Bloodless Coup

Also nice, this letter from Boyd Edwards. A little snip (emphasis mine):

DEAR WVU Board of Governors: After your May 30 meeting, you stated, "It's important to note that the Board believes there is no evidence whatsoever that President Garrison took any action to improperly influence the grant of an eMBA degree to Ms. Heather Bresch."

I challenge this statement. President Garrison did indeed improperly influence the degree award. He did so by assigning his senior aides to attend a meeting in which the decision to award the degree was made instead of resolving the matter according to established procedures, that is, by referring Ms. Bresch to the appropriate program director or dean. This assignment was both improper and unprecedented at WVU, and created pressure to concur with the decision to award the degree, pressure described as "palpable" in the panel report.

It can't hurt to note that the WVU BOG is ignoring the plain English of the report. I suppose there is room to debate, but the report clearly noted the "palpable pressure" on those in that meeting to resolve this issue. That isn't a trivial statement. Additionally, the assigning of the Chief Counsel and Chief of Staff to this meeting are clearly actions that Garrison took. The Chief of Staff speaks with the President's voice; Craig Walker (according to the Panel Report) was the advoccate for Heather Bresch at that meeting. The official records showed she did not finish the credits necessary for a degree; the only evidence presented at the meeting in favor of Ms. Bresch came via Craig Walker (and, presumably, from Ms. Bresch herself, since she had had contact with Craig Walker). When Walker turned himself into an advocate for Ms. Bresch, a line was crossed.

As you note (and as HippieKiller notes), even if you ignore the above issue and decide that Garrison didn't participate (a difficult contortion, in my opinion), the fact that the University put out public press statements at odds with the facts for months is something that Garrison both knew about, and (by his silence) acquiesced to. There isn't any other way around that issue.

When I first moved to WV I had a conversation with an old Africa scholar about how WVU in many ways followed the post-colonial model of politics. It also reminded me of the old saying (translated) "he steals, but he gets the job done" which was a common comment about politicians in my area. The only time people would be outraged would be if he stole and didn't do the job, or got caught by being too shameless about it. Otherwise, taking care of cronies was to be expected as a normal cost of doing business. This Garrison thing appears to fit the model too... his selection as president wasn't a strike against the old boy system, but rather an attempt to get a "better old boy." Whether it was hubris or incompetence (or both), he has not been able to deliver fully, and will be unable to do so in the future given the stink from this scandal. While this may convince the patrones that he needs to be replaced, it's hard to imagine the level of change necessary to clean the system that put him in. I'm inclined to believe that Garrison is a symptom.

Though it's probably worth noting, since you are sending people to HippieKiller, who has of course been doing bang-up work on this issue that every so often s/he gets a little carried away over there. I mean that post on all the links between Garrison and the Manchins and the board was certainly eye-opening - but X and Y being close personal friends doesn't necessarily mean X is willing to commit corrupt acts for Y.

But yeah, our state is much as you say it is - though it's not along in that. I expect it is true of lots of states that have little in the way of a political press, a professionalized legislature, etc.

Did they make you read this is grad school?

I forget. I'm aware of it. But whether or not I read it, I forget.

Well, it's incredibly dated now, but I think relevant to what we've been talking about here. Rather than succumb to conspiracy or say there's no elite, it shows how it works. Personal connections, while not an indicator of corruption, are an indicator of access. I will also drag out the old Bachrach and Baratz with the power of non-decisions...