Ohio U Faculty Gone Wild: Journalism Prof Carves Arm After Drinking Bottle of Vodka

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism is supposed to be among the nation's elite academic programs. This report in the campus newspaper of a faculty tenure hearing makes the professional training ground for journalists sound like Animal House or worse. And here's more on the story in the Athens News. Vodka and self-mutilation? Threats? Power plays from the top? Even the assistant dean calls it a terrible work environment where professors constantly bully each other. Below are excerpts from Wesley Lowery's report in the Athens Post:


Toward the end of the nearly three-hour hearing, Assistant Dean Eddith Dashiell said she's considered the school a 'hostile work environment' since 1997. 'The school of journalism has had a history of bullying,' Dashiell said, adding that the behavior of the school's tenured faculty during her 18 years in Athens has made her feel threatened and uncomfortable.

Hodson cited complaints from three tenured faculty members as well as a list of eight other incidents of "inappropriate behavior" as justification for his negative recommendation. . . also cited unprofessional e-mails to other faculty members, a complaint by a former colleague and a leak of confidential information to The Post as reasons to deny Reader tenure. Hodson provided the committee with numerous e-mails sent by Reader to other journalism faculty, arguing that Reader's blunt and, at times, profane exchanges made it impossible for him to work "collegially" with other faculty.When Reader said he privately apologized to faculty after some of the heated e-mail exchanges, Hodson said niceties and apologies were not enough to cover a pattern of "bullying behavior.""There's no such thing as 'just words,'" Hodson said. "He didn't apologize for threatening me!"Hodson also recounted one of the case's most bizarre allegations: that Reader showed the school's leadership his mutilated forearms and threatened to put Hodson on his "list." Reader exposed scars on his arms and knuckles from self-mutilation during his divorce."He rolled up his sleeves and showed us where - after drinking an entire bottle of vodka - he had carved the words truth and comfort," Hodson said. The display was not only an attempt at intimidation, but also a threat, Hodson said.

"Dashiell [the assistant dean] . . . described a culture of hostility, where tenured faculty routinely insulted and belittled each other. The school's troubles date back to the mid-1990s, Dashiell said.Her speech provoked an outburst from Hodson - whose frustration finally boiled over from pen snapping and fist clenching to vocal interruption. "We're not here for the history!" Hodson interrupted. "We're not here to discuss the history ... "

OH-14 Dem William O'Neill: Does Athens County Lawsuit Signal Trouble Ahead?

ATHENS, Ohio (TDB) -- Could a lawsuit filed last week over a January 2007 stabbing outside an Ohio University fraternity house impact a Cleveland area congressional race where Democrats have high hopes? The litigation comes after local authorities chose not to prosecute an individual who has been identified as the son of Democratic congressional candidate Bill O'Neill, a former state appeals court judge. The civil case seeks $1 million damages and was first reported by the Athens Messenger. O'Neill is running against two other Dems for the OH-14 nomination. The seat is currently held by Republican U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette.

The Messenger reported that Athens County Prosecutor C. David Warren chose not to handle the case because he knew Bill O'Neill through state Democratic politics; Warren, too, is a Dem. O'Neill's son was apparently represented by lawyer Susan Gwinn, chair of the Athens County Democratic Party. She is now challenging Warren in the Dem primary for the prosecutor's job.

According to Messenger reporter Elizabeth Gousettis, the Athens cops recommended a felonious assault charge be filed against O'Neill's son. She said charges were never filed and the case was closed:

"The Athens Police Department documents also indicate that about an hour after the fight, O'Neill's father, Judge William O'Neill, called the police department and allegedly said that his son Brandon called him and told him he had been in a fight outside the Delta Upsilon house, and that someone had been badly injured and taken to the hospital. Judge O'Neill allegedly told to the dispatcher Megan Dowler that his son saw what happened and that he had advised him to go to the police department."

