I received an email today from loyal EMUTalk.org reader Jerry Gemignani, who asked if I would post the open letter below. I don’t know much about the details, but Jerry seems to and I’ll pass this along in the spirit of EMUTalk.org as a space for exchange of ideas about all sorts of things having to do with EMU.
An Open Letter Regarding the EMU Chief Government Relations Search
Having had the good fortune to participate in EMU lobbying efforts in Lansing in the past, I have developed a profound appreciation for how important good government relations are in securing the resources EMU needs to be successful. That’s why I feel compelled to speak out regarding the unseemly manner in which the search for the next Chief Government Relations Officer is proceeding.
The suspiciously small search committee charged with identifying finalists for this position is being headed up by University of Michigan lobbyist Kirk Profit and EMU Regent Gary Hawks, father of University of Michigan lobbyist Mike Hawks. The entire process is then overseen by Board of Regent Chairman Roy Wilbanks, husband of University of Michigan lobbyist Cynthia Wilbanks.
Why should the EMU community care if the candidate search for this vital position is being controlled by University of Michigan lobbyists and their immediate family members? Because while EMU and the UofM frequently cooperate in Lansing when their interests are politically aligned, they also vigorously compete with one another for scarce state resource such as state capital outlay dollars or state appropriation dollars.
The makeup of this search committee is particularly troublesome to those of us who are all too familiar with the disturbing and persistent rumors that certain EMU Regents have applied inappropriate pressure in the past on university administrators to advance their family interests. Many of these stories center around a 2007 legislative fight in which the University of Michigan, trying to secure its own appropriation bill over the objection of EMU, allegedly used these family connections on the EMU Board of Regents to pressure university administrators to reverse EMU’s position and support the UofM position.
If true, the only appropriate remedy for such a betrayal of trust is for those regents involved in the matter to resign. At the very least, the pervasive nature of such talk underscores the anxiety many in the EMU community feel about these inherent conflicts of interest and highlights the need for a broad and diverse search committee that ensures the process is fair and that only the interests of EMU are being taken into consideration.
EMU Alumni Association President Eric Brown, acting on behalf of our association, requested alumni board representation on the Chief Government Relations Officer search committee. Eric, like apparently every other legitimate EMU stakeholder that requested representation on this search, was denied.
I encourage you to write President Susan Martin (Sue.Martin@emich.edu ) and remind her that as chief executive of EMU it is her sworn and ethical responsibility to safeguard the interests of our beloved EMU. That can only be accomplished in this case with a search process devoid of inherent conflicts of interest and one in which legitimate stakeholders have an appropriate place at the table.
Sincerely,
Jerry Gemignani ‘94
Current member of the Board of Directors, Eastern Michigan University Alumni Association
Eastern Michigan University Alumni Association President, March 2007- March 2009
Boy did he hit the nail on the old head. Wilbanks, Profit and Hawks. I’ve written warnings about these guys in the past. Here’s another little piece of information that should add some fuel to the fire. Evidently there was or is a secret Detroit Public School Committee that let technology contracts. This article was published 4-5 years ago but it implicates our former head of government relations and current Regent Stapleton. Would you want James F. Stapleton as head of your finance committee. Read this: http://www.michigancitizen.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=1037&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1070&hn=michigancitizen&he=.com
Call the President about this and also call the Governor’s office. Regent Wilbanks and Hawks saw to it that the last Associate VP, etc. for the Foundation was a political hire. Because of total imcompetence that individual quietly resigned.
I’m betting none of you will touch this one with a 10 foot pole! If you know the history, you know that it is, or that it borders on being criminal based on some of the things done in the past. How many of you know what the “Eagle Brief” is, or was and the story behind Ehman and Greenstreet Real Estate and the T.V. show Unsolved Mysteries? http://www.unsolved.com/ajaxfiles/mur_jack_brown.htm
I have to say that I’m kind of confused/out of the loop about all of this. I’m happy to post things about some of the questions regarding this search process for a lobbyist that Jerry raises. But a) I would like someone– Jerry or Alum or whoever– to explain what exactly this is all about to someone clueless like me, and b) someone is going to have to do a lot of work to connect the dots with the hitman job 25 years ago and how this is somehow related.
Alum you totally lost me on the last post
Only a rumor my friends.
People laugh when you bring up the reach of the Ypsi Mafia but the are alive and kickinig. Hopefully the Prez will put a stop to this before they go too far. Wilbanks will promote his own agenda like he did with Eagle Crest with the management company he had invested in was selected to run the place.
It may be a rumor. But how come the same names have been popping up for 30 years in regards to these issues? Some of the Regents are mini-crims!
I don’t disagree with you Alum. Just saying the good ol’ boys were never directly linked to the killing of Jack Brown.
