The Carolina Way VIII

[DevilDJ]

unx alum Bob Lee...

"World's Largest" PR Scam Since Global Warming


I'm a pretty good judge of the Plum Foolishness Factor of unc's Glorious Mess. I really thought last week's Trifecta of Dumb, Dumber, Dumbest would carry us all through Thanksgiving..... but Noooooo. Last week was a triple humdinger with TydrekeSpeaks, Two Eagle Scouts Speak, and "NOT At DARTMOUTH". Each of those Lulus could Headline a week all by itself.


Now America is spewing coffee out its nose over Edelman aka "The World's Largest....." gorging itself on Little Carol's Inexhaustible Pile of not exactly tax payer mega-$$$$.


Back to the just Edelman Silliness. Vice Chancellor Joel Curran was hired at $400,000+ about a year ago to manage Spin & Obfuscation for uncCH. Now Joel needs "at least" fourteen Edelman Elves to help him. Help you DO WHAT, Joel? You can tell me, Joel. I won't tell anyone.


Before Joel, unc's Spin & Obfuscation was handled for years by two J-School interns and some gal named Muriel. Now its Joel at $400K plus "at least" fourteen Edelman Elves throwing handfuls of "Benjamins" down unspecified media rat holes. They are blowing money faster than an NBA Lottery Pick.


Imagine the National Laughingstock uncCH might be if "the world's largest" was NOT managing its image ?!!? Am I the only one wondering if Roger Goodell recommended just Edelman to Joel Curran?


What Wizards of Smarts are approving all this? I'm not blaming this on those silverspoon goofies on the BOT. They only know what Little Carol and Provost Dean Provost choose to tell them. The unc BOT stopped asking questions two years ago after mistakenly asking Jim Martin "Governor, did you ever talk to Coach Williams?" Who can blame'em? Really!


Don't be confused. This NEW $2,000,000 to Joel Curran's old NYC PR cronies at Edelman has nothing to do with the still unreported but being estimated at "at least" another $2,000,000 to Kenny Wainstein and his bunch.


$2,000,000 here..... $2,000,000 there. Pretty soon unc'll have spent more trying to spin The Great Unpleasantness than Kim Kardashian spends on shoes and handbags. WHOA!


If you think this is the end of "drunken sailor spending" by The Flagship, then you probably thought it was all over after the parking ticket cover-up too.


"COMMENTS" section is a hoot too. A sample...

Doug


"How many times are we are all going to say "You really could not make up stuff this ridiculous"?
If John Irving had written this saga as fiction 18 years ago, no one including the 3 billion Chinese would have taken it seriously. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction. It would have been a monumental task to try to make this stuff up.
______________




BL:


AND.... It's still a work in progress! Plenty more Yet To Come!

This post was edited on 11/19 10:56 PM by DevilDJ

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

Would like to hear thoee donors defend their contributions in light of the scandals. unx certainly painted a picture of giving unconcerned with the worst cheating in NCAA history. I'd like to hear it first-hand. Woulda liked to have seen Carol's "roadshow" too...

In wake of Wainstein report, unc reached out to top donors


After the release of the Wainstein report last month on the school's academic and athletic scandal, unc-Chapel Hill fundraisers worked to call 750 of the school's top donors in the next 48 hours, the chief executive of the school's foundation said Wednesday.


David Routh, the university's vice chancellor for university development, also told a committee of the unc-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees that development officers followed that up with a "roadshow" in which Chancellor Carol Folt traveled to cities including Charlotte, Atlanta, New York, San Francisco and Palo Alto to talk with donors and leaders about the report.


"I can tell you anecdotally that coming out of those events, we had extremely supportive core donors who were really proud of the university for doing the right thing with this independent investigation," Routh said Wednesday in describing the outreach efforts to donors.


In total, Routh said that cash received in the fiscal year through Nov. 14 was down 6 percent year-over-year to $59. 496 million - largely due to a gap in grants.


Grants were off year-over-year by 19 percent to $22.969 million, which he said was due to grant timing variation. Routh said those are grants that come from associations and corporations, and he said he doesn't believe the report's release impacted that total.


Gifts were up 6 percent year-over-yea r to about $36.5 million, however.


The new cash and commitments paid and pledged this year- not including pledges from prior years-- were down 10 percent to about $60.486 million. He said that was also due to variations in grants.


"I am pretty encouraged by what we're seeing 30 days post the press conference," Routh said.


Routh said a group of 30 students have a work-study job calling lapsed donors. Three weeks since the report, he said that less than 5 percent of people who said they were not giving said it was because of the report. For about two-thirds of the nights in that period, he said they've exceeded their goals about 10 to 15 percent.


They had pulled those students "off-line" the day that the press conference was held to announce the results of the Wainstein report, he said. The night before they went back to the phones, he said he talked to them.


"They pretty quickly said: 'Listen, that's not the university I know, so I don't have a problem representing my experience to donors on the phone," he said.


And since the press conference on the report Oct. 22, he said they've closed about seven or eight gifts of between $1 and $7 million.


"There's really no indication that corporations and foundations have concern about doing business with us," he said.

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

unc Athletics Department Staff Members Used This Insane Slide To Defend Fake Classes For Athletes


A new report detailing the extent of the fake classes scandal at the University of North carolina Chapel Hill includes an insane slide from a presentation made to the school's football coaches defending and encouraging the so-called "paper classes" - where all students had to do to pass was write one paper.


In 2009, Deborah Crowder, the administrator of unc's African and Afro-American Studies department - which hosted the "paper classes" - was retiring.


The football team academic counseling staff had long relied on these classes to support struggling athletes who would not have been eligible to play without their lax attendance and grading policies.


According to Wednesday's report, the football counseling staff was "painfully aware that Crowder's retirement would require the whole football program to adjust to a new reality of having to meet academic requirements with real academic work."


Following Crowder's retirement, the report states, the staff held a meeting with the team's coaches where they "explained (1) that the AFAM paper classes had played a large role in keeping under-prepared and/or unmotivated football players eligible to play and (2) that these classes no longer existed."


Here's the slide they used to make their point, highlighting that athletes don't even need to pay attention in these classes in order to pass:

According to the report, there was a significant and tangible benefit to these fake classes - "The average AFAM paper class GPAs for these players was 3.61 - far higher than their average GPA of 1.917 for their other classes."


The football counseling staff later asked the AFAM department head to reinstate the fake "paper classes" in order to keep their athletes eligible.

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

Jane Wester @janewester


Clarification: Cairns apologized on behalf of fac. for certain fac. members' actions during the 18yrs Wainstein report deals with #uncBOT


Jane Wester @janewester


Trustees thank Cairns for his apology on behalf of the faculty. Apologized to students too - "that's who we let down the most" #uncBOT


Jane Wester @janewester


New tone as Univ. Affairs committee gets underway: solemn statement from Bruce Cairns' on fac. response to Wainstein: "unacceptable" #uncBOT


Jane Wester @janewester


Less than 5% of donors who don't give money have said their reason is Wainstein-related #uncBOT


Jane Wester @janewester


Routh: wanted to help alumni who were "getting beat up around the water cooler" bc of their alma mater #uncBOT


Jane Wester @janewester


Trustee Don Curtis: we need to be more proactive, "I don't think we're getting down to the rank and file" #uncBOT


Jane Wester @janewester


"Whether we're talking about SACS or a joint investigation w NCAA, those things will continue to percolate" - Curran #uncBOT

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

unc leaders look at early impact of Wainstein report


From fund raising to public relations to policy changes, unc-Chapel Hill trustees are taking a measure of the early impact of the Oct. 22 Wainstein report that detailed the long-running academic and athletic scandal at the university.


