the Search for U of L's Next President

Today's outrage at U of L is the revelation that President James Ramsey and Provost Shirley Willihnganz were fully aware of the scope and nature of former Dean Robert Felner's misbehavior and as early as May 2005 - when they buried a grievance and kept his misdeeds secret.

Page One has secured a copy of a grievance brought by Professor Brian Stamford, chair, Health and Sport Sciences, against former Dean Robert Felner in May, 2005. It states:

• Feb 2004 - Felner recruited Stamford to be Chair - offering a $25,000 bump in salary plus perks
• May 2004 - Glowing evaluation of Stamford's work from Felner
• Fall 2005 - Stamford defended his department against a move by Felner to take 20% of department funds and use them in his office. Felner relented and said he would take the funds next year.
• A female graduate student reported to Stamford that she was being sexually harassed by Felner. Following state law, university policy and sound moral judgement, Stamford reported the harassment internally.
• Felner responded with efforts to destroy Stamford's career at U of L and also Hanover College where he planned to work after retirement. Felner became confrontational and repeatedly interfered with Stamford's work. He removed Stamford as Chair.
• Felner withheld part of Stamford's salary, claimed that Stamford had already accepted another position, and began to process a resignation. He was presented with a constant stream of attacks.
• Stamford sought relief through Human Resources, university legal counsel, the Provost and the grievance process.
• Human Resources discourages him from filing anything.
• Legal referred him to Felner.
• Willihnganz referred him to Felner.

All Stamford wanted was fairness, to be left alone, and to retire as planned. What was Willihnganz's resolution to all of this? She buried it.

In a letter of understanding Stamford got what he should have been entitled to in any fair system, plus he got to keep his laptop and some exercise equipment.

In return U of L got his retirement and his silence. A confidentiality clause prevented Stamford from saying anything about the grievance. The grievance ... now how did Ramsey say it? ...never advanced.

One thing is clear from this single allegation: Willihnganz, and to be sure, Ramsey, were well aware of Felner's proclivities; they supported them; they protected him; and they are largely responsible for the destructive atmosphere we've all been reading about in this matter.

It's time for the Board of Trustee to form two more search committees.

And while they're at it, somebody ought to contact the young lady Felner was hitting on, profusely apologize, assure her that the offending parties will no longer be at Louisville, beg her not to sue over the university's obvious disregard for the safety of its students, and throw in some free tuition - assuming easy degrees are now out of the question.

At Last: The Ville's Ramsey apologizes over Felner incident

This from Nancy Rodriguez at C-J:

'A lot of individuals' hurt,

U of L chief acknowledges

University of Louisville President James Ramsey offered apologies this week to those hurt by former education dean Robert Felner, telling the school's Faculty Senate that "I should have never let that happen."

"I do understand -- fully understand -- didn't appreciate it soon enough, but I fully understand that there are a lot of individuals who have been hurt," Ramsey said during the Wednesday meeting.

The Courier-Journal obtained an audio tape of the meeting through an open-records request.

"There are a lot of individuals who have been deeply scarred, and a lot of individuals who are very disappointed in their university. I am deeply regretful of that, and I alone have to take responsibility for that, and I do. … I should not have ever let that happen, and it did happen," Ramsey said....

...Former faculty, staff, students and alumni have complained that Felner harassed, intimidated and retaliated against those who did not agree with him.

Provost also apologizes

During the meeting this week, Ramsey said he has "a personal responsibility to those who are hurt to do whatever I can to rectify that."His apologies were echoed by Provost Shirley Willihnganz.

"Mostly what I think I want to say is people have been hurt and something very bad happened, and as provost I feel like I am ultimately responsible for that. So to all of
you: I'm sorry," Willihnganz said during the meeting.

Faculty Senate Chairwoman Melissa Laning, a librarian at the university, categorized the meeting as "somber."

"People were certainly really engaged in what was being said," she said.

In an interview, Willihnganz categorized the meeting as "hard, but necessary."

"I think we had an honest conversation," she said...

...During the senate meeting, Willihnganz talked specifically about how the grievance and internal oversight processes failed at the university.

"Something went wrong with the remediation/grievance process," she said. "Some of the things that people have said are almost certainly grievable offenses. …

"The fear that people had that they would be retaliated against, that the system wouldn't treat them fairly, that they couldn't trust the process, that's wrong."

