Two of the five candidates for the position of president of New Mexico State University made headlines this week as questions surfaced regarding their resignations from top administrative positions at their current universities.
Richard Herman, former chancellor of the University of Illinois, and James Oblinger, former chancellor of North Carolina State University, both resigned after questions surfaced recently about their involvement in practices that gave preferential treatment to political heavyweights and their families.
Favor for the Governor
According to a report published by the North Carolina News & Observer in April of 2009, aides for then North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley began talking to NCSU administrators about the possibility of creating a position for the governor’s wife at the university.
On May 26, then Interim-Provost Larry Nielsen created the position of “University Lecture Circuit Coordinator,” and announced Mary Easley would be hired for the position at a salary of $80,000. That salary was later amended to a five-year contract at $170,000 per year.
After the hiring of Mary Easley was made public, then Chancellor James Oblinger denied any involvement in the decision to hire former First Lady Easley, according to an article published in the NCSU Technician, the student newspaper. In June, e-mails containing correspondence between Easley and Oblinger about the first lady's position at NCSU were made public.
“Those e-mails made me feel sick. I had believed [Oblinger],” said Erkine Bowles, NCSU president, in a June 11 article published by the Technician.
Oblinger’s resignation on June 11 was the final in a string of top administrators caught up in the scandal. Now chairman of the NCSU Board of Trustees Bob Jordan said the e-mails between Easley and Oblinger illustrated no illegal activity.
“Knowing what I know, I still don’t believe there was anything wrong in those e-mails. I haven’t seen anything except maybe somebody didn’t use good judgment,” Jordan told the Technician on June 11.
Admissions for Political Heavy Hitters
In a July 7 article published by the Chicago Tribune, it was reported then University of Illinois Chancellor Richard Herman admitted to arranging admissions to the university for under-qualified family members of politicians and their donors. According to the report, Herman helped politically connected graduates of the University of Illinois Law School find jobs to boost the job placement ratings of the university.
"I deeply regret that and firmly believe the system for handling external inquiries must be reformed," Herman said in the July 7 article.
After the admissions policy became public, the U-C Senate voted 98-55 for the Illinois president and Herman to resign. Herman officially resigned as chancellor on Oct. 26. One day later he was introduced to the Board of Regents as a presidential candidate.
According to the Chicago Tribune article, more than 800 undergraduates have been accepted to the University of Illinois in the last five years with poor academic records, but connections within the state.
On to NMSU
Herman and Oblinger are both scheduled to appear at public meetings at NMSU in November and the scandals still brewing in the states they come from are sure to follow them.
“I think that students should look at both the good and bad of all five candidates before arriving at a conclusion,” said ASNMSU President Travis Dulany. Dulany was a member of the search committee that presented the five finalists to the Board of Regents.
At least one NMSU faculty member seems less than optimistic about the announcement of Herman and Oblinger.
“I think it is completely ridiculous that the search committee would even entertain the thought of recommending [Herman and Oblinger],” said Kevin McNelis, associate professor of accounting. “I am disgusted the search committee would even think of such candidates.”
The university released the visiting schedules of all the finalists Wednesday. Herman will speak at public forums on Tuesday and Oblinger on Nov. 16.
Jon Blazak is editor-in-chief and can be reached at roundup@nmsu.edu
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