On Wednesday, the campus board heard a series of reports about how people are responding to the disclosures that more than 3,100 students - about half of them athletes - took bogus classes in African and Afro-American Studies over an 18-year period from 1993 to 2011.


Much of the work since the report was made public included reaching out to alumni, parents, donors and political leaders. One million emails have gone out to internal and external constituents, and 60,000 have visited the university's website dedicated to the issue.


Within 48 hours of Wainstein's presentation, the university's development staff called 750 top donors. Then, they hit the road with Chancellor Carol Folt, talking to 600 donors in Charlotte, Atlanta, New York, San Francisco and Palo Alto, Calif.


A video that recapped the news of the day, including Folt's visit with football players, was shown to alumni groups and others.


"What we found is people need to talk about it," David Routh, vice chancellor for university development, said Wednesday. "People need to have a conversation."


Trustee Don Curtis advised those with questions to go online and read the entire report, "because it makes people feel a lot better," he said. "It's a lack of information that bothers them."


As of Nov. 14, the university had raised $60 million in cash gifts and grants for the fiscal year - down 10 percent from last year by the same date. However, Routh said, gifts were up 6 percent from a year ago, while foundation grants were down 19 percent. More recent numbers indicate the picture is improving, he said.


"I am pretty encouraged by what we're seeing 30 days post-press conference," Routh said.


He said the university did not hold its nightly student fund-raising phone-athon on the day the report was released, but resumed it quickly and has exceeded the goal on most nights. And, he said, less than 5 percent of people who declined to give cited the report.


Also on Wednesday, faculty leaders briefed the board on their discussions about what to do now following the Wainstein findings.


Bruce Cairns, chairman of the faculty, offered an expression of the faculty's disappointment and remorse: "As a faculty we let down our students, the university and the people of this state who we serve, and for that we deeply and sincerely apologize."


Provost Jim Dean gave an overview of the policy and process reforms that have been enacted in the past few years to prevent a recurrence, estimating more than 75 changes in all. They will be monitored for accountability, he said.


Among the changes:


• a new equation that predicts academic performance that can improve admissions decisions.


• a policy now requires regular review of academic departments and department heads.


• independent study reforms, including a limit on how many a professor can teach at once.


• an electronic grading system better monitors faculty workload.


• changes to the athletes' academic advising program, which now reports to the provost.


Dean said the Wainstein report showed that a lack of oversight contributed to the depth of the academic fraud. Now departments are reviewed comprehensively by outside teams, he said.


"I think that this represents really an enormous step forward in terms of integrity," he said.


Upgraded electronic systems will give the university more control over grade changes and other aspects of courses, the provost said. Course syllabi are monitored, and spot checks confirm that classes are meeting.


"We've really sort of moved into a different era in terms of our ability to track and monitor and assess the quality of what's going on in the classroom," Dean said.

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

Is criminal investigation next step at unc?


North carolina's academic fraud investigations have yet to spark a probe from the NCAA. But one state senator would like to see them start a criminal investigation.


Republican state senator Thom Goolsby wrote on Tuesday that the university's continued academic integrity issues merit a tougher approach.


"The reputation of the state's flagship university is at stake and someone must take this matter seriously," Goolsby wrote on his blog, carolina Columns. "Any prosecutor worth his salt would turn detectives loose on staff and administrators involved in the fraud and subsequent cover-up. If necessary, the General Assembly could consider legislation to make prosecuting this type of academic fraud easier."


The university has been mired in athletic and academic-related scandals for two years. Among those has been the Academic Support Program for Student-Athletes (ASPSA), which was subject of an internal review a year ago.


On Saturday, The News & Observer in Raleigh published a story detailing a system that tolerated cheating. Mary Willingham, a reading specialist at unc, detailed encounters with athletes who had never read a book or were incapable of writing a paragraph.


The academic support program tolerated plagiarism and helped athletes remain eligible, Willingham told the paper.


"The unc academic fraud scandal is like a pesky staph infection that just won't go away for university officials - nor should it," Goolsby wrote. "As reporters at the Raleigh News and Observer continue to dig, they uncover more and more dirty little secrets. The latest problems swirl around a pus pocket called the Academic Support Program."


Willingham's assertions are backed up by several investigations. An internal review at the school found 54 aberrant classes in the Department of African and Afro-American Studies (AFAM), largely populated by football and men's basketball players, received little or no instruction.


A committee of three faculty members reviewed three of unc's investigations and suggested that ASPSA steered athletes to no-show classes to keep them eligible.


According to the News & Observer, those no-show classes had been offered as far back as 2003 when Willingham joined the program. The paper's reporting has suggested that those classes go back as far as the late 1990s.


Four ongoing investigations have come as a result of the academic fraud, including one by former Gov. Jim Martin into is looking into when the academic fraud started and if it occurred in other departments.


For Goolsby, who received his law degree from the school and is a professor and practicing attorney, the situation bears more questions that administrators thus far have been unwilling to answer.


Outgoing chancellor Holden Thorp declined comment to the News & Observer in response to Willingham's assertions other than to say he is focused on Martin's investigation.


"The unc Board of Governors should seriously consider asking for the resignations of current unc Trustees who failed to safeguard academic integrity," wrote Goolsby. "They have shown little willingness to get to the truth of this scandal and cure the infection. When unc comes to the General Assembly for more funding, university officials should expect that legislators charged with representing the taxpayers will demand answers."

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

Larry Brown 'worried' by UNC scandal


SMU coach and North Carolina alum Larry Brown has been keeping close tabs on the academic scandal enveloping his alma mater and said he is especially concerned that it could stain a man he has long revered.


"Absolutely I'm worried about it," Brown said after the Mustangs' shootaround at Indiana on Thursday. "What's troubling me the most is that some of that stuff dates back to coach [Dean] Smith, and we all know the character of that man."


Brown played for both Smith and Frank McGuire while at UNC, and Brown began his Hall of Fame career as a Tar Heels assistant in 1965.


An internal review released last month found that some 3,100 students -- 48 percent of them athletes -- benefited from paper classes in the Afro-American studies department. The report also found that some athletes, including basketball players, were steered toward those classes to retain their eligibility.


The NCAA has launched an investigation and recently began interviewing people about the case.


"My daughter took some of those classes," Brown said. "If you look around, there's not a school in the country that doesn't have classes like that. How many kids are taking online classes these days? That's not an excuse. I'm just saying there are classes like that that are legitimate."