As the civil lawsuit slogs through the courts, it could have an impact on the congressional race. Bill O'Neill has a long history of public service, including Vietnam and the Ohio National Guard. He has been a journalist, a lawyer, a union official, a judge and works weekends and evenings as an RN in a pediatric emergency center. He is a distinguished, dedicated public servant. According to the Messenger, Athens County Prosecutor Warren said he would keep an eye on the legal proceedings:

"Warren said Thursday that sometimes evidence comes out in a civil case that wasn't available before, so there is a possibility of opening the case at any time."

Fox News CEO Roger Ailes: Drops Big $$$ On Ohio Univesity

ATHENS, Ohio (TDB) -- Roger Ailes cut his teeth as a broadcaster at Ohio University's college station, WOUB, during the early 1960s. Now the former Republican media consultant and current FOX News Chairman and CEO has dropped a large financial donation on his alma mater. Ailes' gift will will help build a new technologically advanced newsroom on the Athens campus. His dough will be used to train future journalists -- and there are no strings about their politics. Ailes, who is from Warren, Ohio, is credited with launching the FOX News Channel in 1996 and led it past CNN in 2002, a ratings triumph that has made conservative-leaning FOX the nation's No. 1 news channel.

Ailes' fondness for OU is matched by his generosity. Although the size of the donation was not revealed, it was described as substantial. He also funds scholarships. The 67-year-old OU television and radio major credits the shool with making him the foxy fellow he is today.

"Ohio University ignited my interest in broadcasting, which became my lifetime career. The education I received there gave me the opportunity to take on my first managerial responsibilities and provided early lessons in leadership. I'm happy to contribute to a great university."

Ohio University Journalism Prof: Dear Editors, Print Anonymous Letters

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Ohio University journalism professor Bill Reader says it's time for American newspapers to scrap the practice of refusing to print unsigned letters. He says anonymous correspondents often write with clarity, passion and insight but their work is tossed into wastebaskets. He contends it is a myth that unsigned letters are sent out of malice or spite, and said editors cannot really defend as logical the hoary old policy that bans anon from their letters to the editor columns.

Reader, who used to edit letters at the Centre Daily Times in Pennsylvania before turning to academia, sees the prohibition on anonymous correspondence as a barrier to public discourse.

"Having a name doesn't change the responsibility. When I was an editor, I had people give me letters with the names that I definitely couldn't use. But I also got many letters that were brilliant from people who didn't sign their names, which I also couldn't use. There are all kinds of things we use anonymity for to get at the truth: suicide help lines, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, confession practices in the Catholic Church, closed door government meetings? Why not newspapers?"

Journalist Bob Woodward At Ohio University: I Blew It On Iraq War

ATHENS, Ohio -- The Washington Post's big gun and journalism guru Bob Woodward tells a crowd at Ohio University that he originally was a supporter and promoter of the Iraq War. He seems to think that was a mistake. He also is described by the the student newspaper saying he should have personally gone to Iraq to search for weapons of mass destruction before the invasion.

First up, Richard Heck in The Athens Messenger, who reports:

"Early in his speech, Woodward acknowledged that journalists sometimes make mistakes. He admitted that initially, he wrote stories and opinion pieces supportive of the war in Iraq, but has since realized that his viewpoints may have been in error."

Also:

"Woodward told the OU audience that various insiders in the current administration admitted to him that the reasons for the Iraq war were doubtful. As in the Nixon presidency, which conducted various practices in secret, Woodward hinted that the current administration is doing the same. In researching his books, Woodward said, several senior-level administrators in the White House would not confirm various reasons for the current administration's reasons for going to war."

Next, in the student newspaper, The Post, Woodward says he should have gone to Iraq with a team of reporters to hunt for the weapons of mass destruction that the Bush administration claimed were present.

"'Stakes are high, particularly in time of war. Accountability is the issue.' Even at 64-years-old, Woodward said he's still learning. He wishes he would have been 'more aggressive' in his investigation on Iraq and in retrospect would have led a team to the Middle East before the Iraq invasion to look for weapons of mass destruction.'"

And in Ohio University's JSchool Bloggers journalism school blog Woodward says he wakes up each morning worried about government secrecy.

