WSU sure has funny priorities these days
The call came in a few days ago- a Wright State student who was organizing Bernie Sanders events on campus was distraught: apparently, someone had donated some sodas for the meeting, which they distributed for free at a debate watch party.
The next thing you know, they were being threatened with being banned from campus. You see WSU signed an exclusive contract with one of the big soda companies for exclusive rights on campus, and this soda was from their evil competition.
I was in the midst of work, and it didn’t really register as a battle worth fighting. They’d looked me up for my posts critical of the university for the scandal train that’s been running around the university for too long. The more I thought about it after I hung up, the more I realized, they are willing to go ballistic over $20 worth of pop, but a million dollars to Ron Wine without a contract– that’s ok?
This “soda gate” had gone all the way up to Dr. Rountree- yes, the opportunistic political climber now sitting on the Dayton Board of Education. This is what she gets paid close to six figures to rule on- free soda distribution.
In the meantime, the Dayton Daily has yet another example of the school trying to weasel around the Ohio Sunshine laws:
Wright State University has paid $309,750 to an independent auditing firm to review its practices amid a federal immigration probe and other ongoing controversies, but says it will not make the audit’s findings public.
Wright State says the details of Plante Moran’s work are not subject to Ohio public records laws because the firm was subcontracted through the law firm Dinsmore and Shohl, therefore the audit falls under attorney-client privilege.
The university repeatedly has denied requests for a copy of the firm’s findings, beginning with a written denial in October: “(They) are privileged and the university has no plans to share them publicly at this time,” WSU spokesman Seth Bauguess wrote in response to a request for the records under Ohio public records law.
This newspaper later followed up with a request for records on how much Plante Moran was paid. That information was received this week.
Plante Moran, a certified public accounting and business advisory firm based in Michigan, was paid for work done in 2015 with five checks from WSU, cut between September and January.
Dinsmore has billed the university another $108,000 this fiscal year under a pair of contracts for “immigration matters” and “legal advice and services related to internal investigations.”
“Every organization can find ways to do things better and those of us who love and support Wright State know that our university is no different,” WSU Trustees Chairman Michael Bridges said when he announced the hiring of the CPA firm in June. “We look forward to detailed and aggressive recommendations from the outside accounting professionals at Plante Moran to help us make the best possible strategic decisions for our university.”
The work by the two companies is related to an ongoing federal investigation into possible violations of immigration law, which led to several top university officials being suspended, fired or forced to retire.
Source: WSU spent over $300K on audit it won’t release
Let me translate, Wright State paid Plante Moran directly, yet claims the work was hired by a sub-contractor, also hired directly by the university, so that the work product, done for the school, is not public record.
The board chairman, who already illegally voted on the hiring of his son to an unposted job, at one time claimed that WSU hired Plante Moran back in June to help THEM, Wright State, not the law firm, make best possible decisions- but, oh, we’re not going to see it, because our lawyers need to keep it secret.
It’s time to fire President Hopkins, bring up the hack “spokesman Seth Bauguess” on charges of violating the Sunshine laws, and to replace not just the board president, but the entire board, which has been asleep at the wheel.
There is no more room for this kind of deceit at a public university. The report needs to be made public no if, ands or buts.
What good are public information laws if they aren’t enforced?
And those damn commie students with their 3 cases of soda. Send them off to the gulag. We can’t be sipping contraband soda while rooting for a damn democratic socialist running for president. What is this world coming to?
Amen. Forgive my oversharing, but reading this gave me a full Larry Flynt Hustler 1979 Magazine *&%# – $!. You dared go where no man has gone before yet again by stating that which needed to be stated. A heartfelt thank you for keeping these atrocities alive in the public eye regarding this public institute of high learning with the most despicable, low level moral and ethical standards imaginable. Finally, it says it all when the first person these students come to for help regarding the unfairness of being is you. You are their gladiator as you are ours.
Great article David, keep their feet to the fire.
On another level: once upon a time, higher ed. operated their own food services (employing students to cook and clean and bus tables) and their own bookstores–now those concessions get farmed out to the likes of AVI and Uniserv and Follett et al–generally with worse levels of service to the campus community and lower revenues for the college. So let’s give Pepsico or Coca Cola the news that they don’t get to tell student groups who can or can’t share a soft drink on campus, let’s put the for-profit firms on notice that they deliver or go broke–let’s reclaim the public colleges for the public.
I guess drinking the Kool-aide would be more appropriate?
Did you ever wonder why Subway and Smashburger do not sell coffee? The first Subway that refused me coffee made up a story about how he forgot to order i, but I have since learned that when Pepsi and Coke agree to have thehir drinks in these restaurants, they demand that coffee be banned.
And so it must be at WSU.
I’m pretty sure a university cannot dictate what type of soda a student group can consume (at least a public one). Next WSU will be telling student groups what they can and can’t say and what they can and can’t believe.
Isn’t also ironic that WSU worries about $20 worth of soda but not about undercutting their own graduates. I don’t think anyone has noted that the foreign workers who were brought here in the HB-1 scam were employed at a software company. Wright State has both a computer science major and computer engineering major. Therefore, WSU would have graduates that could have filled those spots. Instead the administration thought it was in the University’s best interest to throw their own alumni under the bus for what appears to be a million dollar kickback. Rosenberger is spot on, Wright State can’t handle themselves.