Last month, North Carolina coach Roy Williams said he was "worried sick" about the pending investigation and acknowledged that he was worried about his reputation as well.


"I'm 64, so I'm not close to being ready to quit, but you also think, 'God, I don't want this to be what people remember about me,'" Williams said.


Brown, a 1963 UNC graduate, went out of his way to commend Williams.


"Roy has done a great job handling it," he said. "It's a great school. I just hope they can get through this."

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

Person arrested in unc investigation of social media threats


Police at the University of North carolina at Chapel Hill on Thursday arrested someone in an investigation of threats to campus safety that were made overnight on social media.


Police said there is no credible threat to campus, and students and faculty have been advised to continue their normal routines.


Authorities have not released other details about the nature of the social media threats, the name of the person arrested or the charge.


Anyone who sees suspicious activity on campus should call 911. Anyone with information about the threats should call the unc Department of Public Safety at 919-962-8100.

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

unc coach Roy Williams reiterates desire to coach six to 10 more years


North carolina coach Roy Williams has no plans to go anywhere any time soon, he said on Wednesday, and he's still planning on coaching the Tar Heels for perhaps the next decade.


"Hopefully I'm going to last another six to 10 years regardless of what some people in the media say," Williams said during his appearance as the guest speaker at the Raleigh Sports Club.


When Williams stepped out of his car and tried to walk inside on Wednesday, a news reporter from a television station was waiting for him. The reporter, Williams said later, asked him if he was worried about being fired among the revelations of the Wainstein report - the independent investigation that detailed an academic and athletic scandal that lasted for nearly two decades.


"That's not the nicest thing that's ever happened to me but that's the world we live in right now," Williams said of facing questions about his job security.


He has had to face questions about everything else in recent weeks. His character. His integrity. And, especially, how much he knew about bogus paper classes in the African- and Afro-Studies Department that helped keep athletes - many of them basketball players - eligible during his first several years as the head coach at unc.


Williams has denied knowing the details of what Kenneth Wainstein, the former U.S. Justice Department official who led the investigation in the AFAM irregularities, has described as a "paper class scheme." Nonetheless, Williams has faced plenty of public scrutiny given that basketball players accounted for an unusually large percentage of the enrollments.


Members of unc's 2005 national championship team, in particular, took a large number of paper classes. During the 2004-05 season, basketball players accounted for 35 enrollments in the paper classes, which didn't meet and resulted in high grades for suspect work.


"We screwed up," Williams said on Wednesday. "We made some mistakes. There's no question."


As he has several times before, Williams on Wednesday expressed shock and sadness at the conclusions of the Wainstein report.


"It's unbelievable," he said.


Yet he also spoke with determination to "keep fighting," as he described it, to overcome the mistakes of the past.


"If you don't mind," Williams said, "I'm going to coach my butt off for a long time."


For six to 10 more years, at least, he hopes.

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

Lyin' sack. #carolinaway...



Anson Dorrance declares innocence in academic scandal


But even following the release of the report, even with all the scrutiny, one question has risen above the rest for Dorrance.


Did he know?


"We didn't have any idea that this sort of stuff was going on, and I think Wainstein confirms that in his report," says Dorrance, now in his 36th year at the helm of the women's soccer program. "Wainstein came right out and said the prime movers were this professor and his administrative assistant, and so for me, looking at that, I felt that absolved us."


Anson knows that isn't what everyone wants to hear. They want him to come out and admit to knowing everything. They want him to say that he worked with former academic counselor Brent Blanton, the person implicated in the report as having steered players toward these classes and Crowder.


"Women's soccer counselor Brent Blanton ("Blanton") acknowledged that he often directed players who also played on the U.S. National Team toward these classes," Wainstein wrote in the report. "Women's soccer counselor Brent Blanton told us that he knew about the AFAM paper classes, though he believed that Nyang'oro was somehow involved in them."


Blanton is now facing disciplinary action from the University for his involvement in the scandal, according to a person familiar with the matter. But Dorrance thinks people want more than that - he thinks they want him to be punished, too.


It's the truth about his part in the scandal, he says, that he never truly had a part.


... he doesn't want to sound arrogant, but women's soccer players didn't come to unc because the school offered bogus courses.


Dorrance swears the allure of independent studies and online classes aren't why players come to unc.


But once the kids get here, Dorrance says he doesn't abandon their academics. In fact, he stresses them as much, if not more so, than he does performing well on his team.


"We just grind them into getting an education."


...what remains is the education they have received.


"I think a part of what we still have a moral obligation to do for these student-athletes that might not have any academic ambitions is to get them excited about something.

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

High PR bill shows wrong approach at unc-Chapel Hill


The University of North carolina at Chapel Hill has a field of study in its mass communications school on public relations. And a number of loyal university graduates are successful public relations executives in this area. In addition, one vice chancellor's office includes public affairs as one of its duties.


Why, then, would the university run up a tab likely to approach $2 million for outside public relations help that seems focused in large part on dealing with the fallout from the athletics-academics scandal that has unfolded over a three-year period?


There is no acceptable answer to that question. And the university's statement that the money to pay the public relations experts from Edelman, the world's largest such firm, hasn't come from tuition or state money is no justification. This is money under the university's control, and it's splitting hairs to say it is or is not public money.


The academic-athletics scandal, with phony courses and academic advisers guiding athletes to them and with administrators failing miserably in oversight, was not a public relations problem.


Kenneth Wainstein, the former Justice Department official who ran a months-long investigation into the scandal following years of stories in The News & Observer, affirmed those stories in his conclusions. There were phony classes. There were university employees sending athletes to those classes to keep them eligible. There were improper grades.


This wasn't about public relations, about trying to smooth out the rough edges, about "spinning" the story to make it more favorable to the university. This was about honesty. It was about truth. It was about pursuing that truth, even if it proved unfavorable to the university, which it did.


To add to the embarrassment, the university's leaders harshly criticized whistle-blower Mary Willingham, who had been an academic adviser and dared to speak out. She has yet to receive a deserved apology from administrators.


None of this could have been solved with better public relations. Truth and openness would have cost nothing.

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

Opinion: Supplemental documents in Wainstein report deserve further scrutiny


Thorough analysis of the supplemental documents released with the Wainstein report shows departments other than the Department of African and Afro-American Studies deserve additional scrutiny.


The official title of Kenneth Wainstein's report - "Investigation of Irregular Classes in the Department of African and Afro-American Studies at the University of North carolina" - hints that the report was intentionally limited in scope.


As The Daily Tar Heel reported earlier this month, Jan Boxill offered more than 160 enrollments in independent studies within the philosophy department over the course of eight years - an impossible accomplishment by her own colleagues' assessment.


In another chain of emails included in the supplemental documents, Beth Bridger and Jaimie Lee, two academic counselors for the football team, communicated about a student who was worried about his academic performance.


"I don't know what the hell is up with him," Bridger said in one of the emails. "I told him if he wants a paper to email (unc professor Deborah) Stroman for an (exercise and sport science) one."


For months, Wainstein and his team of highly qualified investigators had the access to further investigate what this email meant.


