UAlbany's red flags

Big article on the Times Union's front page today: Cuomo throwing more good money after bad at UAlbany:

Waldman, Scott. "UAlbany grant plans gets OK; Governor's approval, after earlier objections, frees $35 million that will help start large-scale projects." Albany Times Union. December 14, 2012. http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/UAlbany-grant-plan-gets-OK-4117333.php

UAlbany really should be required to make better use of the money they have than be given more to waste, particularly when the state is so in the red these days. It would be marginally more understandable to throw money away if the economy were doing better (albeit still inexcusable). There's a lot that's good there, but huge amounts of money are wasted by all that's not good there - and there's a lot that not.

Buried inside the paper, a tiny article about potentially still more firearms violations on campus:

"A University at Albany student was assaulted on campus by two men, one of whom appeared to have a handgun. [...] The victim knew the assailants, who are not UAlbany students. Police said no shots were fired and that the assailants fled in a red Honda Civic. [...] University police said there was no danger to UAlbany community and that police agencies have been notified to look out for the Honda."

Waldman, Scott. "UAlbany student assaulted on campus." Albany Times Union. December 13, 2012. http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/UAlbany-student-assaulted-on-campus-4116702.php

If the identity of the men is known, why not identify them; if the red Honda Civic is not a stolen one, why not list the year and license plate number; if they're presumed armed, why are they not considered a danger to the community? If it's that the men are presumed innocent until proven guilty, then why run the article at all; why note that the red Honda Civic is something people are trying to locate?

Neither article mentions that TU George Randolph Hearst III is President of the Board of Directors of the University at Albany Foundation, of course. That the Times Union itself used to pay UAlbany's less-than-exemplary police department for doing security at the N.Y. Giants summer training camp that the Times Union helped lure to UAlbany - that tends not to be mentioned whenever they cover UAlbany's PD. Seems like the sort of potential conflicts of interests that responsible journalists would want to mention all the time to stay on the safe side. Heck, why doesn't Hearst just donate the $35M himself from his pocket money and save taxpayers all that money?

Buy, Buy, UA Syllabi

"Ensure Academic Success

"Interact with Faculty

"It's important for you to get to know your professors. All professors should have office hours and you should utilize these times for clarifications and questions on class material and assignments. It's particularly wise to visit your professor and get advice before taking an exam or handing in a paper. Don't be intimidated by them; professors are here to assist and educate you, and welcome the opportunity to meet with students who show initiative in learning about the topic. [...]

"Every class will provide students with a course syllabus. This [sic] should provide a description of the course, a description of what you will learn in the course, the materials you will need for the course (textbooks), how to contact the professor wit [sic] questions, and what major assignments or exams will be required for the class. Successful students read the syllabus thoroughly and carefully and thenuse [sic] it to scheudle [sic] their classes, assignments and tests on a calendar"

Success Within Reach Student Handbook 2012-2013 http://www.albany.edu/studentsuccess/handbook.shtml

Christine A. Bouchard's Office of Student Success recommends reading syllabi "thoroughly and carefully," but Student Handbooks: not so much. The 2011-2012 Student Handbook had the same sentence fragment and typos in it: http://www.albany.edu/studentsuccess/ALBANY_Handbookfinal.pdf (though the 2010-2011 one did not: http://www.albany.edu/studentsuccess/ALBANY_Handbookfinal.pdf). UAlbany's Office of SS has a tantalizing slogan that goes something like, "We Put Success Within Reach... And Then We Cut Off Your Arms." The SS might approve of students engaging in thenusing and scheudling, but I find it all objectionable. I like things thoroughly unthenused and unscheudled.

Professors sometimes don't include everything on a syllabus that they're required to include on a syllabus ("requirement" has a pretty flexible meaning when it comes to UAlbany). I once had to file a FOIL request for end-of-semester changes a visiting assistant professor made to the syllabus for a class in which I was registered, since he didn't provide me (or any other student, as far as I know) the information. I was charged $30.00 for that information, since the Records Access Officer bundled all my requests together and wouldn't even let me pay for my own grades separately.

Indeed, I had the distinct privilege and honor of being charged $30.00 to obtain my own grades. Tuition money, people might be dismayed to learn, no longer covers professors distributing grades to students: that costs extra. Professors have the right to choose not to distribute grades, but to instead deliver final grades to the University Registrar without having informed students of the grades for all of their assignments, quizzes, exams, etc. and without having informed students how those grades will be calculated when it's in a manner other than the one on the syllabus that was distributed at the start of the semester.

Damien the Antichrist Wishes You a Very Merry Antichristmas

"Alumni and friends,

"Wishing you and yours a holiday season full of peace, health, and happiness. Enjoy a little Great Dane magic sprinkled into this special holiday greeting.

"Sincerely yours,

"[signed] George Philip

"George M. Philip

"President

"University at Albany, State University of New York

"University at Albany, State University of New York · 1400 Washington Ave., · Albany, NY 12222 · Phone (518) 442-3300

"If you no longer wish to receive emails from us, unsubscribe here."

Ordinarily an insincere mass-mailing like the above is something I'd probably delete without taking much notice of it. However, by order of the so-called "agent of the President of the University" Clarence L. McNeill, I'm forbidden to communicate with Mr. Philip to wish him a happy holiday in return (if I were so inclined) and seemingly even forbidden to unsubscribe, since that too involves communication:

"Effective immediately, you are hereby notified that you are to cease and desist all contact with any office, department, unit or employee at the University other than me. As of this date, the University has designated me as your sole contact for all written and oral communication with the University, including, but not limited to, telephone calls and messages, emails, and mailed and faxed correspondence. I will determine when and if your communications will be addressed by the University."

It is, thus, more than a little perverse for Mr. Philip to keep e-mailing me, even just by including me on his indiscriminate e-mail list, when he knows I'm forbidden to communicate with him. A "special holiday greeting" - while he continues to discriminate against me and to have others do so as well. Unless Mr. Philip's also had other UAlbany alumni forbidden to communicate with anybody other than Mr. McNeill? It is, perhaps, telling that Mr. Philip intentionally doesn't include alumni among friends; he'd have had "Alumni and other friends" ghostwritten for him otherwise. ("Intentionally" is sarcasm; I suspect whoever wrote the greeting simply didn't think about what it conveyed, and Mr. Philip may have never bothered looking at it at all.)