Reviews called for in July also showed that faculty and staff involved in research have not always filed conflict-of-interest and financial-disclosure forms required by the university, Willihnganz said.

"As we have been looking at things, that has not been done," she said, noting that the university has asked that those forms be filled out by Sept. 19. She said the university will be checking that faculty and staff who need to have complied with that request.

'Soul-searching'

Willihnganz -- who acknowledged the situation with Felner has resulted in some "soul-searching" -- also said she has discovered the university does not have statements on ethics, values or responsibility.

"Where is the culture that says people will act in responsible ways? People will act in kind ways?

People will act in ways that value the humanness in each of us? We don't have that anywhere, and we probably need that," she said...

21 Former U of L Faculty complain of inaction on Felner

Twenty-one former faculty members at the Ville's College of Education and Human Development sent a snappy letter to university Trustees, perhaps prompting Chair J. Chester Porter's defense of President James Ramsey and Provost Shirley Willihnganz's inaction in the "Felner Affair."

...and they offer proof of their claims

Porter

August 22, 2008

To: University of Louisville Board of Trustees

From: Twenty-one former UofL faculty members who served under Robert Felner

Re: “The Felner Affair” in the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD)

We write this letter to the Board of Trustees of the University of Louisville in response to what is being referred to in newspaper, TV, and blogosphere reports in Kentucky and elsewhere as “The Felner Affair.”

We are former UofL CEHD faculty members who served under Dean Robert Felner. Some of us left UofL in part because of Dean Felner’s abusive and unethical behavior.
We take issue with President Ramsey’s assertion in news reports about the “Felner Affair” that input from faculty to the higher administration was nothing more than “anonymous crap.” We would like to set the record straight by presenting the facts.

Setting aside alleged misconduct currently under federal investigation, Robert Felner’s actions included the following: He –-

• brushed aside repeated queries by faculty about his excessive and questionable expenditures;


• created a hostile workplace, which included influencing voting;


• publicly humiliated people, screamed at them, spread falsehoods about them;


• professionally undermined those who dared to oppose him;


• made inappropriate personal advances;


• made a mockery of accepted collegial governance policies;


• violated principles governing the hiring of new faculty and the promotion of other faculty;


• showered resources on those who supported him;


• denied resources to those who stood up and questioned him, and threatened them with dire consequences;


• hired an excessively large number of administrators, many of whom inflicted cruel and unfair sanctions on faculty not in Felner’s favor; and


• cultivated inappropriate relationships with female employees, giving some
  questionably qualified persons extreme salaries.

In response to these actions by Felner, we, the faculty, followed appropriate procedures seeking relief. First, we went to Dean Felner in an attempt to resolve issues. When that failed, some of us met personally with and or wrote to Provost Shirley Willihnganz, and some of those complaints were copied to President Ramsey. Some of us met with University sexual harassment officers.

More than a third of all full-time faculty members in the College met with the faculty grievance officer. More than thirty grievances or complaints were sent to the Provost’s office, most of them bravely signed. To our knowledge, nothing was done, and Felner often bragged openly at faculty meetings that he had the full support of the Provost and President.

After the administration failed to take action, and the situation continued to deteriorate, the faculty of the CEHD in an open meeting in March of 2006 voted “No Confidence” in Dean Felner. Felner sat in the same room and observed the proceedings. Such a vote is an extraordinary event, extremely rare and courageous, especially in the presence of an oppressive dean.

We are insulted by President Ramsey’s response to this crisis.

The items listed above, and especially the “No Confidence” vote, contradict the notion that the faculty were cowards and resorted only to “anonymous crap.” On the contrary, faculty stepped up repeatedly, knowing that any overt action would make them vulnerable to severe retaliation.

Universities take pride in their tolerance and collegial style of governance, and the faculty should feel free to speak their mind to the higher administration and be counted. Yet, when faculty did exactly that, they were systematically ignored and further targeted for abuse by Felner.

It’s troubling that President Ramsey and Provost Willihnganz seemed to convey the view that Felner was merely “cleaning house” in the College. Professors who left CEHD are highly accomplished, award-winning scholars and teachers, many with exemplary national reputations who were eagerly welcomed at other institutions. Not only did the University of Louisville sacrifice a great deal, the Greater Louisville Community also paid a significant price in losing faculty who served the public in unique ways and with distinction.

