12/1/2011: Yesterday’s meetings made it very clear to Governor Kitzhaber, the OUS Board, Chancellor Pernsteiner, and his mostly young and ambitious staff that there is only one clear way out of the disaster they have created for themselves: appoint Robert Berdahl as interim President and give him control of the search for a permanent replacement.
Otherwise they are all going to spending a lot time driving down to Eugene and talking to to a lot of pissed off people. The two best places to get info on Berdahl are at the Berkeley site and his well timed Op-Ed in the RG. For the faculty, his words sealed the deal:
… The chancellor and board have recklessly ignored the wishes of donors, alumni, faculty and students. They have signaled the academic community throughout the nation that innovative, courageous leadership will neither be sought nor tolerated.
If you want to be president of the University of Oregon, be prepared to knuckle under to the chancellor and the board and be wary of the promises of the governor.
Robert Berdahl was a professor of history and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oregon. He is a former president of the University of Texas at Austin; chancellor emeritus of the University of California, Berkeley; and president emeritus of the Association of American Universities (AAU).
Pernsteiner and his Chief of Staff Bridget Burns have been given a simple message from the faculty to take back to Portland and the Governor and Board: Convince Berdahl to take this job on his terms, or face 18 more months of what you sat through yesterday in the meeting rooms of the Knight law school and in Matt Court. The faculty assembly has another meeting Dec 7. Maybe you should come to terms before then?
Will Berdahl have the courage to fire chip kelly if the NCAA investigation warrants it? We could be looking at a similar outcome to our investigation as Ohio State with Tressel. Right now chip kelly is the most powerful person on campus.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Decision finality accepted.
Now we’ll throw them a few bones.
That will satisfy them.
Clearly, it was so important to Kitzhaber, Pernsteiner and the OUS board to get rid of RL that the cost, blow back and damage control were of no concern to them.
I’d be interested to know how in 1995 OHSU was able to flee the clutches of the OUS? What led to that parting of the way? Anybody know?
Random question about Berdahl: if the board doesn’t hire him as interim president, does UO still have to pay out his consulting contract?