I wonder when and why the Great Dane was named Damien, anyway: before or after The Omen? I prefer the Pedwin, myself. Also: why is the Great Dane mascot not gold like the Great Dane logo is? The illustrated gold dog with purple shading matches the school colors, while the mascot is just a regular dog suit.

Not even a real dog, just an imposter in a suit. Maybe such actually is a fitting mascot for UAlbany! There's plenty of imposters in suits to be found there. Put a criminal in one, and he or she can resemble a department chair, a chief of police, or a university president. But no, I don't care for the mascot any more than I do for the teams: dog-suit Damien is dead to me - he may shine in the spotlight, but he's abandoned the school's color.

All that glitters is not gold;

Often have you heard that told:

Many a man his life hath sold

But my outside to behold:

Gilded tombs do worms enfold.

Had you been as wise as bold,

Young in limbs, in judgement old

Your answer had not been inscroll'd

Fare you well, your suit is cold.

Oh, and another thing that's not gold:

Don't have Damien piss on my holidays and tell me it's a "little Great Dane magic" he's sprinkling...

Tough and wily? Nice going there, chiefs

Lyons, Brendan J. "Doubt over Tuffey status; Albany chief hasn't been sworn police officer since 1996, making carrying a weapon questionable." Albany Times Union. February 20, 2011. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8096044

I think perhaps the above Lyons article might be misdated, since the first article the TU had published by Lyons about Tuffey's status was evidently dated Sunday, May 24, 2009. Tuffey wasn't chief in February 20, 2011.

It's interesting that the City of Albany's police chief wasn't a police officer since 1996, the very same year that "Chief" J. "Frank" Wiley was appointed at the University at Albany, despite being a Baltimore, Maryland public schoolteacher and not a police officer in New York. The Times Union had done a whole series of articles addressing Tuffey's lack of credentials:

Gavin, Robert. "Tuffey taking time off with pay; Top cop takes action after Times Union report that he hasn't been sworn officer since 1996." Albany Times Union. May 27, 2009: A1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8108430

"Chief Tuffey takes a break." Albany Times Union. May 28, 2009: A12. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8113618

Lyons, Brendan J. "State limits role of Tuffey; Finding: He can stay as administrative chief or re-take basic police course." Albany Times Union. May 30, 2009: A1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8123024

Lyons, Brendan J. "Tuffey comes back on job; City says Albany police chief's personal handguns were in ''safekeeping'' for 10 years after he left department." Albany Times Union. June 11, 2009: D1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8187170

Carleo-Evangelist, Jordan. "Albany top cop vows to stay; Police Chief James Tuffey says he is not leaving; Jennings offers support." Albany Times Union. June 12, 2009: D7. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8193666

Lyons, Brendan and Jordan Carleo-Evangelist. "The Fall of a Police Chief; Jim Tuffey was given the job of cleaning up Albany's streets. Now, he's out amid allegations that he used a racial slur." Albany Times Union. September 2, 2009: A1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8603557

LeBrun, Fred. "Time for Tuffey to speak out." Albany Times Union. September 6, 2009: C1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8623762

To replace Tuffey, Mayor Jennings chose an insider, raising a question (stated below) as to why a search process was even conducted. While the Albany Times Union had looked into Tuffey's police credentials (which was good work, though might have been better to address years ago), it doesn't seem to have turned the same scrutiny on University at Albany Police Department "Chief" J. "Frank" Wiley. Albany Times Union publisher George Randolph Hearst III is the President of the Board of Directors of the University at Albany Foundation, something the Times Union rarely mentions when covering the University at Albany.

Our government in general seems to repeatedly forget to look into the credentials of the people it hires, or perhaps it chooses to overlook problems with credentials and is instead repeatedly forgetting that sometimes the media or the public will sometimes look into the matter. SUNY, for example, had hired as its University Counsel a man who hadn't passed the New York bar exam:

Brownstein, Andrew. "SUNY Lawyer flunks, resigns." Albany Times Union. May 26, 1999: B1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5990436

Chief Krokoff's police credentials do at least appear far better than "Chief" Wiley's. Krokoff is an MBA student at the University at Albany and Krokoff had previously obtained a BA in English from the University at Albany.

Krokoff was selected from a pool whittled down at the University at Albany; he has an appreciation for the buzzword "community policing," also much loved by the University at Albany Police Department; "community policing" was talked up by University at Albany professor David Bayley, following a public forum packed with about twenty-five University at Albany students.

"Krokoff is the sixth chief tapped by my Mayor Jerry Jennings to lead the 338-member department during his 16-year tenure -- a record of instability that some contend has hamstrung the department with a lack of a clear, consistent vision.

"The true cost, they argue, has been paid by the city's neighborhoods, which have been forced to endure dramatic periodic shifts in policing strategy.

"'That's not the way to run a business,' said Councilman Dominick Calsolaro, who said he's been through five of those chiefs in just over eight years on the council. 'That's not the way to run a police department.'

"Establishing that vision is among the first things Krokoff has said he will do, vowing to draft a strategic plan based in part on a soon-to-be-unveiled overhaul of the city's entire community policing philosophy.

"Community policing -- a vague buzz word often used as a catch-all to describe efforts to break down walls between citizens and police -- will have concrete, if different, meanings in each of the city's diverse neighborhoods, Krokoff has said."

Carleo-Evangelist, Jordan. "Krokoff is Albany's pick for police chief; Common Council's unanimous vote clears way for formal swearing-in." Albany Times Union. July 20, 2010: A1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=11425619

Carleo-Evangelist, Jordan. "Krokoff places focus on community." Albany Times Union. July 13, 2010. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=11362917

"Krokoff -- the only internal candidate granted an interview -- was also competing against finalists Jamie S. Fields, a former deputy chief from Detroit, and John F. Pikus, special agent in charge of the FBI's Albany Division.

"Jennings was said to also be seriously considering Pikus, a former naval officer and 20-year FBI veteran whose tenure saw federal authorities taking an aggressive role in helping local police crack down on city street gangs.