During Felner’s employment, progress slowed in many important areas, in part because of the considerable time and effort he invested attacking those who disagreed with him, and defending himself against accusations. We know Felner used the U.S. News and World Report annual rankings to justify his actions. We question the validity, accuracy and relevance of data provided for the rankings which created a misleading image that the CEHD at UofL had made dramatic improvement in a very short time. While the normal improvements were being made by faculty, morale was plunging and good faculty were leaving in increasing numbers. We believe a closer look would reveal that any achievements during Felner’s deanship were made despite him, not because of him

Notwithstanding the abominable actions allowed during Felner’s tenure, we continue to love UofL and want to see it thrive. To do this, however, requires responsible leadership. The present scandal calls for accountability, and we believe the Board of Trustees should address this in a meaningful and substantive manner. Please note; one or more of the undersigned has information, or based upon information and belief, would assert and produce appropriate substantive support for each of the above mentioned issues.

Sincerely,

Bryant Stamford
Pedro Portes
Ellen McIntyre
Yash Bhagwanji
John Burke
Laura Cherry
George Cunningham
Joe Devitis
Christos Dimitriadis
Kara Gallagher (Mohr)
Elizabeth Kirsch
Andy Kemp
Chong Lee
Phyllis Metcalf-Turner
Justin Moore
Jennifer Olive
Elizabeth Rightmyer
Lea Smith
Bernie Strenecky
John Strope
Randy Wells

Please note, because of the timeliness of the issues cited above, we felt the need to forward this letter now. Faculty and staff who are presently at UofL were not invited to participate. Moreover, at this time of year, it’s extremely difficult to contact faculty spread across the country, because many are out of the office and not available. Thus, although there are twenty-one signatures on this letter, a substantial number, if timing were not an issue and there was perceived to be no need to protect those still in the employment of the University, we believe many more signatures could have been obtained from those who would support the contents of this letter.

Once again, a tip of the hat to Jake at Page One.

University distances itself from earlier compliments paid Felner

As recently as June, U of L President James Ramsey wrote to Robert Felner saying, "You have done an incredible job here, and I am deeply indebted...I do want to get together to chat and get some of your ideas on things still to be done with the College … cannot run the risk of letting the Indians get back in control of the reservation."

Setting aside whether Ramsey's reference to one branch of my ancestors is offensive - the university press office is now distancing Ramsey from the series of behaviors that netted Felner 33 complaints and grievances from numerous members of the faculty.

University spokeswoman Cindy Hess told C-J, "It is important to note that the complimentary e-mails to Felner from university administrators were not about his management style, but rather his ability to achieve goals and objectives during his tenure at U of L."

The letter which can be seen at Page One lays out Ramsey's case; that initial grievances were dismissed (mistakenly?) as being from faculty who couldn't live up to the increased demands.

Ramsey writes: "It is fair to say the CEHD has had some history of concerns about its leadership."

Ramsey also, amazingly, discounts the no confidence vote taken against Felner. Now, maybe I'm naive and no confidence votes happen all the time - but this seemed pretty unusual to me.

If Ramsey now believes faculty complaints to be valid, it is surprising he would try to dismiss them, and the no confidence vote, at this late date.

To Ramsey's credit, U.S. Attorney David Huber confirms that the original complaint against Felner came from U of L.

Ramsey Tosses the Faculty a Bone

Willihnganz: "The heat on this one is on us."

Since U of L President James Ramsey knew there were legitimate concerns about former Dean Robert Felner, his dismisive comments to Mark Hebert calling faculty concerns "anonymous crap" was disengenuous...at least.

His justification - that Felner's behavior was somehow OK, if it produced results - is equally troubling.

In the quest for numbers, somebody seems to have forgotten that the best educators are in the people business.

From Page One:

...In a mid-May email discussion earlier this year, Ramsey alluded to “issues” surrounding Felner in a message about a Board of Overseers meeting. Here’s what he said, “Given the issues with Robert right now it actually might be better to hold this until things are settled.” ...

...[There's an email] from Jim Ramsey to Alicia Sells, Associate Vice President for Government Relations, about sending a follow-up letter to the General Assembly (DAMAGE CONTROL!) outlining “positive things happening” while staying “away from any reference to Felner.” ...