"When you wake up in the morning, what is the first thing you worry about? I'll tell you what I wake up worrying about: the secrecy of government. I'm concerned about the difference between what a person says he is and what he really is."

He said:

"We need to shine a light when democracy is dying in the dark."

Ohio U. Plagiarism Shakeout: Prof Loses Lawsuit Against State School

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- The Athens News is reporting that Ohio Univesity has won the first round in a legal battle with an engineering professor who claims he was made the fall guy in a plagiarism scandal that rocked the school last year. U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley of Columbus dismissed Jay Gunsekera's civil-rights lawsuit. The professor contended he was disciplined without being given an opportunity to clear his name.

The university has been dealing with theses that were copied by students who received advanced degrees from OU's Russ College of Engineering and Technology. The incidents of plagiarism go back to the 1980s.

Ohio U Now Has More Administrators Than Professors: Time To Quiz Brass?

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Tuition costs at Ohio's state-supported universities have become so burdensome that Gov. Ted Strickland and lawmakers imposed a freeze this year. Now the student newspaper at Ohio University has discovered a startling number that may deserve even more attention from Columbus: The Athens campus has more administrators than faculty.

The Post said in an editorial called Complete Garbage that the school "is overpaying a multitude of bureaucrats" while laying off janitors.

"The university employs a total of 1,412 full- and part-time administrators on the Athens campus, a sum that even exceeds the number of full- and part-time faculty (1,278), according to the Office of Institutional Research.

"The university has chosen to dispense with a basic necessity [24 custodians] while retaining the luxury of overpaying a multitude of bureaucrats. Hiring more police officers is a good idea, but a cut in custodial staff should not be the source of the funding necessary to make that possible. Instead, the funds should come from an adjustment of top-level administrative salaries. Perhaps one of the many top-level administrators will realize that necessity when the university has accumulated more dustbunnies than students."

Athens, Ohio May Sell Beer During Halloween: Profiting From State's Biggest Outdoor Cocktail Party

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- City officials in Athens are considering opening a beer tent for the Halloween fest, which has become a raucus event in the Southeast Ohio college town. Apparently, they want to cash in on the demand for suds, a demand that has given Ohio University in Athens a repuation as the state's preeminent party school.

As they say, down the hatch.

Ohio U & Oprah Too: The Racial Makeover Machine

ATHENS, Ohio (TDB) -- Ohio University students got a chance last week to slip into somebody else's skin. A computerized booth was set up in the campus student center that overlayed faces with the characteristics of other races, and there were large crowds at the exhibit. The races students morphed into were Hispanic, Asian, Indian, black, midde-eastern, and white.

Not too long ago, Oprah tried out The Human Race Machine, switching skin tones and racial features. The results are worth seeing and offer a glimpse of what the Ohio University campus experienced. You can watch Oprah changing HERE.

Instead of marches -- which are the traditional ways to celebrate the Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday -- maybe these booths should be set up on city squares and in auditoriums. They would powerfully demonstrate King's point: Human racial differences are skin deep; the content of one's character is what truly counts.

In Athens, the machine was sponsored by the Black Student Cultural Programming Board, which wanted to raise awareness about racial issues and make people think about skin color in different ways. A story by David DeWitt, campus reporter for the weekly Athens News, said the exhibition (which has since moved on) was a major hit. "The machine has been drawing large crowds since its arrival last Friday and has been opening each day three hours earlier than originally scheduled,'' DeWitt reported. He added the machine came with a sign that reads: "There is no gene for race."

Nancy Burson is an artist who created the device, and she has been a visiting professor at Harvard University. She has called mankind the ''hue-man" race. There is some information about Burson at THIS WEB SITE and a longer article about her in the Village Voice from a few years ago.

The machine does more than alter racial characteristics. It offers a program that ages a face, another that can create bizarre distortions and a ''couples machine" that melds two faces to give a glimpse of what the prospective parents baby might look like.

DeWitt, the reporter who covered reaction to the machine at OU, said not everybody was awed by the technology and quoted a student who thought the exhibit promoted stereotypes. Still, he said some campus instructors made their students experience The Human Race Machine, which took 10 minutes to sit through.