"But as Krokoff's stock rose with members of the community, who were demanding community policing from the next chief, a organized front specifically opposing Pikus emerged.

"While few publicly questioned Pikus' ability to lead the 340-member department, activists questioned his experience with urban, community-based policing and called the FBI's hand in indicting gang members on federal racketeering charges draconian."

Carleo-Evangelist, Jordan. "Insider is choice for top cop; Mayor Jennings' pick of deputy chief comes after long, very public process." Albany Times Union. June 19, 2010: A1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=11044867

"Task force members halved that pool to four Tuesday night after about two hours of deliberation at UAlbany's School of Criminal Justice. [...]

"Albany Police Officers Union President Christian Mesley questioned whether Krokoff's resume, and comparatively shorter experience, stack up with the other finalists and said Jennings would do well to pick someone from outside the department.

"'I'm not surprised that he made it. I think he'd lose the confidence of the taxpayers if he didn't make the final four,' Mesley said, again noting that the union was given no input into the search. 'Here's the bottom line to me: If you pick Steve Krokoff, why did you do a search?'"

Carleo-Evangelist, Jordan. "Short list at 4 for Albany chief job; Mayor Jennings reveals the names of candidates for the top police position." Albany Times Union. April 8, 2010: D1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=10170537

"Less than 24 hours before the law enforcement summit at the DA's office, on Tuesday night, the task force briefed the Common Council's Public Safety Committee on the status of the four-month-old search.

"At that meeting, task force member Alice Green raised concerns that, with the interviews just two days away, the eight-member panel had still not had a substantive discussion of the meaning of community policing -- something the public has repeatedly said it wants the next chief to understand. [...] The panel is expected to hear from University at Albany Professor David Bayley, an expert on community policing"

Carleo-Evangelist, Jordan. "Chief interview lengths at issue; Albany task force will talk to two candidates for top police position today." Albany Times Union. March 11, 2010: D5. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=9882175

"With less than a week before interviews are set to begin, the task force charged with helping pick the city's next police chief heard residents once again call for someone with proven experience in community policing.

"'It will be impossible to prevent future gun violence ... if the people and the police do not trust each other,' said Sam Frumkin, a University at Albany sophomore who joined a group of about 25 other UAlbany students at a Thursday forum."

Carleo-Evangelist, Jordan. "Chief search forum held; Panel told Albany's next top cop must work to gain trust of community." Albany Times Union. March 5, 2011: A11. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=9803815

"Since his departure, Krokoff and other police brass have begun overhauling the city's approach to community policing -- something the public told the chief search committee it wants to see done no matter who holds the post next."

Carleo-Evangelist, Jordan. "Police chief search down to nine; Advisory panel selects finalists from among 48 applicants; meetings set to get public input." Albany Times Union. February 23, 2010: A1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=9657405

Carleo-Evangelist, Jordan. "Search for police boss." Albany Times Union. December 1, 2009: A1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=9093441

Hopefully, in spite of the involvement of the University at Albany in the selection of University at Albany student Krokoff as City of Albany Police Chief hasn't affected the willingness of the City of Albany police to investigate crimes involving University at Albany administrators or University at Albany Police Department members. I'm at least skeptical about that.

When the Times Union was distributing the number for the Golden Chicken Pizzeria 438-8000 instead of the number for the Albany Police Department 438-4000 in the Pine Hills/SUNY rape case articles, Albany Police were able to get the TU to fix it in early September 2012, whereas the Times Union staff had simply ignored my e-mail to them about it. But when I wrote the City of Albany Police on October 1, 2012 11:24 PM with the subject line "outdated/incorrect sexual offender registry information?" regarding the University at Albany Police Department having two different Sexual Offender Registries, neither of which were being properly maintained for years, I received no reply. The problem didn't get addressed until later in the month, and even then it wasn't comprehensively addressed.

There was a time where I might have trusted the average police officer over the average person. No longer. At best, they're about the same.

December 6, 2011, a day which will live in infamy for some

"one of the most honored and well paid professors on campus (over $98,000 according the information supplied me by UUP) is a gross plagiarist, that the administration has been informed of the facts of the matter for over a year, and that as of this moment, as far as I have been able to ascertain, there have been no repercussions. Indeed, almost no one outside a small group of individuals even knows of the scandal. [...] As a secondary charge, Schabel exposes Roberts as incompetent and amazingly ignorant in the material that he seems not to be plagiarizing. The mistakes Schabel points out are, to be frank, laughable to anyone who knows medieval documents.

"[...] Louis Roberts is presently chair of Classics and director of the Doctorate in Humanistic Studies. He's been chair of other humanities departments as well. He is a former chair of the UA Senate. He, as much as anyone on campus, should be held to the highest ethical and professional standards. Yet, he has demonstrably disgraced his colleagues, his university, and the scholarly profession. Nonetheless, as I said at the start, there seem to be no consequences to his shameful scholarly behavior. I did not ask to be the one to blow the whistle on Louis Roberts at UA, but no one else seems ready to do so."

Monfasani, John. "The Case of Louis Roberts." History News Network. July 8, 2002. http://www.hnn.us/articles/588.html

The shameful things UAlbany is willing to conceal for a year or more go far beyond plagiarism by a department chair, sadly, and include things far more criminal than that. What happened one year ago today... and they remain entirely unrepentant, as far as I know. Lack of remorse can be seen as additional cause for concern. As awful as it is for employees of public schools to endanger or risk endangering students at public schools, as staggeringly horrific it is for employees of public schools to think of turning to people possessing firearms when they learn the identities of whistleblowers who reported them at public schools, "lack of remorse" on top of that is still considered significant enough to note as well. For example:

"In May 2002, petitioner, a school bus driver employed by respondent Saratoga Springs City School District, was reported by another driver, Brian Winne, for driving her own bus erratically. A few days later, petitioner confronted Winne and verbally berated him. Petitioner also told another coworker that she was going to 'get a hit out on [Winne]' because he filed the report against her. [...] petitioner had erratically operated a school bus, had used threatening and obscene language against Winne and had threatened to 'get a hit man to take Winne out.' […] petitioner's poor judgment and lack of remorse, the disturbing nature of her comments".