Left to their own devices, readers can only guess what this email hints at.


Deborah Stroman is a professor in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science. As a result of an interview with Stroman, the report stated she "enjoys doing independent studies with students, but the students she works with realize that they have to meet with her and do work."


The string of emails between the football academic counselors suggests otherwise. Instead of students working closely with Stroman to gain a better understanding of exercise and sport science, the academic counselors suggest students could go to Stroman for a "paper class" - the classes at the center of the academic scandal that required no attendance, had little faculty oversight and had only a single assignment.


Clearly, other departments deserve further scrutiny. The footnote Wainstein included that said he and his team "also sought to identify the grading patterns in a series of other non-AFAM classes that were widely known to be less rigorous" was hardly reassuring.


In the report, Wainstein said his team ultimately concluded that though "such courses may have been less rigorous, it is worth noting that, unlike the paper classes, these classes all exhibited the elements of regular college instruction, including class attendance and faculty involvement."


The emails included in the report seem to directly contradict that conclusion.


For weeks, student groups like the Black Student Movement and The Real Silent Sam Coalition have admonished the Wainstein report for scapegoating African-American studies as the sole culprit of the scandal.


If the emails included as part of the supplemental documents to the official report are to be believed, then the Black Student Movement and The Real Silent Sam Coalition are completely right.


We should therefore cast suspicion upon any narrative suggesting academic irregularities were confined to the AFAM department.

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

The truth woulda cost nuthin...'

 

[DevilDJ]

 

[DevilDJ]

IOW , ya lied to us. #carolinaway...


Accrediting commission says unc 'not diligent' in exposing academic scandal


The commission that accredits unc-Chapel Hill is raising new concerns about the university's academic integrity, saying that it had not been diligent in providing information about the scandal and that two employees had knowledge of problems that were not shared during the commission's first investigation.


The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges is now embarking on its second investigation into the academic fraud that began in 1993 and lasted 18 years.


The commission that accredits unc-Chapel Hill is raising new concerns about the university's academic integrity, saying that it had not been diligent in providing information about the scandal and that two employees had knowledge of problems that were not shared during the commission's first investigation.


The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges is now embarking on its second investigation into the academic fraud that began in 1993 and lasted 18 years.

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

SACS letter to unx...

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

Dan Kane@dankanenando


Accrediting commission says unc 'not diligent' in providing info for last year's initial academic fraud review. http://bit.ly/1z4H2rM


Dan Kane @dankanenando


Accrediting commission says in letter that unc was "not diligent in providing information" in initial academic fraud review.

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

B-Rad is a hoot...as always.

Doc Kennedy ‏@DocHeelfire


Lulz at this idea that the media could have done the Wainstein investigation for free if unc would have just released timely documents.


Joe Ovies ‏@joeovies


@DocHeelfire Well, they would have. I mean let's not get cute here with what unc did.


Chris Moore ‏@_camoore


@joeovies @DocHeelfire unc set itself back three years thinking it would all blow over. But paying Wainstein was still a great call.


Bradley Bethel ‏@BethelLearning


@_camoore @joeovies @DocHeelfire What suggests unc thought "it would all blow over"?


Chris Moore ‏@_camoore


@BethelLearning It's Friday night. I'm not getting into this. But we all know the university could've been more open through everything.


Bradley Bethel@BethelLearning


@_camoore We have different understandings of "know."




Fightin' the good fight vs DK...

Dan Kane ‏@dankanenando


Accrediting commission says unc 'not diligent' in providing info for last year's initial academic fraud review. http://bit.ly/1z4H2rM


Bradley Bethel ‏@BethelLearning


@dankanenando On which page of the Wainstein Report did Crowder say she didn't read the papers?


B. Martin ‏@yibyabby


Good catch, @BethelLearning . She must've read at least some since she detected plagiarized/recycled papers. Need to edit that @dankanenando


Dan Kane ‏@dankanenando


@yibyabby @BethelLearning Page 20 of Wainstein report. She gave them 'only a light skim' before assigning a grade.


Bradley Bethel‏@BethelLearning


@dankanenando @yibyabby She clearly read some, but, of course, you wouldn't want to report with precision. Sensationalize whenever you can.


B. Martin ‏@yibyabby


@BethelLearning @dankanenando Seems innocuous to me and hair splitting. Could edit it out and story doesn't change.






This goober adds his 2 cents. STILL ridin' the "athletics not involved" horse...

Daren Lucas ‏@n40nc


@BethelLearning @dankanenando @yibyabby Letter says 2 unc officials deemed untruthful to SACS committee. Who were they? Not Ath Dept.

This post was edited on 11/21 11:24 PM by DevilDJ

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

unc faculty member inquires about former faculty chair's status


unc-Chapel Hill Chancellor Carol Folt said that keeping private the employment status of employees implicated in the report by former federal prosecutor Kenneth Wainstein until their review processes are over passes "my smell test."


Folt gave the remarks Friday in response to a question asked at a unc-Chapel Hill Faculty Council meeting about the employment status of Jan Boxill, the former chair of the faculty.


"One of the most painful things to me has been the news of the implication of our immediate past president in the scandal," said Harry Watson, a history professor in the history department. "And I think probably other people in the room feel that a sense of accountability or closure calls for some kind of news about what is her current status (at) the university."


The Wainstein investigation into irregularities in the former Department of African and Afro-American Studies had found that Boxill knew about the "paper class" scheme run in the department.


However, she no longer holds her post as director of the philosophy department's ethics-focused Parr Center. According to the Wainstein report, she was also an academic counselor for student-athletes.


A public records request processed Monday on Boxill's employment status listed her as a teaching professor and continuing education specialist in the philosophy department with a salary of $85,970.


The last action listed in her personnel file was dated Oct. 1, when her secondary appointment title changed from teaching professor to continuing education specialist. On Sept. 25, her main title changed from master lecturer to teaching professor.

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

The Intersection of Race, Sports & Money: 'C'mon Man'


In our American system of jurisprudence, ignorance of the law is no defense and in many other instances people are held liable for what they knew or should have known. In light of these well established principles, I am at a loss to understand how an independent investigation of the massive academic scandal at the University of North carolina could absolve current Tar Heels basketball coach Roy Williams from any responsibility for the fraud that continues to be committed against athletes, in particular black student-athletes.


The investigation determined that 167 basketball players enrolled in paper classes during Williams'11-year tenure, compared to 54 players during Dean Smith's 36-year tenure and 17 during Coach Bill Guthridge's 3-year tenure.


Williams' claim of ignorance, and the failure to inquire about the academic status of members of the unc basketball team is even more unbelievable when you consider the fact that the current scandal comes on the heels of a 2010 academic scandal that resulted in the imposition of a one-year postseason ban and scholarship reductions on the football program as the penalty for improper benefits and academic misconduct. Football coach Butch Davis was also fired and AD Dick Baddour resigned.


When I read the Wainstein Report I thought "C'mon Man," the name for an ESPN Monday Night Countdown segment of the same name. During the segment, the hosts each describe a play or series of plays that made them scratch their heads and say "C'mon Man" which is used roughly to mean "give me a break."


