2008 Woodie Awards
WVU degree for governor's daughter 'seriously flawed'
Ry Rivard
Issue date: 5/2/08 Section: News
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (U-WIRE) - West Virginia University administrators "cherry-picked" information and pulled courses "from thin air" to award a degree to the governor's daughter.
The findings from a five-member panel said that Heather Bresch did not earn an Executive Masters of Business Administration in December 1998. The decision to grant her an eMBA in October 2007 was "seriously flawed," "defective" and "reflected poor judgment," according to the panel's report.
The report, released on Wednesday, did not find that Bresch's political connections helped her earn the degree. Instead, officials felt rushed "primarily and inappropriately by concerns about public relations and by Ms. Bresch's high profile. She was, in fact, treated in an unusual and unique manner."
Bresch is WVU President Michael S. Garrison's former lobbying client. She is also Gov. Joe Manchin's daughter and an executive at Mylan Inc., whose founder is a major WVU donor.
During a special session, the Board of Governors, after about 45 minutes of deliberation, asked that Garrison accept responsibility for errors in judgment.
There was no clear indication of what form such responsibility may take or if anyone university positions were in danger.
Provost Gerald Lang and the dean of the College of Business and Economics received the harshest treatment from the report because of their actions in and after an Oct. 15 meeting where officials decided to grant Bresch a degree.
Lang told the panel that, because there were conflicting accounts of whether or not Bresch earned the degree and because there was a belief that no other information was available, "the decision was made based on the discussion at the meeting to award Ms. Bresch an MBA degree, whether she had actually earned it or not," according to the report's paraphrasing of his account.
Though Lang asked four participants from the business school about whether they agreed with the decision to award the degree to Bresch, he is accused of exerting an actual or perceived pressure to go along with the decision that was palpable.
The findings from a five-member panel said that Heather Bresch did not earn an Executive Masters of Business Administration in December 1998. The decision to grant her an eMBA in October 2007 was "seriously flawed," "defective" and "reflected poor judgment," according to the panel's report.
The report, released on Wednesday, did not find that Bresch's political connections helped her earn the degree. Instead, officials felt rushed "primarily and inappropriately by concerns about public relations and by Ms. Bresch's high profile. She was, in fact, treated in an unusual and unique manner."
Bresch is WVU President Michael S. Garrison's former lobbying client. She is also Gov. Joe Manchin's daughter and an executive at Mylan Inc., whose founder is a major WVU donor.
During a special session, the Board of Governors, after about 45 minutes of deliberation, asked that Garrison accept responsibility for errors in judgment.
There was no clear indication of what form such responsibility may take or if anyone university positions were in danger.
Provost Gerald Lang and the dean of the College of Business and Economics received the harshest treatment from the report because of their actions in and after an Oct. 15 meeting where officials decided to grant Bresch a degree.
Lang told the panel that, because there were conflicting accounts of whether or not Bresch earned the degree and because there was a belief that no other information was available, "the decision was made based on the discussion at the meeting to award Ms. Bresch an MBA degree, whether she had actually earned it or not," according to the report's paraphrasing of his account.
Though Lang asked four participants from the business school about whether they agreed with the decision to award the degree to Bresch, he is accused of exerting an actual or perceived pressure to go along with the decision that was palpable.
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