In the Matter of Bottari v. Saratoga Springs City School District, 3 AD 3d 832 - NY: Appellate Div., 3rd Dept. 2004. http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1343002799337654656

It's awfully hard to understand why anyone would think any such people worth employing, worth even engaging in threats to keep such people in their jobs. Students' safety: where does it rank with them in importance? For Governor Cuomo, it's been said to be number one:

"the safety of our students and the security of our campuses is our top priority."

"Statement from Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. September 14, 2012. http://www.governor.ny.gov/press/091412stmtsunythreats

Then again, what is it with the phrase "top priority"? Priority: "A thing that is regarded as more important than others; something which needs special attention" (OED). I would indeed like to believe that "the safety of our students and the security of our campuses" is a priority, though my ability to suspend my disbelief in the presence of evidence to the contrary is increasingly difficult.

"Top priority," one supposes, would be defined as: an important thing that is regarded as more important than other important things; something special which needs special special attention. One finds "a top priority," "top priorities," even "the top priority" - and politicians typically will have more than one thing they name as "the top priority."

"Since the start of my administration, I have repeatedly said that jobs are my top priority"

"Governor Cuomo Announces More Than 25,000 New Yorkers Have Been Hired in the Last Four Months Using the State's 'Jobs Express' Website." March 13, 2012. http://www.governor.ny.gov/press/3132012jobsexpress

"Over the past 18 months, Governor Cuomo’s top priority has been to revitalize the state’s economy to create jobs and restore New York’s reputation as a world-class place to do business."

"Creating Jobs." The Promise of a New New York: Progress Report. http://www.governor.ny.gov/anewnyprogressreport

"Through the New York Works program, this budget makes economic development and rebuilding our state's economy the top priority."

"Governor Cuomo Joins Local Elected Officials in Buffalo to Highlight Recently Passed Budget." April 4, 2012. http://www.governor.ny.gov/press/04032012-budgethighlights

What's the distinction between "economic development" and "rebuilding our state's economy," exactly? There's so many buzzwords like that in what politicians say; focus groups have probably determined that those phrases test well with audiences. I'd call "top priority" similarly empty rhetoric, but the phrase "empty rhetoric" is just about as redundant:

Rhetoric: "Eloquent, elegant, or ornate language, esp. speech or writing expressed in terms calculated to persuade. Freq. depreciative: language characterized by artificial, insincere, or ostentatious expression; inflated or empty verbiage" (OED).

December 6, 2011 was particularly instructive. From that day I learned that UAlbany's doing nothing for a year about a department chair guilty of plagiarism is hardly an isolated incident, and certainly not something they were only willing to do for a prominent member of the faculty. What would UAlbany do (or not do) regarding a mere visiting assistant professor who filed a false police report? At http://police.albany.edu/Request_report.shtml a FOIL (not FOIA) request can be made for Incident #23944-11, December 6, 2011, 1:10 PM, reporting officer Lt. Burlingame. Perhaps others might find that day worthy of infamy too.

Syllabus? How dare you ask, worthless student!

University at Albany Undergraduate Academic Council. December 17, 2005. http://www.albany.edu/senate/images/12-19-05_UAC_minutes.doc

The document is remarkable for a number of things, but especially for this:

"Some students are hesitant to confront a faculty member about a required syllabus, or other issues, due to possible faculty reprisal" (emphasis added)

It reminds me of an old movie, The Treasure of the University of Sierra Madre:

"Bob": "If you're the professor where is your syllabus?"

Gold Mortarboard: "Syllabus? I ain't got no syllabus. I don't need no syllabus! I don't have to show you any stinkin' syllabus!"

That's the state of the university today! Asking a professor for something as basic as a required syllabus can result in the professor retaliating against the student, and university administrators are essentially OK with that.

The idea of creating an Office of the Undergraduate Ombudsperson that was under discussion at that December 17, 2005 meeting (about seven years ago) continued to be discussed for years. They eventually approved it and announced that the office would be created, and then it never actually was. It was never discussed again.

"natural causes" naturally causes suspicion nowadays

"Authorities initially believed Jasmine died of natural causes, which is what her parents said they were told later Sunday." Seward, Christopher. "Gwinnett parents of slain Valdosta State student seek answers." Atlanta Journal-Constitution. November 24, 2012. http://www.ajc.com/news/news/gwinnett-parents-of-slain-valdosta-state-student-s/nTD3Q/

The murder of a young female undergraduate student and the initial reporting of her death to her parents as a death from natural causes in those few basic facts is unpleasantly familiar:

Lydersen, Kari. "University Accused of Lying to Hide Killing." Washington Post. June 21, 2007. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/20/AR2007062002172.html

Hopefully the similarities end at those few items... and hopefully the case will be solved soon.

Joint Commission on Public Ethics: first the "joint"; ethics, an afterthought

Assistant Attorney General Mike Neppl's October 24, 2012 letter to Ellen Biben Executive Director of the NYS Joint Commission on Public Ethics indicates correspondence I'd sent fell under her agency's jurisdiction. It was forwarded by the Office of the Attorney General for her "review and whatever action you deem appropriate." Does that mean JCOPE should feel free to disregard it as it had already been disregarded since September 23, 2012 (and since however long the pages have read that way)?

Would you be able to contact JCOPE and get them to fix "the 'Little Hatch Act' (Civil Rights Law §107)" to "the 'Little Hatch Act' (Civil Service Law §107)" on each of the three following webpages?

http://www.jcope.ny.gov/complaint/tipsandcomplaints.html

http://www.jcope.ny.gov/complaint/complaintguidelines.html (it's wrong twice on the guidelines page)

http://www.jcope.ny.gov/about/jurisdiction.html

I contacted helpdesk@jcope.ny.gov on September 23, 2012 but they never responded and the pages haven't been fixed yet. Nobody likes a busybody, I know, but still: it really does need to be fixed *sometime*. Aside from the information being wrong, the Civil Rights Law doesn't even go up as high as §107.

This second question doesn't concern any members of JCOPE, but If there are NYS employees who did not make oaths of office for some or all of the state offices in which they were or are currently employed, what would N.Y. CIV. SERV. LAW §62, N.Y. EDUC. LAW §3002, and/or N.Y. CONST. Art. 13, §1 require being done? Or are those essentially toothless requirements?