It’s time for colleges to stop thinking and behaving like businesses. WSU is an educational institution, full stop. It’s main purpose is to pass knowledge and skills on to the next generation, and to engage in research that expands that base of knowledge and skills.
It’s too easy to gain admission to college in the U.S. because students are, essentially, customers. There are plenty of colleges with close to a 100% admission rate because it is in the institution’s best financial interest to admit just about anybody.
The soft drink episode at WSU is just the tip of the iceberg, but it is illustrative of a larger point. The institution is WAY too focused on things well outside their core mission, teaching and research.
Wright State University has an admission rate of 96.8%, per U.S. News and World Report.
Referencing the Plante Moran/H1-B issue, this entire situation is still under federal investigation, which is why information can’t be released at this time.
Um, no Kim. They are a public university, it’s public money, and they aren’t allowed to use public funds to defend themselves from public scrutiny of illegal acts.
The findings are public.
The investigation is up to the feds.
The university is dirty from top to bottom- and it’s time to clean house.
A half million on a rebrand to a company in FL?
The speaker of the Ohio house warns his colleagues to steer clear?
They don’t have a leg to stand on.
The public’s money bought that study- it’s ours.
If they wanted it to defend themselves- they should have paid out of their own pockets.
That’s how it works for the rest of us.
We supposedly have a government of the people, for the people. Or not.
Amen, again! And thank you for reminding those that need it that WSU is a state run University and what they do is our business. It is a sad day for all of us when people out there that accept bad, illegal behavior by public office officials for whom we PAY THE SALARIES as acceptable, particularly when they come under scrutiny by the law.
RE: WSU’s new logo outsourced to a Florida Co. Why didn’t WSU officials throw this opportunity over to their students. Locals and young students often have a vibe that transcends the message better than out of state group could ever imagine. They could have offered free tuition for a year to the winner. It would have cost a small amount of money and a hellofa lot less than what the Florida group charged with major impact and local pride enhanced. State money could have stayed in stated and in financially strapped Dayton area. After all, Hopkins keeps reminding of us of the WSU FAMILY and his talented students at every opportunity.
ESRATI, YOU F’N ROCK!!! NOW HERE FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH: From: “David R. Hopkins” Date: February 15, 2016 at 2:18:50 PM EST To: Subject: [OFFICIAL-L] President’s Message Hello– Recently, a series of negative articles and headlines about Wright State University have appeared in a local paper. These articles contain allegations and innuendos of inappropriate behavior by individuals associated with our university. As you know, the federal review of our H1B process and the review by the attorney general of a consultant we engaged have also sparked much debate both on and off campus. We have cooperated fully with authorities to provide all relevant materials and facts. In addition, I have met with our Board of Trustees, Faculty Senate leadership, Staff Council leadership, Deans’ Council, and Cabinet to share all the facts as we know them. Soon these reviews will come to an end and we can move from speculation to the truth. In the meantime, we will continue to do the business of the university–providing a high-quality education to our students, conducting research that improves the quality of life for all our citizens, and engaging our community in ways that benefit us all. By every measure, Rise. Shine. The Campaign for Wright State University has been a tremendous success. Between now and the close of the campaign in December, we are proud that Tom Hanks, the honorary national co-chair of the campaign, will spend several days with us to celebrate our accomplishments. Ohio has had a long history of deciding the next president of the United States. In September, the next president will be standing in the Wright State University Nutter Center Arena. I stopped counting the number of people who have congratulated us on being selected and told me how excited they are for Ohio, Raider Country, and Wright State University. Although I haven’t heard from all 100,000-plus graduates, those who have contacted me are very proud of their alma mater. The Commission on Presidential Debates has entrusted Ohio, more specifically Wright State University, with hosting the first debate. With that opportunity comes great responsibilities. Chief among those is… Read more »
RE: David R. Hopkins
READ: “blah, blah, blah. Cover-my-derrière. Then some B.S., another couple of blahs. Some outright horsesh!t, and some boilerplate. Then add some firm-sounding but meaningless admin-speak crapola.”
Oh, yeah….include lots of committees, councils, and other organizations.
There’s gotta be a course, somewhere, that teaches administrative humps of all stripes to crank out these missives. Say nothing, admit nothing, reveal nothing, but sound authoritative and fair. Clear thinking and seeking only justice.
is there ANYBODY still dumb enough to believe this stuff? It’s the same nonsense, spewed forth by presidential candidates, CEOs, PR hacks, lawyers, and now a local university president.
Give it a rest. Nobody’s buying it anymore.
How long until Hopkins gets a “no confidence” vote from the faculty. I know it would be mostly symbolic but it would at least tell the community that the Wright State faculty still care about honesty and integrity. It would also demonstrate to students that the faculty has a vested interest in their success. As for now, the faculty has appeared to hitch its wagon to the horse named Hopkins. It’s both sad and alarming.
This is the last paragraph of the Hopkins memo:
People like to say, “This ain’t my first rodeo!” Well, Saturday night, many of the 6,100 people in the Wright State Nutter Center were at their first rodeo. I want to thank Jim Brown and the amazing team he has assembled. Friday night, Special Wish converted the arena into a ballroom for their annual Valentine’s dance. By Saturday night, the dance floor had been removed and several tons of dirt brought in for the rodeo. And by 1 p.m. today the arena was ready for basketball. Great work, Jim and team.
All my best,
David. R. Hopkins
Note: “tons of dirt” was brought into the Nutter Center. Kinda like this memo, although it’s not dirt that Hopkins brings to the arena.