Coach Williams' pay was and continues to be supplemented by a bonus based on the academic success of his players, but he knows nothing about the scheme? Never mind the fact that the mastermind of the program, Debby Crowder, saw the athletic department academic counselors as "full partners in her effort to make paper classes available to student-athletes." And never mind that those same academic counselors admitted that they were well aware that the paper courses existed, that they required relatively little work and that they generally resulted in high grades. So even though Williams gets additional money for the academic success of his players, and basketball academic counselors knew of the scheme, we are to believe that Williams knew nothing about what was being done to help him earn the extra dough? "C'mon man."


NCAA Bylaw 11.1.1.1 makes a head coach responsible for the actions of all assistant coaches and administrators who report, directly or indirectly, to the head coach. That would clearly include academic counselors in ASPSA department. So while Coach Williams is responsible for the actions of his subordinates, he gets a pass? "C'mon man." According to the Wainstein Report , investigators were unable to interview legendary Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge because of health issues even though Williams' immediate predecessor, Matt Doherty, told them that he was instructed by Dean Smith and Guthridge, who both had a continued presence on campus, that he should not change the academic "support system." "C'mon man."


We are left to believe that a scheme involving thousands of students and coordination among numerous university employees was designed, implemented and maintained over the course of nearly 20 years by two staff members without any knowledge on the part of athletics department or university leadership? "C'mon Man."


At the crux of the scandal are classes in the AFAM Department, and the Wainstein Report puts the entire blame for the massive academic scandal on Crowder and AFAM chairperson Julius N'yangoro, who both cooperated in exchange for charges being dropped. In other words, unc used the examination of black history as a way to exploit black athletes. Looks to me like a head on crash at the Intersection of Race, Sports & Money. "C'mon man."

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

Should unc take a knee on this bowl season?


North carolina pounded Duke on Thursday night, a reward in itself, and qualified for a bowl game. There was also the added bonus of knocking Duke out of the ACC title game.


As the Tar Heels celebrated with the Victory Bell and their jubilant fans in Durham, the last thing on anyone's mind was Kenneth Wainstein or his report.


But now that the Tar Heels have a chance to collect their thoughts, it's at least worth considering the consequences of Wainstein's report, which outlined an academic scandal unprecedented in its scope and length, and think about self-imposing a bowl ban this season.


The NCAA had reopened its investigation to the systematic academic fraud in the African and Afro-American studies department before Wainstein published his report in October.


NCAA inconsistency


The NCAA, with its slipshod enforcement and inconsistent record of consistent incompetence, is like a snowflake-covered box of chocolates - no two rulings are the same, and you never know what you're gonna get.


But the unc administration finds itself at a crossroads, similar to the one it had in 2011. With the NCAA deliberating over a multi-pronged investigation into impermissible benefits to star players and an assistant coach who worked for an agent, the previous administration chose to send a 7-5 team to the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.


The outcome, a 41-24 loss to Missouri, which qualified as a soup-to-nuts disaster, paled in comparison to the future cost. The NCAA wound up banning the Tar Heels from the 2012 postseason.


Instead of punting on Shreveport in '11 with a self-imposed ban, Larry Fedora's incredibly talented first team in '12, with generational talents in running back Gio Bernard and tight end Eric Ebron, had to pay the price.


The Heels went 5-3 in the ACC and won the Coastal Division in 2012 but couldn't play in the ACC championship game.


"That's one of the things I can't get over," said Bryn Renner, the team's quarterback in 2011 and '12. "To be honest, I would have loved to have played in the ACC title game and skipped Shreveport."


But that's hindsight, Renner said; there's no way you could have convinced him at the time that the program should have taken a knee and sat out the bowl game.


Different circumstances


The circumstances are different this season, Renner pointed out. In 2011, then interim-coach Everett Withers was on his way out. Now, Fedora is entrenched in his third season. There was also a complete changeover with the administration with a new chancellor and athletic director.


Renner said, even knowing his regrets from 2011, he'd want this team to go to a bowl game.


"The best thing for this team is to go 8-5 and let next season take care of itself," Renner said.


Maybe Renner's right, but the past two independent reports at major Division I programs - Wainstein's at Miami in 2013 and Louis Freeh's at Penn State - ostensibly led to a two-year bowl ban in each case.


In 2011 and 2012, Miami self-imposed a bowl ban. When the NCAA finally ruled on what amounted to a pay-for-play scam by booster Nevin Shapiro in 2013, the Hurricanes got credit for time served and did not get an additional postseason ban.


Penn State was given a four-year bowl ban by NCAA president Mark Emmert in 2012 for the sexual abuse scandal involving former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. In October, that postseason ban was reduced to two years.


unc's case is clearly different from Penn State's or Miami's, but it would not be unreasonable to predict that the NCAA could make the Tar Heels sit out at least one bowl game.


Like everything else at unc since the "Summer of Marvin and Greg," it's complicated.


On one hand, unc has the potential to finish the season with back-to-back wins over Duke and N.C. State. No trip to Charlotte, New York, Annapolis, Detroit or (gasp!) Shreveport is going to top that.


And with quarterback Marquise Williams back for his senior season in 2015, and the emergence of running back T.J. Logan, there's a real chance for the Tar Heels to finally fulfill their potential.


On the other hand, there are no guarantees with the NCAA. The Tar Heels could punt and still not help their future cause.


It's a tough choice, either way, but it's a decision that's looming.



unx won't ever self-impose anything. And since they were INELIGIBLE for an ACC football title in 2012 due to CHEATING then no...they most definitely did NOT win it.

UNC-CHeat

 

[OldasdirtDevil]

^You're so right, DevilDJ, there is no chance that anyone at Chapel Hill will impose any kind of sanctions upon themselves. Hell, they want a pat on the back for being so co-operative, and allowing themselves to be 'investigated'!

OFC

 

[DevilDJ]

Re-reading B-Rad's tweets and that dolt never ceases to amaze. Instead of being humiliated and ashamed that Crowder "skimmed" a handful of papers ( She handled what? THOUSANDS OF 'EM? ) before ASSIGNING WHATEVER DADGUM GRADE WAS NECESSARY TO MAINTAIN ELIGIBILITY , he chooses to play semantics and nit-pick. Accuses DK of "sensationalizing?!" WTF?! It IS "sensational!" And not in a good way. And lest we forget...CROWDER WAS NOT AND NEVER HAS BEEN A PROFESSOR!!! Under less "sensational" circumstances , she wouldn't even be LOOKING at , much less GRADING! , papers! Burn it down. Seriously. It's a blight on the face of humanity. Worst ever and it ain't close. Another link....



Accrediting institution blisters unc in letter


The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools has sent a blistering letter to the University of North carolina at Chapel Hill, asking for a full response to its questions about unc's procedures by Jan. 7.


The letter, from the accrediting institution, comes after Kenneth Wainstein's report showed extensive problems within carolina's academic and athletic institutions.


In the letter from the organization, Cheryl Cardell wrote, "At the time of the Committee visit on April 2-4, 2013, the University appeared to confine the root of the problems to 'the unethical actions by two people that required the University to go through this process.'"


