As concerned faculty, we endorse Athens News Editor Terry Smith’s call for a third-party investigation into the propriety of recent negotiations between Ohio University administration and local proprietor John Wharton.
We would like to believe Vice President Steve Golding’s statement “that all those involved with the gift acted in good faith and without any improper intent.” Yet reasonable people will wonder what President McDavis and Senior Associate Athletic Director Ryan White discussed “at length” at a basketball tournament on March 14. We can understand Mr. Wharton not wanting to comment publicly. But reasonable people will ask whether Wharton, a real estate agent, knowingly entered into an arrangement to sell his house above market value to the OU Foundation in return for major donations to Intercollegiate Athletics. The timing and substance of exchanges over both home and gifts are troubling. A neutral investigation that includes testimonies under oath from the parties involved would help to settle these doubts.
The best outcome for the University would be to exonerate the administration from lingering doubts about whether malfeasance took place, something that an internal investigation, however well-intentioned, can never satisfy. At the same time, as faculty who believe we have a central role to play in the stewardship of University resources and preserving the value of its academic reputation, we would hope that if something unethical or illegal occurred it would immediately be brought to light. Only then could we complete the task of restoring the trust of the Ohio University community—students, faculty, alumni, and staff—as well as the members of our local Athens community and the citizens of Ohio to whom our University belongs.
As members of a public university, we agree with Terry Smith that either the Ohio Inspector General or the Ohio Ethics Commission would be an appropriate body to investigate possible ethical violations and financial malfeasance. Such a body would have the credibility and the clout to get at the truth and, we hope, answer the serious questions that remain. We invite other faculty to add their names to this letter, which we will consider sending to state representatives if action has not been taken in the meanwhile, by emailing ou.aaup@gmail.com. We share the administration’s desire to restore the reputation of our University as a community that practices ethical behavior and responsible stewardship.
Kevin Uhalde, Secretary, and Joseph McLaughlin, member-at-large, on behalf of the Ohio University chapter of American Association of University Professors, together with the undersigned faculty.
Gene Ammarell, Associate Professor of Anthropology
Mark Barsamian, Associate Lecturer of Mathematics
Alyssa Bernstein, Associate Professor of Philosophy
Neil W. Bernstein, Professor of Classics and World Religions
Bonita Biegalke, Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences
Geoffrey Buckley, Professor of Geography
Larry Burmeister, Professor of Sociology
Diane Ciekawy, Associate Professor of Anthropology
Anne Cooper, Professor Emerita of Journalism
John R. Cotton, Associate Professor of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering
Mariana Dantas, Associate Professor of History
Bernhard Debatin, Professor of Journalism
Robert DeMott, Edwin and Ruth Kennedy Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English
David Drabold, Distinguished Professor of Physics
Marsha L. Dutton, Samuel and Susan Crowl Professor of Literature
Sherrie Gradin, Professor of English
Judith Grant, Professor of Political Science
Gary Holcomb, Professor of African American Studies
Janis Butler Holm, Associate Professor of English
Jaylynne N. Hutchinson, Associate Professor of Critical Cultural Studies in Education
Sharon Inman, Associate Professor of Renal Physiology
Gregory R. Janson, Associate Professor of Child and Family Studies
Katherine Jellison, Professor of History
Greg Kessler, Associate Professor of Linguistics
Nicholas Kiersey, Assistant Professor of Political Science, OU-Chillicothe
Ray Klimek, Assistant Professor of Photography + Integrated Media
Robert Knight, Associate Professor of Mathematics, OU-Chillicothe
Laura Larson, Associate Professor of Photography and Integrated Media Program
Judith Yaross Lee, Professor of Communication Studies
Tracy C. Leinbaugh, Associate Professor Emerita of Counselor Education
Sergio R. Lopez-Permouth, Professor of Mathematics
Loren Lybarger, Associate Professor of Classics and World Religions
Nancy J. Manring, Associate Professor of Political Science
Vladimir L. Marchenkov, Professor of Philosophy of Art
Kevin Mattson, Connor Study Professor of History
Jaclyn Maxwell, Associate Professor of History and Classics and World Religions
Richard McGinn, Associate Professor Emeritus of Linguistics and Southeast Asian Studies
Donald B. Miles, Professor of Biological Sciences
Damian Nance, Distinguished Professor of Geological Sciences
William Owens, Associate Professor of Classics and World Religions
Ruth Palmer, Associate Professor of Classics and World Religions
Daniel Phillips, Professor of Physics
B. David Ridpath, Associate Professor and Kahandas Nandola Professor of Sports Administration
Herta Rodina, Associate Professor of French
Willem Roosenburg, Professor of Biological Sciences
Stephen J. Scanlan, Associate Professor of Sociology
Louis-Georges Schwartz, Head Of M.A. Program in Film Studies
Miriam Shadis, Associate Professor of History
David Sharpe, Senior Lecturer of English
Joseph W. Slade, Professor of Media Arts and Studies
Carey Snyder, Associate Professor of English
Patricia Stokes, Assistant Professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Barry Thomas, Professor Emeritus of German
Ingo Trauschweizer, Associate Professor of History
Julie White, Director of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Jackie Wolf, Professor of Social Medicine
We would like to believe Vice President Steve Golding’s statement “that all those involved with the gift acted in good faith and without any improper intent.” Yet reasonable people will wonder what President McDavis and Senior Associate Athletic Director Ryan White discussed “at length” at a basketball tournament on March 14. We can understand Mr. Wharton not wanting to comment publicly. But reasonable people will ask whether Wharton, a real estate agent, knowingly entered into an arrangement to sell his house above market value to the OU Foundation in return for major donations to Intercollegiate Athletics. The timing and substance of exchanges over both home and gifts are troubling. A neutral investigation that includes testimonies under oath from the parties involved would help to settle these doubts.