I do have to give credit to the AG for a couple things though: automated acknowledgements are sent when anything's submitted to the AG's office, and that's a good thing. The NYS Inspector General is a black hole by comparison: submit something, and you may never subsequently hear a peep about it, and you don't even have anything to indicate you'd ever submitted it.

The AG also is pretty good about eventually sending a letter through the U.S. Mail indicating that they've referred the matter elsewhere. One would wish the AG would handle it rather than passing the buck, but it's better than nothing.

Presumably JCOPE received the AG's letter closer to October 24, 2012 than I received the cc'd letter (October 30, 2012 - that's a long delivery time for something within the county), but even if they didn't - how long should it take to change "Rights" to "Service" four times total across just three pages? It might take me all of a minute.

My comment that "it really does need to be fixed *sometime*" probably isn't really true. It really doesn't ever need to be fixed, because the public is both apathetic and ignorant and thus the government can do as it pleases. They might as well cite the "'Big Cookie Batch' (Monster Cookbook § 107)"; nobody would notice or care except people such as myself, who are easily disregarded.

One definition of big government is that regardless of the government's size, the individual is treated as small in relation to it. That's very much been the case here.

Student werewolves

"As one effectively and efficiently radicalized student at the University at Albany put it last January, 'A lot of people who are supposed to be protecting us aren’t doing that. So unless we turn a little wolfish on them, they’ll just eat the sheep.'"

Steffen, Heather. "How to Radicalize Graduate Students." Academe Online 97(4). July-August 2011. http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/pubsres/academe/2011/JA/feat/stef.htm

"University at Albany President, George Philip says the school shares students' concerns but offers no consolation prize.

"'We appreciate their commitment to preserving access to a quality public higher education and their desire to move the University forward in a positive direction,' said Philip."

Vannella, Erin. "UAlbany students demand fiscal responsibility." YNN, Your News Now. http://saratoga-north.ynn.com/content/video_stories/531469/ualbany-students-demand-fiscal-responsibility/?ap=1&MP4

I don't think he appreciates students' "commitment to preserving access to a quality public higher education and their desire to move the University forward in a positive direction" all that much. But "no consolation prize" for attending UAlbany: that's about right.

"a prize given to a competitor who just fails to win or who has come last"

"consolation prize". Oxford Dictionaries. April 2010. Oxford University Press. 26 October 2012 oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/consolation%2Bprize?q=consolation+prize

No Business

I'd be surprised if Business Administration is a rigorous major:

The Internet search:

business "princeton review" site:albany.edu

returns a number of albany.edu webpages where the School of Business uses the Princeton Review as an authoritative source. E.g.

"'This national ranking in Princeton Review reflects our growing prominence in teaching and research,' said School of Business Dean Don Siegel. 'More importantly, it signifies our commitment to providing students with the strong foundation they need to succeed in today's competitive business environment.'"

"The Princeton Review Ranks UAlbany's School of Business Among Top 15 Graduate Schools Most Highly Rated By Students." University at Albany. April 27, 2009. http://www.albany.edu/news/release_6095.php

"Princeton Review Names UAlbany MBA #3 for Women

"The University at Albany MBA has once again been named one of the Top Ten MBA programs with the Greatest Opportunity for Women by the Princeton Review, ranking the program as #3 in the 2012 edition of Best 301 Business Schools. The school has been rated in the top ten for the past 4 years."

"Princeton Review Ranks UAlbany MBA in Top 15

"The Princeton Review Student Opinion Honors for Business Schools found that the UAlbany MBA ranks with Harvard, Dartmouth and Stanford in the general management category. Over 19,000 student surveys were used to identify the 15 top business schools in accounting, finance, general management, global management, marketing and operations. UAlbany was the only SUNY school named in any category."

"Awards and Honors for the School of Business" http://www.albany.edu/business/school-of-business-awards.php

The right sidebar for the above page actually links itself as "Princeton Review Honors" rather than merely "Honors" (honors from the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Society for Human Resource Management also appear on the page).

The School of Business is perhaps not well acquainted with the Princeton Review, which is not affiliated with Princeton University:

"If this [Princeton Review] were a term paper, it would get an 'F' in methodology," university spokeswoman Lisa James-Goldsberry said in a statement. "The rankings are not to be taken seriously and are certainly not reflective of the serious, hardworking students at Albany."

"Albany has nation's top party school." Chicago Tribune. August 17, 2004. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-08-17/news/0408170400_1_princeton-review-students-albany

"so many of us share dismay and disappointment with the published results of the cursory, unscientific surveys conducted for the Princeton Review college guide […] we will be working as a community to counter the misleading picture presented by the Princeton Review"

Ryan, John R. "Letter from Interim President Ryan on Princeton Review." August 20, 2004. http://www.albany.edu/main/announcement/jrr082004.htm

The Princeton Review got the last laugh, looks like.

The School of Business also uses ratemyprofessors.com as an authoritative source:

"Accounting and Law professor Rated 5th in the Nation on Ratemyprofessors.com Accounting and Law professor Paul Morgan Jr. is 'five in a million.' The adjunct has been rated 5th in the country from a group of over one million faculty on RateMyProfessors.com second annual top ten list of Top-Rated Professors."

"Awards for School of Business Faculty." University at Albany. http://www.albany.edu/business/school-of-business-faculty-awards.php

Paul Morgan, Jr.'s page there: http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=125645. It has cogent reviews like:

"Morgan is a Manimal hands down best professor at UA! So easy to get his concepts and he hilarious. He holds review sessions the class before the test and he gives you every little thing that will be on there! Hard to fail, I'm a B level student and i got an A! Take it! best experience I've had here"

and

"amazing. easily the most entertaining class you will ever sit in and you will learn more than you realize. you get morgan lol.. he's a great teacher and truly cares about his students. tests are hard but theres a curve, don't be lazy, open your notebook for one hour (thats it!) and you will get an A without a doubt".

Ratings are anonymous and can be done by anyone, even people who've never taken one of Morgan's classes, even people who aren't University at Albany students. Negative ratings can be reported and deleted, and it's not at all clear who at the website oversees that process. I tend to believe the two quoted above could be real, though.