The letter notes that the committee couldn't talk to the key people from the African and Afro-American Studies program.


But the letter goes on to say that carolina failed to fully examine the full impact of the academic irregularities. That, the letter said, caused the organization "to raise questions about the University's compliance with the following standards."


The letter said unc went forward with a more thorough investigation, the Wainstein report, and that Wainstein's findings lead "the commission to conclude that unc-Chapel Hill was not diligent in providing information to the Committee during its review.


"The investigative report clearly refutes the institution's claims that the academic fraud was relegated to the unethical actions of two people."


The letter listed 18 standards that it had questions about and gave a long list of specific questions.


"In light of these circumstances, I am requesting that the institution prepare a report that explains and documents the extent of its compliance with the following standards of the Principles of Accreditation," the letter said.


The letter was mailed last week and released by unc Friday.

This post was edited on 11/22 12:43 PM by DevilDJ

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

wufpakman21
6th Man
3392 posts this site
Ignore this Member
Send Private Message


Posted: Today 2:57 AM


Re: uncch scandal >$3mm to Wainstein/SACS letter details /


unc tried to fire Wainstein 4 months into his investigation per a ex unc BOT member I talked to tonight

 

[FearTheBeard]

Originally posted by DevilDJ:

Quiz: Which member of unc's academic scandal are you?


In the past few weeks/months/decades, unc has faced a lot of academic/athletic/alliterative scandal. We're sure you want to know how to move on, and so do we. We're still looking for the answer. But until we find it, enjoy this unhelpful quiz!


Which member of unc's academic scandal are you?


I was "Holden Thorpe" , btw...

I was also a "Holden Thorpe"

 

[gottagonow]

Originally posted by OldasdirtDevil:
^You're so right, DevilDJ, there is no chance that anyone at Chapel Hill will impose any kind of sanctions upon themselves. Hell, they want a pat on the back for being so co-operative, and allowing themselves to be 'investigated'!

OFC

The tar holes have proven that they are a great university by stating repeatedly that they hired weinstein themselves and started their own investigation. Actually I think they have said this hundreds of times so they must really be a great university because what other university would self impose this. We all know they were thinking weinstein would prove they didn't cheat but he just proved they cheated more than anyone suspected. Talk about a miscalculation!

 

[ponarkel]

It's like The Twilight Zone . You can't make stuff like this up. They really think everyone believes it including us. It's called entitlement. Amnesty is a term being used freely now days. Maybe that is what they feel that should be granted on a permanent basis. They exist in a different world for sure. But the can't help it. They are Tar Heel fans. They can't help it. OFC

Skysdad

 

[OldasdirtDevil]

Originally posted by gottagonow:

Originally posted by OldasdirtDevil:
^You're so right, DevilDJ, there is no chance that anyone at Chapel Hill will impose any kind of sanctions upon themselves. Hell, they want a pat on the back for being so co-operative, and allowing themselves to be 'investigated'!

OFC

The tar holes have proven that they are a great university by stating repeatedly that they hired weinstein themselves and started their own investigation. Actually I think they have said this hundreds of times so they must really be a great university because what other university would self impose this. We all know they were thinking weinstein would prove they didn't cheat but he just proved they cheated more than anyone suspected. Talk about a miscalculation!

It's just too funny, Gottago! I'm loving the squirming!

OFC

 

[OldasdirtDevil]

Originally posted by ponarkel:
It's like The Twilight Zone . You can't make stuff like this up. They really think everyone believes it including us. It's called entitlement. Amnesty is a term being used freely now days. Maybe that is what they feel that should be granted on a permanent basis. They exist in a different world for sure. But the can't help it. They are Tar Heel fans. They can't help it. OFC

Skysdad

Yes, amnesty, that's it, Sky!

 

[DevilDJ]

"PedRoy."

Anyway...


They really think everyone believes it including us...


4+ years and MILLIONS spent trying to protect a lie when the truth is absolutely free. This morning. The Daily Tarhole-Southern Edition. Front page. ABOVE the fold. "When the local paper turns on ya..."

 

[OldasdirtDevil]

Originally posted by DevilDJ:
"PedRoy."

Anyway...


They really think everyone believes it including us...


4+ years and MILLIONS spent trying to protect a lie when the truth is absolutely free. This morning. The Daily Tarhole-Southern Edition. Front page. ABOVE the fold. "When the local paper turns on ya..."

I take the Charlotte Observer, and when I went out to pick up the paper, from the yard this morning ,I flipped it open and then I just chuckled when I saw that headline!

OFC

 

[DevilDJ]

2009 on the block...



Hedjhog
6th Man
4324 posts this site
Ignore this Member
Send Private Message
Avatar
Posted: Yesterday 8:01 PM
Re: uncch scandal >$3mm to Wainstein/SACS letter details /


On Carolina Commitment website, the 2014 Independent Inquiry Redacted Related Exhibits file contains a spreadsheet with all of the AFAM academic fraud class enrollments, broken out by term/semester for every sport.


By my count:
Summer I & II 2008 - 9 men's basketball enrollments in Crowder Paper Classes
Fall 2008 - 1 enrollment
Spring 2009 - 1 enrollment
Summer 2009 - 6 enrollments


And despite Ol' Roy's comments to the contrary, men's basketball enrollments continued enrolling in AFAM IS and Crowder Classes after 2005 or whenever Roy claimed he wanted them to stop taking IS and/or not "clustering" in AFAM. There was a little stretch in 2008-09 with no IS enrollments, but many players still enrolled in Crowder's Paper Classes through 2009.


LittleZZ NCSU
Scout Subscriber
6th Man
2699 posts this site
Ignore this Member
Send Private Message
Posted: Yesterday 8:01 PM
Re: uncch scandal >$3mm to Wainstein/SACS letter details /


Men's basketball had approximately 7 enrollments in paper classes for the 2008-2009 academic year. Also, given that there were 7 seniors, 4 juniors, and 1 sophomore on the team, you would also have to look at enrollments from the previous 3 years: approximately 32 in 2005-2006, approximately 35 in 2006-2007, and approximately 15 in 2007-2008.


So yes, odds are that multiple basketball players from the 2009 championship team took at least one paper class during their time at UNC.


BDevilU
Waterboy
1050 posts this site
Ignore this Member
Send Private Message


Posted: Yesterday 8:19 PM


Re: uncch scandal >$3mm to Wainstein/SACS letter details /


And the clustering just moved to (another of Michael McAdoo's alleged three choices given to athletes)... Communications... with 9 players from the 2009 team.


LittleZZ NCSU
Scout Subscriber
6th Man
2699 posts this site
Ignore this Member
Send Private Message


Posted: Yesterday 8:22 PM


Re: uncch scandal >$3mm to Wainstein/SACS letter details /


Interesting. This is the first I've seen of this spreadsheet, but I would I wonder how Wainstein broke the numbers up for the chart in his report since your numbers come to 17 enrollments, but the placement of the MBB indicator for 2008 is closer to 7 or 8:

This guy's pretty clued in. The "smiley" indicates something else is on the way...