I knew when RW was appointed to the BOR we were headed down the same old path again.
I just wish we would be able to get some administrators with the ‘nads to stand up for what is right, and call these guys out in public for this kind of crap. But then again, the administrators are at the mercy of the BOR for their jobs.
They are never directly linked to anything. That’s the problem. It’s going to take a room full of people to stop them and also the governor.
Jack Brown is my grandfather. I am tied in with both the Brown’s and the Stumbo’s. I promise you that these rumors aren’t just rumors. Ypsilanti is a shady place and it makes me happy knowing that other people are aware of it too. I would just be cautious when dealing with certain people around here.
As the author of this post I ask all that care about this University to focus on the immediate opportunity we have to impact a process that is not yet complete. Please do not get caught up in the drama of a conspiracy theory that may have began 25 years ago. Here are the facts to stay focused on: 1) The Search committee for Chief Government Relations Director has a majority of members that have loyalties to ANOTHER University. 2) One of the search members is a lobbyist for ANOTHER University 3) The Alumni Association, faculty and at least one Emeritus Foundation Board member formally asked to be on the search committee and were denied a place on the committee 4) The Assistant Director and current Director of EMU Government Relations has been denied an interview for the permanent position. This individual was part of the team that was responsible for obtaining the first capital outlay bill in over 10 years for EMU to renovate Pray Harrold amidst a very negative political climate in Lansing for EMU with lawmakers still steaming over the University House debacle and the Dickinson murder investigation.
I ask that all that care about EMU to call or write President Martin and ask her to include key stakeholders such as the Alumni Association and Faculty to the search committee.
Alumni are watching and expecting business as usual to change at EMU. We all have an opportunity to impact positive change. Please act now!
Jerry, Thanks for writing this letter and bringing in the open a practice that the University has utilized for years. This process has allowed incompetent people to be paid generous salaries based solely on the fact that RW or a few others want them in that position. The person that receives the position in turn, will bow to every request of RW out of thanks or fear of losing their cushy position.
Those few at the top believe they possess the knowledge far beyond any lay person, justifying their hiring decisions. This University has lost many good employees due to these bad hiring decisions on the management level and spent countless staff time on solving the problems created by these “bad hires”.
As much as I appreciate your efforts to impact change, and while I like President Martin, I’m sorry to say that President Martin, while handling the day to day operations of the University, is trumped by the Regents and nothing will be done to provide this positive change at EMU in regards to the Govt Relations position.
First off, a question: is this the job that Freeman Hendrix used to have? Any thought about getting him back into it? He’s not going to be mayor of Detroit for at least 4 years, and my sense was he was pretty good.
Second, I think that all of this is part of the systematic problems with the Board of Regents and an unfortunately weak president. I don’t mean to be too cynical here, but it’s hardly surprising that the BoR members are all for cronyism; after all, getting appointed to be a board member by the governor is more or less a form of cronyism as it is. I don’t know if having an elected board would completely solve these problems, but it’d probably help.
The other issue here is that, unfortunately, Martin has to date proven to be too weak of a president. I think that almost alum and others are right in that it is the board that calls the shots, and it is true that the president serves at the pleasure of the board and can be kicked out pretty much at any time. But if Martin were more effective in raising money and doing other things to speak for the university– if she were, essentially, more dynamic and popular– then she could “manage” the board instead of the board managing her.
Maybe that is just not possible because of the nature of the make up of the board right now, or maybe Martin more or less agrees with what the board is doing in this particular case and other problematic recent cases. I don’t know the answer.
In any event, I hope that this open letter has at least a bit of traction with the powers that be. Jerry, I think you ought to send it to annarbor.com and the Detroit News as well and see if they’re interested in running with this story.
Wilbanks and crew don’t care what the Prez or public think and will do what they want to. Look at the history at Eastern. This is a powerful post and they will want their crony in this position. Presidents leave Eastern and Wilbanks stays. Give Martin another year and will see where she is at.
Sitedad,
I agree with most of your comments however I do wonder what President Martin could do to make the faculty happy. I’m not asking to antagonize I’d actually like to know. No one around EMU was happy with Fallon or Kirkpatrick, initially I got the impression people were a little happier with Martin.
I believe EMU should always strive to better itself but things do take time. Enrollment is up this year, entrance standards were also raised. Buildings around EMU are under construction, just this week a movie is being filmed on campus. Crime statistics are way down. I understand that faculty members are upset about money being spent on the football program but lets face it that is never going to change, NEVER.
So now that I’m finished with my rant if you could please explain what you would like to see out of the President in order to make you happy.
