On U Of L's "Bride" And "Corpse" Robert Felner, The Concern For U Of L Was Not "Letting The Indians Get Back In Control Of The Reservation."

Yep, you read it right.

Check C-J here, or below is the story:

Ramsey: U of L took steps to fix Felner problems
But recent e-mails show praise of ex-dean by school leaders

By Nancy C. Rodriguez

University of Louisville administrators knew that problems existed with former education dean Robert Felner's leadership and tried "to improve the situation," President James Ramsey said in a recent letter to board members, donors and alumni.
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Felner is now the focus of a federal investigation into alleged misappropriation of grant money at U of L. No charges have been filed.

In his Aug. 22 letter, Ramsey said: "While we can't talk about personnel actions, we did take steps to improve the situation. Rightfully so, we have faculty who are hurt and disappointed by events of the recent years."

But e-mails that Ramsey and U of L Provost Shirley Willihnganz sent as recently as June to Felner praise him for his work, according to records obtained from the school by The Courier-Journal.

"You have done an incredible job here, and I am deeply indebted," Ramsey wrote in an e-mail to Felner in early June. "I do want to get together to chat and get some of your ideas on things still to be done with the College … cannot run the risk of letting the Indians get back in control of the reservation."

Ramsey was not on campus yesterday, and was unavailable for comment.

"It is important to note that the complimentary e-mails to Felner from university administrators were not about his management style, but rather his ability to achieve goals and objectives during his tenure at U of L," university spokeswoman Cindy Hess said yesterday.

Felner resigned June 30 to take a chancellor position at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. He backed out of that job in late June, after the federal investigation became public.

U.S. Attorney David Huber indicated this week the investigation may continue into October.

The investigation, which became public June 20, brought to light issues surrounding Felner's leadership at U of L's College of Education and Human Development and at other institutions he worked at before coming to Louisville in 2003.

Former faculty, staff, students and alumni have complained that Felner harassed, intimidated and retaliated against those who did not agree with him.
'Turn things around'

In his Aug. 22 letter, Ramsey discusses how the education college had changed since he became president in 2002.

Ramsey does not say what prompted him to send the letter, and university officials did not know yesterday. He does ask those who received the letter for their "support for the College and for the University as we continue to give our energy to meeting the mandates given to us by the people or our community and state."

In the letter, Ramsey said he was concerned with the findings of a 2001 report that raised concerns about "the college's effectiveness, its interaction with public and parochial school teachers and its indifference to its alumni's employment issues." Ramsey said his conversations with area school superintendents confirmed the report's findings.

Felner's "references were very good," Ramsey wrote, adding that when Felner was hired in 2003, "Our mandate to him was to turn things around and do it quickly. He became a change agent -- a role all of our new Deans have played."

Ramsey notes several gains made under Felner's leadership, including a 51 percent increase in grants brought into the college, from $17.9 million to $27 million, and a 27 percent increase in degrees awarded by the college, from 611 to 778.

He said Jefferson County Public Schools "now prefers to recruit U of L graduates over other colleges in the area."

As a result, Ramsey said, the administration "believed early concerns about the Dean's leadership style stemmed from the rapid change and heavy demands he had placed on his faculty."

Ramsey's comments echoed statements Willihnganz made last week, when she told The Courier-Journal that U of L initially dismissed early complaints from staff about Felner, but eventually found there were too many to ignore.

She declined to say whether Felner was asked to leave but noted that he took a large pay cut in accepting the Wisconsin job.
Focus of complaints

During Felner's tenure at U of L, more than 30 grievances and complaints were made against him by faculty, staff, students and alumni, many of which were anonymous or not considered formal. The allegations include a sexual harassment complaint, which the university said was unsubstantiated, as well as complaints of harassment, intimidation and retaliation by Felner.

In a July interview, Ramsey categorized most of those complaints as "anonymous crap," which angered a number of current and former faculty at the college and around campus.

In his letter, Ramsey notes twice that although four formal grievances were made against Felner, "none of those grievances moved forward as negative toward the Dean," meaning the process did not result in Felner being sanctioned.

He also downplays a no-confidence vote by education faculty against Felner in 2006, noting that only half of the college's 100 faculty members were present.

"Many of the members of the faculty did not vote, and a large number visited the Provost afterward to say that they supported the Dean," Ramsey said.
Concerns and praise

Several e-mails obtained by The Courier-Journal between Ramsey and Willihnganz include references to concerns over Felner's leadership at the college during the past year.

In an Aug. 21, 2007, e-mail to Ramsey, Willihnganz wrote that "Robert is still a handful."

Yet as recently as May and June, Ramsey and Willihnganz were sending Felner e-mails praising him for his work.

In May, Willihnganz e-mailed Felner as he was preparing to leave, saying: "I want you to know how proud we are of all that has been accomplished here. … I will miss you."

That same month, Ramsey sent a letter to David Britt, chairman of the department of health and sports sciences at the education college, in which he says: "Robert has done a great job making change in an environment where many of the faculty did not want change."
Calling for reviews

Ramsey stresses in his Aug. 22 letter to university boards, alumni and donors that at no time did the university "have any reason to believe that the Dean might have been involved with anything illegal."

When the university suspected that was the case, Ramsey said, it was brought to the attention of law enforcement authorities. Huber has confirmed U of L alerted his office to possible illegal activity.

Ramsey said the university continues to cooperate with federal investigators, and notes that it has taken other steps, including asking the Faculty Senate to review the faculty grievance process.

The university has directed its Audit Services Office to begin an audit of the education college's finances. An independent firm also has been brought in to conduct an audit of the university's business practices related to research.

In his letter, Ramsey gives his "absolute commitment" that the findings of all three reviews will be shared with the university's trustees. He also expresses strong support in the letter to Blake Haselton, the former Oldham County school superintendent now serving as the education college's interim dean.

"Healing must take place, and Blake is working with all of us to rebuild relationships and trust in the college," Ramsey said. "This will take time. Blake has found that almost all the faculty and staff are ready to move forward."

Editor's comment: Yes, indeed, "U of L took steps to fix Felner problems", as stated in this story.

You can read James Ramsey's letter here (HT to Jake).

So how did they do that?

By running a "reservation" style academic program where those who stood to benefit from Mr. Felner's corrupt actions "cannot run the risk of letting the Indians [the good guys here] get back in control ...".

If Felner's Foibles were not so sad, pathetic and SHAMEFUL, the attempt at denying blameworthiness/cover up might be funny.