CowboyPack
All-ACC
10341 posts this site
Ignore this Member
Send Private Message


Posted: Yesterday 11:27 PM


Re: uncch scandal >$3mm to Wainstein/SACS letter details /




This post was edited on 11/23 2:51 AM by DevilDJ

2014 Independent Inquiry Redacted Related Exhibits

 

[DevilDJ]

Gawd. How is that place still open for business? Oh , I forgot. unx owns NC government , the Board of Governors , most lawyers in this state , anyone in damn-near any position of political/financial power here and a kick-azz good ol' boy network. My bad...


LittleZZ NCSU
Scout Subscriber
6th Man
2700 posts this site
Ignore this Member
Send Private Message


Posted: Today 8:47 AM


Re: uncch scandal >$3mm to Wainstein/SACS letter details /


Thanks for posting this. I hadn't seen that the actual numbers had been released anywhere so it's been fun taking a quick pass through them. A few quick observations:


During the first 3 years of the scandal ('89-'92), there were 17 enrollments of men's basketball players in AFAM or AFRI independent studies classes. Only one other sport, men's football, had a single enrollment over this same time frame.


During the first 8 years of the scandal ('89-'97), men's basketball made up 65.8% of athlete enrollments in AFAM independent studies: 54 enrollments for mbb, 26 for fb, and 2 for wbb.


The 167 enrollments under Roy Williams only includes the paper classes and does not include independent studies. There were an additional 49 enrollments in independent studies for men's basketball. If we apply that "50% of independent study sections were irregular", Roy's total enrollment in the AFAM classes almost reaches 200. The 2004-2005 championship team had 10 independent study enrollments.


The sheer scale of this makes it impossible to believe that one person could actually handle reading and grading all of these papers. In the Spring semester of 2004 alone there were 350 enrollments in paper classes. Assuming the standard "20 page" requirement, that would be 7000 pages that Crowder supposedly read and evaluated over a very short period of time between when all of the papers would be turned in at the end of the semester and when she would need to have the grades entered.


It is interesting to me that Martin felt he needed to redact some of the numbers in his report due to the low number of students enrolled and the potential FERPA violations, yet Wainstain has no issue publishing all the numbers and even breaks them down by individual sport rather than grouping all athletes together.

 

[DevilDJ]

unx alum Bob Lee...



What is The Truth worth? To whom?
What is a Flagship's Reputation worth?
What is "Accrediatation" worth? What the heck IS "Accreditation" anyway?
Does paying TeamKen $3.1M help/hurt a Flagship's Reputation?




FROM: BobLee


A report in Friday's DTH links Debbie (I don't do lunch) Stroman as a likely co-conspirator along with Jan Boxhill. Yeeee HAA!


If you don't think THAT makes my day you really ain't been paying attention these past few years.


Little Carol is scared spitless of incurring the wrath of Debbie Stroman. She (Debbie) is the original "razor-totin' woman". Lets keep our eyes on this one.

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

Rebuilding unc: Chapel Hill has an opportunity to lead by example


This open letter to the unc family is both a reaction and response to the recent investigation and report by former Assistant Attorney General for National Security Kenneth Wainstein. I offer it in the hope that the university can apply appropriate remedies to recapture its academic credibility.


My suggestions are drastic, but only drastic remedies offer a reasonable opportunity for recovery of the respect we have lost, both academically and athletically. Those suggestions include the wholesale replacement of coaches, administrators, tutors and faculty who were complicit in the fraud and a re-examination of the appropriate relationship between intercollegiate athletics and academics.


Inherent in this analysis is a reconsideration of the "student-athlete" model. I have concluded that this term, ubiquitous in the National Collegiate Athletics Association's lexicon, has been so demeaned by the current atmosphere of major-college athletics as to have no realistic application to the current condition. Therefore, I suggest a total reevaluation of its relevance in real world college athletics.


Who knew when?


I hold to the principle that it does not matter if a coach or administrator or faculty member did not have actual knowledge of the "shadow" nature of the classes. All of the parties involved had a responsibility to know.


There is no doubt that signs were sufficiently apparent to put everyone on notice. If I am a coach who has recruited my players, I am aware of their often-limited academic backgrounds and natural proclivities. When I see more than 80 percent of my players are taking the same course, I have enough information to warrant an investigation.


Further, if I elect to delegate that responsibility to someone else, I must answer to the failure of my delegate to effectively investigate. Constructive knowledge equals actual knowledge, and the blame lies with all.


Coach Williams' role


With all due respect to coach Roy Williams, it is not about whether the "kids tried to do the right thing." The problem is not what the "kids" did, but rather what the "adults" allowed, helped and even directed the kids to do.


Deflecting the attention to the "kids" is just an escape mechanism to deflect responsibility off the adults. The really sad part is that this deflection has been present for a long time. We have aided and abetted academic fraud.


We now have a unique opportunity to use this situation as a stepping stone to address a quickly evolving major college athletic atmosphere, study it and determine the appropriate means to adjust to it. As Richard M. Southall, Mark S. Nagel and Ellen J. Staurowsky conclude in a blog post for The Chronicle of Higher Education:


"While the stated tax-exempt purpose of big-time college sports is education, we all know it is about entertainment and money. ... The academic fraud at unc was a calculated cost of doing business, one that every institution with a big-time athletic program pays in one way or another. Some get caught breaking the rules, some don't."


The academic/athletic paradigm has changed. In the words of Gerald S. Gurney in his fine article, "Stop Lowering the Bar for College Athletes" (The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 10, 2011):


"Because of the time demands of athletics and the deficiencies in academic skills that hinder high-risk athletes from competing in more-demanding curricula, they tend to select majors of least resistance with an abundance of elective coursework: general studies, multidisciplinary studies, interdisciplinary studies. They even resort to acts of academic dishonesty to maintain their athletic eligibility."


My recommendations for further actions:


The athletics department. As I understand the current university model, the athletics department has been tasked with the overall management and supervision of the various individual sports programs. As such, athletics officials have the primary responsibility of overseeing the entire operation of each separate program, including academic performance. They failed in that role. I recommend the replacement of all non-clerical staff of the department who served in any capacity during the time athletes were enrolled in African and Afro-American Studies, or AFAM , classes. This should coincide with a complete review of the role and mission statement of the athletics department.


Sports program staffs. All non-clerical staff of any individual sports program in which any players were enrolled in any classes within AFAM be replaced. That includes all head and assistant coaches. As suggested earlier, they have succumbed to the disease of performance over academics that has led to the loss of all credibility, outside the community of the fanatic boosters of their respective or collective sports. No amount of finger pointing or gnashing of teeth is persuasive. We are all sorry that we were caught, but some of us are sorry that it happened. The issue is the exercise and acceptance of responsibility. Each sports program should be rebuilt upon a more integrity-based model in conjunction with my recommended restatement of academic standards and goals.