Yes, I did ask that an alum be included on the search committee for the position mentioned in the post that started this thread. I was told that an alum was already involved and I did not inquire as to who that alum was. Thus, I was satisfied with the response given to me.
Jerry brings up some very good points and if true, I too was surprised to find out that the person currently serving in the position was not granted an interview. I find that disappointing based solely on the knowledge that I have of the job that those serving in the position have done to make EMU relevant in Lansing again. In particular, the conversations with regard to capital outlay funding, of which EMU had been shut out for far too long.
Many conspiracies abound when it comes to the way that the BOR’s carry on here at EMU, as well as the other non-Big 3 institutions of higher learning. I am a firm believer that the change to the state’s constitution in 1964 was a big mistake and would love to see the appointment of BOR’s by the governor done away with. If the public has the opportunity to vote for people to serve in the role of Regent or Trustee at Wayne State University, The University of Michigan or Michigan State University; then why not at EMU and the other state-supported schools.
Things may not be any different, but at least with the power of the vote, there would be some leverage for those wanting to see chane happen. The electorate in Detroit, regardless of how few, showed just how powerful the voting process is and how to exact change.
Freman Hendrix was the top vote getter in the election for The Detroit Charter Commission last night.
conspiracyguy22,
First off, compared to the previous two presidents, I think most people are at least happier with Martin– though not necessarily “happy” per se. Second, a lot of what would make faculty happy is the stuff that should be done by the Provost and/or it is such “insider” stuff to be of little interest here– dump the STOOPID assessment process, for example. Third, a lot of what would make faculty happy (or at least happier) is patently obvious: settle the contract and settle it LONG before we get to the deadline and we have to go on strike.
And fourth, I think most faculty are “happy,” relatively speaking, at least. So even though things might come across as whiny here, I think that’s more a result of this format/forum than it is with real complaining about the work.
But since you asked, I think the president has three basic jobs she needs to perform: be the public face/spokesperson for the institution, raise money, and manage/educate the board. I think that Martin has done okay as the spokesperson, though not great– note the flat-footed performance with the dust-up in the NYTimes over the book Crossing the Finish Line. An hour’s worth of homework by someone in Martin’s office would have allowed EMU to have a real response to this, including the fact that EMU is not discussed in the book at all.
As for raising money: I dunno, but I guess so far, so good. We’ve been better at getting money for infrastructure from the state and I understand the capital campaign is going well. Of course, some of that is the result of work begun by Freeman Hendrix and by John Fallon….
But I don’t think she’s doing a good job of educating and managing the board. She is the “CEO” of the institution, and she should be calling the shots– not the board. As one of my colleagues put it (somewhat cynically, I will admit), the board of regents is made up of a mix of people who are well-intentioned but not well-informed about issues in higher education, and people who are not well-intentioned and also not well-informed about issues in higher education. So it seems to me that it’s important for Martin, Kay, and other high-level administrators to help guide the people on the board, to put on their “professor-hats” for a few minutes and give them information to help guide their decision-making instead of the other way around. She shouldn’t simply be doing the board’s bidding.
And in this particular situation: it’s clear to me that she should be taking an active role in the search committee and be responsive to some of the concerns raised here. What worries me, to be honest, is that she is involved and doesn’t see the problem with what Jerry describes in his letter as the “suspiciously small” and “troublesome” search committee.
I find it interesting that a certain (former) Ace Investigative Reporter of the (former) Ann Arbor Snooze missed out on all sorts of issues involving UM and, apparently, anything that could possibly be connected to RW. Only a cynic would suggest that his current Minister of Propaganda sinecure–created out of nowhere, no less–at EMU is payment for such convenient blindness.
Maybe this is just a case of the benefits of networking. You know we always teach students that they should spend time networking because you may get hired for who you know. I’m not suggesting any wrongdoing, none whatsoever, but did you know Regent Stapleton used to be a VP at the Detroit Tigers? Freman’s wife works in the front office as well. Sometimes friends and family makes a difference. I’m not suggesting anything negative about the Tigers. I will state that I have seen first hand at EMU incompetent people in prominent positions making more money than they’d want you to know and confirmation that the only reason they had their jobs was because of connections with the Regents.
Today, the University Faculty Council passed a motion saying that the search for a chief government relations officer must include a faculty member, and we named a particular person who’d be great for that role on the search committee. The lack of faculty and alumni input on this search to date is a mystery, and a very disturbing one as well.
And yes Steve, Freman Hendrix did previously hold this job. He was appointed in late 2006 by John Fallon, another search without real input. I think Freman did a good job. I also think he’s moved on.