If one takes the time to look at the copyright notice on ratemyprofessors.com, it reads "RateMyProfessors.com, LLC. Powered by mtvU and MTV NETWORKS."

Does MTV strike anyone as particularly academic? mtvU and MTV Networks are part of Viacom http://www.viacom.com/ourbrands/medianetworks/mtvnetworks/pages/default.aspx; Viacom is largely held by National Amusements, Inc. http://www.showcasecinemas.com/about-us

I think ratemyprofessors.com would get an "F" in methodology too. Not at UA, though, where an "F" is called an "E" for some reason or another.

Paraphrasing the Dead Kennedys (only slightly!):

You've turned university education

Into Pat Boone sedation

Making sure nothing's left to the imagination

M.T.V. Get off the

M.T.V. Get off the

M.T.V. Get off the air

Get off the air

The lowest common denominator rules

Forget honesty

Forget creativity

The dumbest buy the mostest

That's the name of the game

Dead Kennedys. "M.T.V.-Get Off the Air." Frankenchrist. Alternative Tentacles, 1985.

Athletes cluster(f)ing academics

Student-Athlete clustering in Communication, Business Administration, Sociology and other restricted majors

Academically unprepared athletes tend to cluster in certain "less rigorous majors" and areas.

College with highest clustering in 2010:

• College of Arts and Sciences

Major with highest clustering in 2010:

• Business Administration.

"Professor Teresa Harrison, Faculty Representative and Chair of the Intercollegiate Athletics Advisory Board […] reviewed the distribution of athletes in all of the university's majors. The percentages are highest in the College of Arts and Sciences with the most popular major being Business Administration. […] Vice President [Lee] McElroy indicated that some student athletes, who may not be prepared academically, such as students of color, may be looking for less rigorous majors and there may be a tendency for clustering in certain academic areas."

University Senate Executive Committee, Monday; April 26, 2010 3:30-5:00 PM, http://www.albany.edu/04-26-10_SEC_Minutes_(rmr).doc

Majors with highest clustering in 2011:

• Business Administration.

• Communication

• Sociology

"Professor Harrison reviewed the percentages of student-athletes in each school […] The three most popular majors are Business Administration, Communication and Sociology. Faculty members have in the past expressed concern about some teams clustering in certain majors but the data does not support this view."

University Senate Executive Committee, Monday, February 28, 2011 3:30 PM, http://www.albany.edu/2-28-2011_SEC_Minutes.doc

Majors with highest clustering in 2011-2012:

• Restricted majors

"Dr. Harrison explained her role as Faculty Athletics Representative […] She noted that we have a significant number of student athletes enrolled in restricted majors."

2011-2012 University Senate. Monday, April 2, 2012 2:45 pm, http://www.albany.edu/senate/images/4-2-12_Minutes_REVISED(1).doc

I'd be surprised if the clustering were across *all* restricted majors. Mathematics, for example? That would be fairly shocking.

"Currently, admission to the following majors is restricted: accounting, business administration, criminal justice, economics, mathematics, psychology, rhetoric and communication, social welfare, and sociology."

"Majors - University at Albany-SUNY." http://www.albany.edu/undergraduate_bulletin/majors.html

Business Administration, Communication, and Sociology are restricted majors, and familiar ones from 2010 and 2011.

No mention of clustering in minors, but that would be worthwhile to review.

Crushing students' free speech: 1935-36

Director Sidney Lanfield's film Red Salute (1935) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026919/fullcredits starring Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Young is not a film that's likely to make anyone's Top 10, but just possibly it deserves to be remembered.

"One of the complications of the story, which Hearst's newspaper characterized as 'merry,' involved the girl's father working in cahoots with an immigration official to remove the radical student from the campus by trumping up a false charge against him of inciting a riot."

Pizzitola, Louis. Hearst Over Hollywood: Power, Passion, and Propaganda in the Movies. NY: Columbia University Press, 2002. 337.

Police very kindly arrested students protesting the film. Excepts from articles below:

"Eleven youths and seven girls were arrested on charged of unlawful assembly last evening when the police broke up a picket line of thirty students and unemployed persons protesting against 'Red Salute,' [...] Several thousand persons jammed the sidewalks and overflowed into the street, causing a traffic jam as a score of patrolmen and detectives and an emergency squad charged the pickets. [...] The police charged that those seized had obstructed pedestrian traffic, had refused to move on and had interfered with persons desiring to enter the theatre. The charge is a misdemeanor that carries punishment ranging from six months to two years in jail if they are found guilty.

"The mass picketing, which began and ended abruptly shortly after 5 P. M., was the second protest against the motion picture yesterday. In mid afternoon two men in the audience hissed and booed the picture so vociferously that the management summoned the police.

"Patrolman Charles Huber placed them under arrest on a charge of disorderly conduct, asserting that they had refused to leave the theatre and had resisted him. The prisoners said they were George Edwards, 21 years old, of 16 Bank Street, and Joseph Lash, 25, of the same address, who is executive secretary of the Student League for Industrial Democracy and editor of The Student Outloook."

"18 Assailing Film Seized at Rivoli; 11 Boys and 7 Girls Arrested After They Snarl Broadway Traffic by Mass Picketing." N.Y. Times. September 29, 1935: 24.

"The students, who ranged in age from 16 to 21 years, are members of the National Student League and the Student League for Industrial Democracy.

"According to the police, the three ringleaders, all of whom were arrested on the charge of unlawful assembly, were George Watt, 21 years old, of 857 Broadway, president of the National Student League; Robert Joseph, 20, of 12 East Nineteenth Street, and James Wechsler, 19, of Charles Street, former editor of The Columbia Spectator, daily newspaper of Columbia College.

"At 8 o'clock, the students, who were attending a meeting of the two leagues in the Union M. E. Church, 229 West Forty-eighth Street, left their meeting and marched toward the theatre. They were met by the police who warned them that they were only allowed two pickets in front of the theatre."

"125 Students Seized Picketing a Movie; Arrested as They Protest Film at Rivoli Theatre—Traffic on Broadway Tied Up." N.Y. Times. October 5, 1935: 8.