Academic Support Program for Student-Athletes. In recounting the involvement of the Academic Support Program for Student-Athletes, or ASPSA, in the scandal, the Wainstein Report describes a program that totally and abjectly lost its direction and understanding of its mission. Or, it could be said, when succumbing to the pressures applied by the various athletics programs, ASPSA chose to redefine its mission in line with that pressure. The outcome was that it accepted as its sole mission keeping athletes eligible.


Whether misled by signals, or lack thereof, from the administration and faculty, the program still failed. I am satisfied that all staff knew the difference between what was right and what they were actually doing. The entire staff of this program should be replaced. Further, the university should re-evaluate the viability and context of this program and, if it elects to continue it, redefine its purposes and policies.


If the program is to be continued, supervision and control over its operation, including the hiring of all counselors/tutors in the program, should be assigned to a division of the general administration and faculty. This program should be independent of the athletics department. Staff performance should be judged by students' academic performance, not eligibility retention.


African and Afro-American Studies Department. I find it particularly troublesome that AFAM, now renamed African, African American and Diaspora Studies, was drawn into this scheme, given the importance of this department to the university's diversity program. However, it is inconceivable to me, in the current climate created by this scandal, that AFAM will not struggle to retain any credibility in the academic community.


Additionally, given the overwhelming breadth of the abuse outlined in the Wainstein Report, the reasonable conclusion is that no one in the department could have failed to know of or suspect the abuses. My conclusion is that the entire program needs a rebuild. All current faculty and non-clerical staff who were there at the time should be replaced.


Faculty Athletic Council. The failure of the Faculty Athletic Council is not just an athletic failure. It is clear that academic politics played a part in the failure of that group to closely supervise both AFAM and athletic performance. Wainstein suggests that the members of this committee were persuaded against close investigation of AFAM because of academic autonomy. Irrespective of the motivations, there is no doubt that it refused to exercise the very purpose of the committee. Quoting Wainstein:


"Although the committee noticed that an AFAM class, AFAM 190 (AFAM Independent Studies), was one of two courses that accounted for the majority of student-athlete independent study enrollments, it 'did not find any cause for concern in this situation.' ... It would be more accurate to say, however, that the FAC did not try to find any cause for concern."


Regardless of the primary justification, one must conclude that the council exercised the same "plausible deniability" defense to excuse its lack of oversight. This was once again a failure of mission. To regain credibility, the university must restate and reinforce the purpose of this committee, replace its members and recharge the replacements as to purpose.


Of course, it may not be appropriate or necessary to replace personnel who been brought in since the uncovering of the scandal, e.g. the new chairwoman of AFAM. But I agree with Luke DeCock's statement in his recent commentary (Raleigh News & Observer):


"The challenge now is whether North carolina can become the national example of how to put athletics in their proper place going forward."


I choose to believe that this fiasco can serve as an opportunity for unc to lead by example. And one way to lead is to open a new dialogue as to the appropriate role of "big college sports" in the university community.


I believe we have a responsibility to every student who enrolls at the university; and we have abrogated and abandoned significant portions of that responsibility in the relentless chase for attention, athletic success and money.


If, indeed, "(W)e thought we were doing the right thing, felt very comfortable about it," as coach Williams contended, we need to re-examine our comfort level and realign our thinking as to what is appropriate. I would like for unc to be a leader in that much-needed examination and realignment.


Donald P. Eggleston is a member of the unc-Chapel Hill Class of 1971. He was a John Motley Morehead Scholar, a basketball letterman under Dean Smith (1967-71) and received his law degree from unc in 1974.

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

New York Times article. "COMMENTS" section...

Ralph Byrns
Chapel Hill, NC 30 days ago


My apologies. Earlier today I posted several defenses of unc students who took economics classes with me and never enrolled in any of the courses Julius Nyang'oro "taught." I continue to be very proud of these students. Justifiably proud. However, about three minutes ago I finished reading the unc student paper, "Daily Tar Heel" account of Professor Jan Boxill's involvement in Julius Nayng'oro's fraudulent "paper classes." And the DTH account of the apparent complicity of Dr. Tim McMillan, a Senior Lecturer in the AFAM Department. My previous defenses of them were apparently based on my misplaced loyalty to whom I thought them to be.

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

Commentary: Cheating undermines unc's achievements


From 1993 until 2011, the University of North carolina did a host of noteworthy things on football fields and basketball courts and every other type of athletic field.


Two NCAA championships in men’s basketball.
Seven Final Fours.
Appearances in 11 football bowl games.
14 other national championships in non-revenue sports.


According to the exhaustive report released by unc on Wednesday, unc also needs to add cheating to that list.
This post was edited on 11/23 4:45 PM by DevilDJ

This post was edited on 11/23 4:48 PM by DevilDJ

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

During NCAA review, unc gets advice from former infractions chief


She receives no pay for her NCAA work. But several weeks ago, she began a paid consulting job assisting unc-Chapel Hill with what appears to be a landmark case of academic fraud that benefited athletes and is now under NCAA investigation.


A document obtained by The News & Observer listed Potuto among unc officials, public relations experts and legal representatives who were to receive an advance copy of a report done by former federal prosecutor Kenneth Wainstein.


Neither administrative officials nor the faculty leader at Nebraska sees a problem with her doing the work, but some who cast a critical eye on college sports say it's a job Potuto should not have taken. To them, it shows another problem with a college sports regulatory structure riddled with conflicts of interest.


Nathan Tublitz, a University of Oregon professor and former co-chairman of the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics, a faculty-led group pushing for more academic integrity in college sports, called Potuto's consulting "outrageous" because she remains a faculty athletic representative at Nebraska. That's an NCAA-required position intended to uphold the academic integrity of the institution and ensure that athletes receive a true educational opportunity.


"She should be representing high academic standards," Tublitz said. "She should not be getting paid to try and get another university out of academic trouble."

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

Josephine (Jo) R. Potuto Professional Bio


Professor Potuto is a past member of the Federal Practice Committee of the Federal District Court, District of Nebraska; the Nebraska Crime Commission; and the Robert Van Pelt American Inns of Court (Master in the Brandeis Inn). She has been a visiting professor at the law colleges of North carolina-Chapel Hill, [/B]Oregon, Arizona, Seton Hall, Rutgers, and Cardozo. In 1994 she was a consultant to the Nebraska Racing Commission. She also has prosecuted criminal cases.


Once again , unc reaches out to someone "inside" to navigate 'em to the most favorable outcome possible. Gotta hang on to banners and Dean's legacy while paying lip-service to "reform." #carolinaway Wrote another check for it too. Hey holes...why not reach out to , say , David Ridpath? He's actually expressed interest. Guess not , huh?

UNC-CHeat

 

[DevilDJ]

Incest tarhole-style. Disgusting...

Nebraska Huskers
Men's Capsule


Location: Lincoln, Neb.
Founded: 1869
Enrollment: 25,000
Nickname: Cornhuskers, Huskers
Home Pool: Bob Devaney Sports Center
Chancellor: Dr. James Moeser
Athletics Director: Bill Byrne
Faculty Athletics Representative: Josephine Potuto, J.D.
Senior Woman Administrator: Dr. Barbara Hibner

UNC-CHeat