This much is beyond dispute: Government relations at a public university is a key concern for faculty members, and even Freman, as much as I like him personally and professionally, had a weak connection to the faculty. That hurt the university. But of course, any top official hired thru a search process that includes NO faculty input will become an official with weak connections to the faculty: Such a search is basically constructed to ensure that the official regard the faculty as a minor part of the university. That’s the old EMU way of doing things, and EMU’s future prosperity depends on such habits being ended.
And, I think it’s clear that Susan Martin has been, to date, a very, very good president, one who’s successfully tackled a lot of the amazingly high number of inherited problems bequeathed to her by generations of mindless management at EMU. But much remains to be done, clearly, before we’re the well run, strategically focused, cost efficient, student-centered university that most of us EMU community members aspire to be.
Almost Alum,
I agree with everything you said earlier in this thread, yesterday morning, except that President Martin is powerless in this process. A university president is responsible for everything that goes on during his or her watch.
Effective presidents must periodically pick battles with overly aggressive board members like RW and GH or risk losing their administrative control. By allowing U of M lobbyists to effectively select EMU Government Relations Chief, she is signaling that there is almost no level of board intrusion that she will not tolerate. She is setting a disturbing precedent that will negatively impact all of us connected to EMU.
Not that I like the way this has been handled, but there are two alumni on the search committee: Kirk Profit has a B.S. from Eastern and Roy Wilbanks has an M.A.
Were those two alumni, Alum, selected by the alumni association? If not, they represent nobody but themselves, not the alumni of the university as a group.
Law and Order:
They represent only themselves! Agreed!
Their old m.o. is about to be put into motion again. Since most of their cronies are either to old or dead, they will be turning to younger family members. I predict that we will not hear about this position for a little while. They have to make it look good – interview a few folks they have no intention of hiring. Then they’ll search for skeleton’s in their closets and then – the final candidate will be announced. It will be a close family member or colleague of one of the three (Wilbanks, Profit, Hawks). The rumor is that Kirk Profit’s daughter is the front runner! Does anyone have the cahones to call these guys on this? The faculty and alumni should show up at the next Board meeting and give them a taste of their own medicine.
I will not disclose my sources but I’ve talked with several people familiar with the situation and they tell me Roy and Gary have always been obsessed with getting control of the governmental affairs office. Their obsession seems to center around a contract.
It’s no real secret that their family members helped to get them appointed to EMU’s board. What many don’t know is that almost immediately after their appointment the two began pressuring John Fallon to hand over EMU’s lobbying contract to Gary’s son Mike (who works in the same firm as Kirk Profit). This latest power grab is likely a renewed effort to get that contract into Mike and Kirk’s hands.
Alum, I’m sorry but there is no chance they make Profit’s daughter a finalist now that people are paying attention. I’m not saying they wouldn’t if they could. They tried that move once before, remember? What I’m hearing is they will need to put their people in both of the governmental affairs positions to make their scheming work so she may end up being slipped into the deputy spot.
You should expect that by Christmas both the chief and his/her deputy director will be their hand-picked cronies. You should then look for EMU’s lobbying contract to be quietly put out for bid for no apparent reason.
I’m obviously disheartened to hear that this sort of thing is still going on. I just don’t know what can be done about it that Roy and Gary won’t just laugh off.
If the scenarios play out as Huron with a Big Mouth and Alumni describe, this will kill all trust between the EMU faculty, on the one hand, and the Regents and the current administration on the other hand. Putting ill qualified people into important jobs, with no open search, with no real thought of the university’s well being, is the old EMU way of management. The university has never been able to afford that kind of unethical conduct, and now — in this economic climate and with this level of public scrutiny of public university’s conduct — such proof positive would be the death of the university’s public credibility.
Well boys, has it played out the way we thought it would. If you read the release on the University’s web site there were some pretty credible people on the selection committee including faculty. I don’t know any of the final three candidates but they don’t look that bad judging by their current titles. At the Alumni Board Meeting this a.m. Sue Marting dropped a bomb shell and read the letter from Jerry Gemignani and scolded the Board. In addition she read portions of some one else’s blog on the same subject
http://www.annarbor.com/news/former-ann-arbor-councilman-leigh-greden-to-be-named-eastern-michigan-university-government-relation/
Here’s the official EMU press release, too:
http://www.emich.edu/univcomm/releases/021610greden.html
Well, good luck and welcome aboard, Leigh. And watch the texting/emailing during meetings and stuff, ‘kay?
Well the new Government Relations Team certainly doesn’t reflect much DIVERSITY–uck
For the State & Federal Powerful Representatives that they have to deal with- these folks don’t look like the Team with the RIGHT STUFF. I will give this President 2 more years.
Susan Martin is a Joke. THE OLD BOYS NETWORK IS ALIVE AND WELL in the Selection of the new Government Relations Team. It’s surprising any women- ugh…no, any Minorities- ugh..no boring…