The best outcome for the University would be to exonerate the administration from lingering doubts about whether malfeasance took place, something that an internal investigation, however well-intentioned, can never satisfy. At the same time, as faculty who believe we have a central role to play in the stewardship of University resources and preserving the value of its academic reputation, we would hope that if something unethical or illegal occurred it would immediately be brought to light. Only then could we complete the task of restoring the trust of the Ohio University community—students, faculty, alumni, and staff—as well as the members of our local Athens community and the citizens of Ohio to whom our University belongs.
As members of a public university, we agree with Terry Smith that either the Ohio Inspector General or the Ohio Ethics Commission would be an appropriate body to investigate possible ethical violations and financial malfeasance. Such a body would have the credibility and the clout to get at the truth and, we hope, answer the serious questions that remain. We invite other faculty to add their names to this letter, which we will consider sending to state representatives if action has not been taken in the meanwhile, by emailing ou.aaup@gmail.com. We share the administration’s desire to restore the reputation of our University as a community that practices ethical behavior and responsible stewardship.
Kevin Uhalde, Secretary, and Joseph McLaughlin, member-at-large, on behalf of the Ohio University chapter of American Association of University Professors, together with the undersigned faculty.
Gene Ammarell, Associate Professor of Anthropology
Mark Barsamian, Associate Lecturer of Mathematics
Alyssa Bernstein, Associate Professor of Philosophy
Neil W. Bernstein, Professor of Classics and World Religions
Bonita Biegalke, Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences
Geoffrey Buckley, Professor of Geography
Larry Burmeister, Professor of Sociology
Diane Ciekawy, Associate Professor of Anthropology
Anne Cooper, Professor Emerita of Journalism
John R. Cotton, Associate Professor of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering
Mariana Dantas, Associate Professor of History
Bernhard Debatin, Professor of Journalism
Robert DeMott, Edwin and Ruth Kennedy Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English
David Drabold, Distinguished Professor of Physics
Marsha L. Dutton, Samuel and Susan Crowl Professor of Literature
Sherrie Gradin, Professor of English
Judith Grant, Professor of Political Science
Gary Holcomb, Professor of African American Studies
Janis Butler Holm, Associate Professor of English
Jaylynne N. Hutchinson, Associate Professor of Critical Cultural Studies in Education
Sharon Inman, Associate Professor of Renal Physiology
Gregory R. Janson, Associate Professor of Child and Family Studies
Katherine Jellison, Professor of History
Greg Kessler, Associate Professor of Linguistics
Nicholas Kiersey, Assistant Professor of Political Science, OU-Chillicothe
Ray Klimek, Assistant Professor of Photography + Integrated Media
Robert Knight, Associate Professor of Mathematics, OU-Chillicothe
Laura Larson, Associate Professor of Photography and Integrated Media Program
Judith Yaross Lee, Professor of Communication Studies
Tracy C. Leinbaugh, Associate Professor Emerita of Counselor Education
Sergio R. Lopez-Permouth, Professor of Mathematics
Loren Lybarger, Associate Professor of Classics and World Religions
Nancy J. Manring, Associate Professor of Political Science
Vladimir L. Marchenkov, Professor of Philosophy of Art
Kevin Mattson, Connor Study Professor of History
Jaclyn Maxwell, Associate Professor of History and Classics and World Religions
Richard McGinn, Associate Professor Emeritus of Linguistics and Southeast Asian Studies
Donald B. Miles, Professor of Biological Sciences
Damian Nance, Distinguished Professor of Geological Sciences
William Owens, Associate Professor of Classics and World Religions
Ruth Palmer, Associate Professor of Classics and World Religions
Daniel Phillips, Professor of Physics
B. David Ridpath, Associate Professor and Kahandas Nandola Professor of Sports Administration
Herta Rodina, Associate Professor of French
Willem Roosenburg, Professor of Biological Sciences
Stephen J. Scanlan, Associate Professor of Sociology
Louis-Georges Schwartz, Head Of M.A. Program in Film Studies
Miriam Shadis, Associate Professor of History
David Sharpe, Senior Lecturer of English
Joseph W. Slade, Professor of Media Arts and Studies
Carey Snyder, Associate Professor of English
Patricia Stokes, Assistant Professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Barry Thomas, Professor Emeritus of German
Ingo Trauschweizer, Associate Professor of History
Julie White, Director of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Jackie Wolf, Professor of Social Medicine
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