Rick O'Donnell: The TT Interview
Rick O'Donnell's time as an adviser at the University of Texas System may have been brief, but his presence was felt more than many longtime staffers.
Controversy surrounded O'Donnell, the former director of Colorado's department of higher education, from the day he was hired by Gene Powell, the chairman of the UT System Board of Regents. There were questions about the creation of a new $200,000-a-year position during a time of belt-tightening in higher education. Some viewed his role as undermining UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa and threatening University of Texas at Austin President Bill ...
Comments (8)
Del Murphy
Go the way of IBM?? Is that guy, O'Donnell really that stupid. IBM does just fine and they wouldn't hire any boot licker of James Leininger for any reason, much less pay the idiot $200K. Jesus, Perry knows how to pick them.
Del Murphy
Hey, Rick, take a look at the last ten years of IBM stock prices:
http://markets.on.nytimes.com/research/stocks/tools/analysis_tools.asp?symbol=IBM
Of course when you pander to idiots that infest the TPPF, facts and accuracy of no import, now are they?
Zaffrini is spot on about this zero.
Rose Bud
The gentleman needs PR advice.. He receives a sweet settlement agreement - $70K and a glowing letter from the Board Chair he can refer to with future employers Most people would be grateful, take the money and shuit up. Instead, this guy rips his fomer employers (a highly-regarded university system with hunreds of thousads of supporters across the nation) in newspaper articles and video interviews. Regardless of the merits of his arguments for education reform... he clearly comes off as a sore loser. How utterly foolish. The university handled the treat of possible litigation as best as it could. This whole episode is a distraction from some of the substantive issues facing this state and its citizens - particualrly unemployment, and rising health care costs.
Rose Bud
The gentleman needs PR advice.. He receives a sweet settlement agreement - $70K and a glowing letter from the Board Chair he can refer to with future employers Most people would be grateful, take the money and shut up. Instead, this guy rips his former employers (a highly-regarded university system with hundreds of thousands of supporters across the nation) in newspaper articles and video interviews. Regardless of the merits of his arguments for education reform... he clearly comes off as a sore loser. How utterly foolish. The university handled the treat of possible litigation as best as it could. This whole episode is a distraction from some of the substantive issues facing this state and its citizens - particularly unemployment, and rising health care costs.
Dan Formanowicz
Mr. O'Donnell misses the point. He was hired under questionable circumstances with questionable qualifcations. He clearly does not understand the role of research and the research experience to students in higher education.
His 'publications' included data for which there were no apparent sources or the sources were miscited. Rather than take responsibility for the errors he blamed them on others. This raises significant ethical questions.
Is this really the kind of person that should be in a position to influence higher ed reform? This ultimately is why he is no longer in a position to harm higher ed in Texas.
d f
Once we finally oust the gov and his pals, this sycophant will also be history.
Scott Specht
It amazes me how ideologically entrenched the University is, and how anyone who may suggest things like transparency, accountability, and cost-effectiveness is demonized by them. Is it really so terrible to think that an institution that is funded by taxpayer dollars have some kind of oversight to it? What is the point of the Regents if they aren't there to make sure the University is performing at a high standard?
It's not that surprising that the left hates transparency, they constantly use the state government as a slush fund for the bloated education bureaucracy. If the money being spent was spent on *gasp* actually educating students (both in Higher and Public Education) then there would be no problems with what we are doling out. But as schools continue to add 6-figure salaries on the administration side, it's our right as taxpayers (or tuitionpayers as the case may be) to know how our hard-earned money is spent.
Del Murphy
It's not that surprising that the left hates transparency
Talk about a transparent straw man argument. Any time some sycophant of the TPPF gets caught looking like the village idiot, there is always somebody ready to trot out "left hates".
O'Donnell was a demagogue, pure and simple. Just look at the idiot's reference to IBM.