Qaddafi and the LSE, Bongo and UO

10/30/2011: Many of the comments on the appointment of Dennis Galvan as VP for IA are somewhat supportive. I don’t trust Dennis Galvan because of the way he handled the deal between UO and Gabon this summer.

Galvan and Lariviere signed UO to a deal with Gabon based on some pap about sustainability and “Twin Edens” without any public discussion. Then they refused to share documents on the deal until I went to Attorney General Kroger. Then they only sent me part of the agreement. Dennis wouldn’t answer questions. I had to go back to get the rest – which was substantially different than what is described in the press release. What a surprise. I suppose I should be glad that UO’s President didn’t retaliate against me for sticking my nose into his business, or send some big guys to knock on my door. It’s all the same though – you will stop asking so many questions, Professor.

What’s not to like about a secret deal with a famously corrupt government? It’s not like this is Libya. Well, actually ….

Reuters has a long story here on the repercussions and lawsuits coming out of the London School of Economics’s secret agreements with Libya. And here’s a link to a fascinating interview with Ali Bongo, – within days of the UO ceremony, and apparently done as a requirement of his meeting with President Obama. Question #1 is about his ties to Qaddafi. He looks like he is going to have the reporter taken out and shot – then he remembers he’s sitting in Blair House, being videotaped, and that the reporter is from VOA. In the end he gives a remarkably credible answer:

In all fairness to Lariviere and Galvan, the US State department now says Ali Bongo is apparently shaping up to be a reformer, and better than you’d expect for a defacto President for Life with dictatorial powers. But remember when Condoleezza Rice said that about Gaddafi? Whoops. Here’s a more credible ABC news report on Ali Bongo: Grand Theft Nation

There are lots of places around the world were you can’t ask questions. I don’t think a US university – my university – should be one of them. Tempting offers like the one Galvan went for in Gabon are going to come up all the time. Bad regimes want to buy legitimacy, and universities like ours still have some available. Look for example at the PRC Confucius Institutes. So what’s Galvan going to do next time? Given the way his appointment was handled, the faculty didn’t even get a chance to ask him that question. What a lesson for UO to be teaching the students of Gabon. At least I’m sure we won’t be the first people to kill off a bit of their idealism.