Last updated on 06/06/2024
6/6/2024 – Still no documents:
Request:
From: WTH <[email protected]>
Subject: Provost contract
Date: May 16, 2024 at 4:35:49 PM PDT
To: Lisa Thornton <[email protected]>
Dear Public Records Officer Thornton:
This is a public records request for a copy of the contract or similar agreement showing the terms of employment for incoming Provost Christopher P. Long. If a contract has not been signed then I ask for a copy of UO’s most recent proposal.
I’m ccing Dean Long in the hope he will provide this document without your office’s excessive fees and deliberate delays.
Thanks,
Bill Harbaugh
Over/under on whether our new provost got hosed?
Comment of the week. And as a Bayesian with strong priors I’ll say the odds are 1/1000.
Mr. Harbaugh. You need to put “Ph.D.” on the end of your requests so they know who you are.
I would, except that my younger and smarter brother, Professor Dr. Rick Harbaugh PhD, has a paper that explains why this looks bad:
Abstract
Is it always wise to disclose good news? We find that the worst sender with good news has the most incentive to disclose it, so reporting good news can paradoxically make the sender look bad. If the good news is attainable by sufficiently mediocre types, or if the sender is already expected to be of a relatively high type, withholding good news is an equilibrium. Since the sender has a legitimate fear of looking too anxious to reveal good news, having a third party disclose the news, or mandating that the sender disclose the news, can help the sender. The predictions are tested by examining when economics faculty at different institutions use titles such as “Dr” and “Professor” in voicemail greetings and course syllabi.
https://econpapers.repec.org/paper/wpawuwpga/0508003.htm
I’m assuming Pres Scholz wants to hide this contract because it will show he is paying Provost Long so little that no other administrators will want to come to UO.