Pride means doing it right
There was nothing funny about Sonja's A&T story today ...
... except Mable Scott's statement that the university is very proud of itself.
"We are very proud of N.C. A&T State University. ... We're ranked third in research within the UNC system with over $40 million in research and (are) a top producer of graduates in engineering, psychology and accounting," said Scott, special assistant to the vice chancellor for Development and University Relations.
This is a typical response for Scott, a cheerful and personable woman who often acts as the university's chief spokeswoman ... and, in the most earnest and pleasant way, usually says absolutely nothing.
I remember her telling me once, in response to an episode of financial irregularities, that A&T was doing everything to make everything better in every way. Period.
Very helpful.
A&T isn't always easy to communicate with. In fact, I was told by a faculty member in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication that they weren't allowed to speak with the media. Pretty incredible for a public university.
In this case, it's reasonable that DA Doug Henderson found no grounds to prosecute anyone for misspending money. He saw no criminal intent, and he concluded that there was benefit to the university even though money didn't go where it was supposed to in some instances.
I hope no one thinks on that basis that there wasn't validity to the state auditor's report. There might be "benefit" to the university if you take money meant to provide financial aid for students and use it to buy artwork or purchase an annuity for a faculty member, but it still isn't right.
A&T fired one employee over operations of a fellowship program, so clearly it recognized the problems. And no doubt it's taken other steps to make sure funds are spent as required.
Nothing wrong with having a little pride. But it's more important to manage public funds properly.
Comments (6)
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Hard to imagine there is not personal gain to one if grant money is diverted into an annuity set up for one with someone else's money, but I guess since it was not immediately accessible cold-hard-cash it was okay. No crime would occur until the money was accessed by the individual upon their retirement I guess????
Where can I get one?
Posted on January 7, 2009 9:15 AM
Let's see, do I want to be accused of being a racist, or should I not prosecute somebody for diverting grant money from apparently some deep-pocketed source.
Looks like a fairly easy decision for a GC politician to make.
Posted on January 7, 2009 9:42 AM
A&T is the only university or college in the area - public or private - where I've encountered faculty and staff members saying they're not allowed to talk to the media. It's very strange and those you try to talk to will often tell you - off the record of course - that they don't like the policy any more than journalists do.
Posted on January 7, 2009 10:09 AM
Doug, can you imagine the amount of hell that would be raised if the UNC-CH (or NCSU, UNC-G, or ECU) administration tried to impose a similar gag order on their faculty?
Seems that NC A&T, given its institutional emphasis on the importance of civil rights preservation, would rethink any such policy.
Posted on January 7, 2009 11:02 AM
There are people there who are accessible and candid, so I can't say whether this is a universal policy or, if so, whether it's rigidly enforced.
Nevertheless, it's generally much easier getting info from people at other colleges and universities.
Normally, the attitude on campuses is that we employ really smart people who have a lot to say. So let them.
Posted on January 7, 2009 11:29 AM
And some of us at UNCG won't shut up!
Posted on January 7, 2009 10:37 PM