… Your allegations about the University’s rulemaking processes are offensive and false , as are the comments made publicly by members of the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee. I ask that you apologize in writing to President Berdahl, Rob Mullens, and me. I also ask that you censure the members of the IAC who have published offensive and defamatory comments.
Randolph Geller
General Counsel
University of Oregon
Date: Mon, Aug 20, 2012 at 4:08 PM
Subject: RE: proposal to resolve our differences regarding the definition of “academic matters”
To: Nathan Tublitz <[email protected]>
Cc: Rob Mullens <[email protected]>, …, Robert Kyr <[email protected]>
Dear Nathan,
Thank you for your follow up.
ORS 351.011 renders the Oregon University System ineligible to request
or receive legal services from the Attorney General and the Department
of Justice. This language was added by the Legislative Assembly at the
request of former Attorney General John Kroger. Under Board of Higher
Education policy, an OUS institution may receive legal representation,
services, and opinions only from attorneys authorized to provide legal
services to the institution. Legal advice and opinions rendered by
anyone other than an attorney authorized to provide legal services to
an OUS institution are ineffective. No director, officer, employee
(faculty members are employees) or authorized representative of the
University may request a legal opinion or seek legal advice from the
Oregon Attorney General or the Oregon Department of Justice. I have
attached the Board policy for your information.
ORS 351.070, 352.004, and 352.010 and Board IMDs and policies are
clear and unambiguous with regard to the respective roles of the
president and the faculty (faculty is defined as the “president and
professors”) in matters pertaining to intercollegiate athletics. I am
certain that President Gottfredson will want to provide for a strong,
appropriate role for faculty in matters pertaining to intercollegiate
athletics and ensure that the faculty’s role is discharged properly.
He knows that faculty involvement is essential under the NCAA
governance structure. I know that Rob Mullens shares this view.
Best,
Randy
—–Original Message—–
From: Nathan Tublitz [mailto:tublitz@uoregon.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2012 1:42 AM
To: Randy Geller
Subject: proposal to resolve our differences regarding the definition of “academic matters”
Dear Randy:
Thanks for your note and clarifications. Our recent email
discussions, which I greatly appreciate, demonstrate a clear
difference of opinion regarding the role of faculty and our
governance system in governing the University and what constitutes
academic matters. For the record, I do not believe that the phrase
“academic matters” encompassing every aspect of the University.
However it is clear that my definition of “academic matters” is
broader than yours. That said, we both provide only advice to the
University President and do not make policy decisions. So perhaps the
best approach to resolving this difference is to refer the matter to
the Oregon Department of Justice who would issue a ruling on the
breadth of ORS352.010 (and how it interacts with other ORSs and IMDs)
after receiving briefs from all interested parties. Such a ruling
would resolve our differences and allow our governance system to
interact with the administration more efficiently and more
effectively. I suggest therefore that the new University President
and the current University Senate President write a joint letter to
the Oregon DoJ requesting such a ruling. How does that sound to you?
I appreciate your thoughtful discussions and hope we can find a way
to resolve our differences.
Cheers,
Nathan
It’s like he’s got a secret passageway directly into Gottfredson’s brain.
Where are these offensive IAC comments? I don’t recall seeing anything. Is geller blowing smoke? If there were comments at all, were they just too close to the truth and thus offended the administration’s notion of being above the law?