Ramsey goes on to say that Mark Hebert and [C-J's] David Hawpe “won’t let it die.” No mention of the bloggers making his life a living hell.

Records indicate that despite being aware of issuses involving Felner, Ramsey did not see this public relations disaster coming.

Unknown to Ramsey, a blogger (Jacob Payne at Page One Kentucky) had received tips and damaging information through an open records request, published it, and fed it to the mainstream media.

The mainstream media took a while to follow up, but when they did the story came to the attention of the state. Suddenly, Ramsey was "caught off guard" and started learning details through the media that he didn't know himself. In one email he told Provost Shirley Willihnganz,

"those in the Univesity and those in the press - have much more insight and
information than we do."

Ramsey's remarks to Hebert precipitated a strong negative reaction from faculty, illustrated by an email from Staff Senate Chair and Staff Trustee, Brent Fryrear, who informed Ramsey that his comments "may not have played as intended," and that his comments seemed to confirm the fears of those faculty who were reluctant to report bad behavior "for fear of retribution."

Willihnganz's response was to acknowledge that "the heat on this one is on us," and direct that she and Ramsey see any open records releases "before they go out." "...it's pretty disconcerting to see things that WE haven't even been told on the front page of the paper,"she wrote.

This from C-J:

U of L president's letter acknowledges Felner problems

In a letter to University of Louisville alumni, donors and boards, President James Ramsey acknowledged the administration knew there were problems with former education dean Robert Felner’s leadership and management style.

“While we can’t talk about personnel actions, we did take steps to improve the situation,” Ramsey said in the letter dated last Friday. “Rightfully so, we have faculty who are hurt and disappointed by events of the recent years.” ...

...In his letter, Ramsey explained his decision to hire Felner to head the college, which was criticized in a 2001 report over its effectiveness, interaction with local teachers, and “indifference to its alumni’s employment issues.”

Felner’s “references were very good,” Ramsey said. When Felner was hired, “our mandate to him was to turn things around and do it quickly. He became a change agent — a role all of our new Deans have played.” He said the administration believed early concerns about Felner’s leadership “stemmed from the rapid change and heavy demands he had placed on his faculty.”

Ramsey twice noted that four formal grievances were made against Felner, but he said “none of those grievances moved forward as negative toward the Dean.” ...

C-J smacks Ramsey, Willihnganz and Porter

Whew. That was a bunch of Felner stuff to catch up on in one day.

We end with C-J's editorial saying that the resentment of the U of L faculty was justified and a result of the failure of the university top leadership to act.

After being drug, kicking and screaming, into a story they didn't seem to want to cover for weeks - C-J is shocked; shocked to find that U of L leadership covered for their golden goose - only to find he didn't bring in so much of the gold himself, and arguably took credit that rightfully belonged to others - all while behaving badly and putting the university in jeopardy.

But lately, C-J has caught up, done some fine reporting, and has gotten it right in today's piece.

The real surprise

As it turns out, the most surprising aspect of the Felner Affair at the University of Louisville is not the possibility that taxpayers' money was squandered or pocketed. Waste and corruption are all too common.

What's shocking is the failure of top university administrators to look seriously enough, and early enough, at evidence that Education Dean Robert Felner was leaving academic wreckage behind, as he stomped toward his goal of giving the college a bigger and better national profile.

It's not as if feedback from the College of Education and Human Development was cheerful, as Mr. Felner was installed as a change agent. Indeed, informal complaints and formal grievances piled up.

Looking back, 21 former faculty who just sent a blistering letter to the U of L board about their experiences with Felner are hurt and outraged by the slow and insubstantial response. And they should be.

President James Ramsey and Provost Shirley Willihnganz should have admitted much, much sooner that Felner's tenure was collapsing into an organizational and managerial debacle. And they should have reacted accordingly.

Instead, even in the backwash of a federal investigation into the way Mr. Felner handled a $694,000 federal grant, Dr. Ramsey was still dismissing some faculty complaints and grievances as "anonymous crap."

And, just this week, board chairman J. Chester Porter pronounced himself "satisfied" with the way the administration handled faculty criticism and charges. He did this
without serious investigation of the letter's specifics and before a proposed Faculty Senate review produced any findings. All of which calls into question the university's good faith in dealing with allegations that people and careers were being abused.

This is no way to recruit the best and brightest professors and researchers, or to become a top 20 metropolitan research campus.