Sennwald, Andre. "On the Anatomy of Americanism; 'Red Salute' Suggests That in the Cinema It Is Well to Be Wary Of the Film That Doth Protest Too Much." N.Y. Times. October 6, 1935: 159. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F0CE4DF1F3DE53ABC4850DFBF66838E629EDE

"Police arrested sixteen young men and three young women tonight, ten of whom said they were delegates to the Congress of the American League Against War and Fascism, in breaking up mass picketing [...] The picture had incurred the opposition of liberal and radical organizations. Hand bills being distributed were signed 'The Young Circle of America' and 'The Young People's Socialist League.'

"In an address at today's session of the anti-war Congress, the Rev. Dr. Harry F. Ward of the Union Theological Seminary of New York criticized the Chamber of Commerce, the Liberty League and the Hearst press.

"'The real Fascists are mobilizing,' Dr. Ward said. "He said that the only way fascism could be 'stopped from coming to power in this country is to unite all those who, for any reason whatever, are willing to defend the democratic process before the forces of reaction can consolidate their power."

"19 Anti-War Pickets Jailed in Cleveland; Police Arrest 16 Youths, 3 Girls Outside Thetre—Dr. H.F. Ward Tells League of Fascists Here." N.Y. Times. January 5, 1936: 31.

The Truth, Hearst

"Hearst in War, Hearst in Peace, Hearst in Every News Release,

Spreads His Filth and Desolation to Increase His Circulation."

Anti-Hearst Examiner. August 1935. (quoted in Pizzitola, Louis. Hearst Over Hollywood: Power, Passion, and Propaganda in the Movies. NY: Columbia University Press, 2002. 347.)

People, myself included, don't know as much about history as they should. I knew William Randolph Hearst had not been an admirable man, and had seen Citizen Kane of course. However, I don't think I'd ever heard about his anti-academic actions, such as his red-baiting of university professors.

The following resolution had passed unanimously in 1936 by the American Federation of Teachers.

WHEREAS, William Randolph Hearst, through his control of numerous agencies of communication, such as newspapers, magazines, movies, newsreels and radio, has attempted to pollute the mind of the American people through distortion of facts on all vital matters to such a degree that Senator Norris was led to characterize Hearst papers as 'the sewer system of American journalism'; and

WHEREAS, He is an avowed foe of the Child Labor Amendment, and is one of the biggest employers of child labor; and

WHEREAS, He has been a constant enemy of academic freedom and of honesty and courageous teachers, and has been a motivating force in loyalty oath legislation and red riders; and

WHEREAS, He is the bitter enemy of trade union principles, and has throughout his career, both as editor and employer, fought all efforts of workers to better their conditions, and has conducted such vicious campaigns to malign and cripple trade union efforts that he was denounced publicly by the late Samuel Gompers, President of the American Federation of Labor; and

WHEREAS, He is the chief proponent of fascism in this country, as evidence by his campaigns against free speech, his soft pedaling of the Black Legion crimes, his expressed and open admiration of Hitler and Mussolini and their policies, and his use of all the resources at his command for the dissemination of fascist propaganda; and

WHEREAS, He is the outstanding jingoist of the country and has used his powerful resources in attempts to entangle this country in imperialistic wars; therefore be it

Resolved, That the American Federation of Teachers set up a central Anti-Hearst Committee and recommend to each local to set up anti-Hearst committees, the purpose of which shall be:

(1) To organize a boycott against Hearst newspapers and newsreels and all other agencies of communication under his control;

(2) To cooperate with the American Newspaper Guild in its anti-Hearst activities;

(3) To build up sentiment among its members to repudiate all candidates whose principles and programs are those of Hearst;

(4) To cooperate with all anti-Hearst organizations in the community. (Adopted)

Report of the Proceedings of the Twentieth Annual Convention of the American Federation of Teachers. 1936.

The resolution made the news, naturally (perhaps not in Hearst publications, though?):

"Teachers Demand Boycott of Hearst; Federation Resolution Assails Him as 'Jingoist' and Chief 'Proponent of Fascism.'" N.Y. Times. August 22, 1936: 5.

"In the course of the past fifty years I have talked with presidents of the United States, senators, justices of the Supreme Court, members of the House of Representatives, governors, mayors, bankers, editors, college presidents (including that great scholar and thinker, Charles W. Eliot), leading men of science, Nobel Prize winners in science and letters, and I have never found one single person who for talents and character commands the respect of the American people, who has not agreed with me that William Randolph Hearst has pandered to depraved tastes and has been an enemy of everything that is noblest and best in our American tradition.... There is not a cesspool of vice and crime which Hearst has not raked and exploited for money-making purposes.... Unless those who represent American scholarship, science, and the right of a free people to discuss public questions freely stand together against his insidious influences he will assassinate them individually by every method known to yellow journalism."

Historian Charles Austin Beard to members of the National Educational Association February 22, 1935.

Seemingly universities themselves don't remember the history of the man. See, e.g.:

"New Center at Saint Rose Named 'William Randolph Hearst Center for Communications and Interactive Media." September 26, 2011. College of Saint Rose. http://www.strose.edu/about_saint_rose/centerforcommunicationsandinteractivemedia/article4832

Why name it for that man and not someone else in the family?

Committees are very good at getting nothing done

Graduate Student Ombuds Office http://www.albany.edu/gradstudies/gradstudent_ombuds.php

There's an ombudspersons' office, of sorts, for graduate students. One was approved for undergraduate students, yet never materialized.

