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If Wright State falls, the blame is 100% on Mike DeWine

The new wright state logo not done by YorkBranding or Push Inc showing Wright State leadership under Dr. David Hopkins [1]

Wright State’s new logo signifying it crashing and burning under Mike DeWine

While Mike DeWine was the State Attorney General, he failed to thoroughly investigate the criminal behavior of the Trustees and leadership of Wright State as over $130M disappeared, and another $150M that was supposedly raised in the “Rise.Shine” campaign has never been accounted for.

Insider deals to make sure that trustees and donors businesses benefited went un-prosecuted, while multiple shell companies were formed to provide a shield from public scrutiny. Despite a $300K audit, and an H1B visa scandal with a million dollar plus fine from the DOJ, all has been ignored by Mike DeWine and the rest of the Republicans running the state.

I’m sure it helps that the crooks at Wright State hired Kevin DeWine as their lobbyist. He’s Mike DeWine’s 2nd cousin, and right in the middle of most of the messes.

With the faculty on strike, the current board and their new president, Dr. Cheryl Schrader are pretending that somehow you can run a university with less than a third of your faculty working. This is because they aren’t operating in reality.

Through the few years of fiscal crisis, they’ve been busy “cost-cutting” everywhere but where it wouldn’t affect the education of students. Pay increases for basketball coaches, buying buildings that the university didn’t need (from trustees firms) and pouring money into highly bloated “research institutes” that are using Wright State like a rich uncle to float their bad financials.

The new president is out of touch and ill prepared, as seen by her inability to stop the strike. The very same board that admits they were asleep at the wheel 4 years ago when the money turned up gone, is still running the show.

Last fall, enrollment was down 10%. This Friday, the last day for students to withdraw without penalty, a giant sucking sound will be heard throughout “Raider Country” as students give up on the flailing ship and head for more stable schools.

None of this needs to happen. If only Mike DeWine had a spine.

We’ve seen at Michigan State how easy it is to remove a university president [2]. We know you don’t need a PhD to lead a school thanks to Jim Tressel, a fallen football coach who seems perfectly capable of running Youngstown State without crisis, strikes or losing millions- and he only has a bachelors degree.

The board of trustees serves at the pleasure of the Governor.

If this governor wants to have a University fail in the first weeks of his Governorship, all he has to do is nothing.

What needs to happen, on Thursday. January 24th, is he needs to step in and remove all the trustees except the newest, Bruce Langos. Appoint 8 new trustees who don’t have any business connections to Wright State, or any of the shell companies and their boards of interlocking directorates.

Fire Cheryl Schrader for failure to avert the strike. Fire the chief counsel of the University Larry Chan, who has played along with these charades.

Invite the AAUP to return to their classrooms immediately, with a promise to step in as a mediator with the willingness to put the students and the universities future first instead of egos. Offer moving the university to division II as a bargaining position as well as a complete elimination of all the separate shell companies operating under a cloak of secrecy. Stop the move of the WSU archives off campus and force WPCU and former Trustee Doug Fecher to pay the university back for their former HQ, and the Soin’s to buy all the buildings with Vishal Soin’s name on them.

Promise to negotiate in good faith and to resolve contract differences by the end of this semester.

Or, watch as Wright State fails. Your choice Governor.

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Greg Hunter

Breaking the Union and tenure……Ohio and Wyoming are on the road to ending public education and handing out bibles…..Who needs edumacation when one has “thoughts and prayers”?

Sad day for WSU as I got a fantastic education from the University, especially in Geology. Man who knew that WSU could pump out some many successful geologists from a commuter school.

Prosperity is declining so we better work together if we want to have the same opportunities going forward. I do not hold much hope for that outcome.

Bubba Jones

My comments won’t make me very popular here, but…. :)

I’m sure there’s plenty of blame for both the administration and the faculty in letting this situation get to where it is now. It is pretty sad to see the professors striking when it’s going to hurt the students more than anyone. At least the students have until tomorrow to withdraw from classes and get a full refund – but only on their tuition. They’re going to lose money on their books. And if they are not commuter students (which a growing population of WSU students aren’t from the local area) they also are losing the cost of their housing as they’ll now have to live in the area longer to finish their degrees – if they even decide to stay at WSU.

As far as Dr. LaForse’s boo-hooing about the salary levels of the Liberal Arts faculty, I might suggest that they try to figure out what the market value of their “qualifications” are in the private sector. I’m sure if I got on Monster.com or Indeed.com I can find a plethora of available jobs paying 6+ figures requesting applicants with a PhD in “Classics”. If he’s not happy with the conditions at WSU, I’d invite him and his fellow professors to go job shopping. After all, having to replace the faculty would REALLY put the administration in a bind!! Your union’s chief negotiator has a PhD in Economics – surely he knows a bit about “supply and demand” and should welcome the opportunity for the faculty to job shop and learn what they could get paid somewhere else.

If you truly care about your students, end this childish behavior and get back in the classroom and get both sides back to the bargaining table.

Bubba Jones

@David – You know that I love you too, but…. LOL!

I know from reading your blog that the University has mismanaged a LOT. it’s been going on for a long time. That’s why I said early in my post “I’m sure there’s plenty of blame for both the administration and the faculty in letting this situation get to where it is now.” I’m not saying that the faculty is responsible for the mismanagement, but they are partially responsible for the striking situation.

Dr. LaForse’s comments certainly emphasized the compensation levels, particularly in his own department. That’s why I directed my comments in that area.

I’ve never been a fan of striking employees. I’ve always felt that if you’re not happy with your working conditions, go somewhere else. I did that exact thing several times before I finally settled on the crappy working conditions that I’ve endured for the last 27 years, 8 months and 9 days (and counting).

Biz Mark

Esrati: You outlined no filter, no BS, Straight outta the Barrel, Smoking Gun reporting on why this cesspool, poor excuse for a University needs to be shut down. Now.

The faculty have run out of options or they would not have risked striking. The place is gone, rotted from within by the corrupt BOT, DeWino and Wrong State Administration/Leadership.

No thanks to pussy DDn, in particular Max–their sucking WSU’s YKW full throttle, choking down his wittle, wittle throat all the BS thrown his way–staff reporter instead of doing responsible, investigative reporting.

That job went to Esrati, like a BOSS!!! o7