• November 21, 2005 University Senate http://www.albany.edu/senate/images/Min112105rev.doc

• December 19, 2005 Undergraduate Academic Council http://www.albany.edu/senate/images/12-19-05_UAC_minutes.doc

• February 6, 2006 Undergraduate Academic Council “Other Business” http://www.albany.edu/senate/images/2-6-06_minutes.doc

• September 21, 2006 University Policy and Planning Council http://www.albany.edu/senate/images/UPCMinutes9-21-06-FINAL_(2).doc

• September 25, 2006 University Senate http://www.albany.edu/senate/images/9-25-06_1stDRAFT_DDRC_Senate_Minutes.doc

• October 11, 2006 Undergraduate Academic Council “Undergraduate Ombuds Office Proposal” http://www.albany.edu/senate/images/UAC_10-11-06_minutes(1).doc

• October 23, 2006 University Senate http://www.albany.edu/senate/images/10-23-06__Senate_Meeting_(2)RCSHDD.doc

• October 24, 2006 University Policy and Planning Council http://www.albany.edu/senate/images/UPCMin102406REV.doc

• November 8, 2006 Undergraduate Academic Council http://www.albany.edu/senate/images/UAC_11-8-06_minutes.doc

• November 13, 2006 University Senate Executive Committee http://www.albany.edu/11-13-06_Senate_Executive_Committee_SHDDRC.doc

• November 20, 2006 University Life Council http://www.albany.edu/ULC_11_20_06_Minutes.doc

• November 27, 2006 University Senate http://www.albany.edu/senate/images/11-27-06_Senate_MinutesRCSH.doc

• November 30, 2006 University Policy and Planning Council http://www.albany.edu/senate/images/UPC_Minutes113006D2-REV_(2).doc

• December 4, 2006 University Senate Executive Committee http://www.albany.edu/12-4-06_Senate_Executive_Committee_DMDRCSH.doc

• December 18, 2006 University Senate http://www.albany.edu/senate/images/12-18-06_Senate_Agenda(1).doc

• December 18, 2006 University Senate http://www.albany.edu/senate/images/12-18-06_Senate_MINUTES_RCDDSH.doc

As the text of the following bill indicates, the Ombudsperson would not have been terribly likely to be effective:

IT IS HEREBY PROPOSED: [...]

2. That the Undergraduate Ombuds Office is to act as an informal, independent, confidential, and non-partisan counsel to undergraduate students on matters related to university experiences [...]

5. That the Ombudspersons be tenured or emeriti members of the faculty.

6. That an Undergraduate Ombuds Committee be created to provide counsel to the ombudspersons. Members will include the Provost (or designee), Chair of the Senate (or designee), ULC Chair, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Vice President for Student Success, University Counsel, Affirmative Action Officer, two faculty members appointed by the ULC, one member of the professional staff appointed by the ULC, and two undergraduate students appointed by the undergraduate Student Association.

7. That the Ombudspersons report to the University Provost. The Provost (or designee) will appoint the Ombudspersons for a two-year term in consultation with the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, the Vice President for Student Success, and the University Senate Chair, subject to ratification by the Undergraduate Ombuds Committee.

With the Ombuds being faculty; the Ombuds Committee being mostly university administrators, the Provost appointing the Ombuds, and the Ombuds reporting to the Provost - that's not all that "independent" and not all that likely to result in "non-partisan" service to undergraduate students.

• December 18, 2006 Establishment of an Ombuds Office for Undergraduates Senate Bill No. 0607-04 http://www.albany.edu/0607-04_-_U-GOmbudsRev2_(4).doc

• December 20, 2006 University Policy and Planning Council “Chair’s Report Senate meeting items” http://www.albany.edu/senate/images/UPCMin12_20_06D2.doc

• March 5, 2007 Graduate Academic Council http://www.albany.edu/GAC_Minutes_3_5_07.doc

• October 22, 2007 University Senate http://www.albany.edu/senate/images/Senate_10-22-07.doc

• September 14, 2009 University Senate Executive Committee “Old Business” http://www.albany.edu/09-14-2009_SEC_Agenda.doc

• September 16, 2009 CAS Faculty Council Meeting http://www.albany.edu/casfc/CAS_Faculty_Council_Minutes_09_10.pdf

• September 29, 2009 University Life Council http://www.albany.edu/ULC_-_Sept_29.docx

• October 6, 2009 University Life Council “Ombuds Research” http://www.albany.edu/senate/images/Minutes_-_10-6-09.doc

• October 19, 2009 University Senate http://www.albany.edu/senate/images/10-19-09_Minutes_(RMR).doc

• December 14, 2009 University Senate “Academic Affairs Report” http://www.albany.edu/senate/images/12-14-09_Minutes_(rmr2).doc

Commandant Eric Lassard wouldn't've stood for this

Suppose you don't like the name of your school, or what you studied: why not just change it?

"He graduated from the S.U.N.Y. University Police Academy in April 1989 with highest academic honors" [emphasis added].

http://police.albany.edu/Member2.asp?LName=Berger&FName=Paul

SUNY didn't have full police in 1989; they had peace officers which then changed to full police officers in 1999 by act of NYS legislature. The bio used to state:

"He graduated from the S.U.N.Y. Public Safety Academy in April 1989 with highest academic honors" [emphasis added].

http://web.archive.org/web/20000712215006/http://police.albany.edu/staff2.html

His bio changed from "S.U.N.Y. Public Safety Academy" sometime between March 8, 2001 http://web.archive.org/web/20010308180829/http://police.albany.edu/staff2.html (where it still states "Public Safety Academy") and June 30, 2002 (where it states "S.U.N.Y. University Police Academy") http://web.archive.org/web/20020630134103/http://police.albany.edu/staff2.html

They seem to be two different things. See N.Y. CRIM. PROC. LAW §2.10 for "persons designated as peace officers"; N.Y. CRIM. PROC. LAW §1.20 (34) for persons designated as police officers. Specifically, N.Y. CRIM. PROC. LAW §1.20 (34) (s) identifies a "university police officer appointed by the state university pursuant to paragraph 1 of subdivision two of section three hundred fifty-five of the education law."

N.Y. EDUC. LAW § 355 (2) (l) states:

[The state university trustees are further authorized and empowered, subject to the provisions of the plan or general revisions thereof proposed by the state university trustees as approved by the regents pursuant to section two hundred thirty-seven of this chapter:] To appoint university police officers who shall have the powers of police officers and to remove such police officers at pleasure; provided, however, that any person appointed a police officer must have satisfactorily completed or complete within one year of the date of his appointment a course of law enforcement training approved by the municipal police training council in consultation with the university. It shall be the duty of such police officers to preserve law and order on the campuses and other property of the university, including any portion of a public highway which crosses or abuts such property.

Subject to the approval of the chancellor, the president of each state-operated campus of the state university shall enter into a written agreement with adjoining law enforcement agencies establishing protocols for the exercise of authority by such university police officer off-campus, including mutual aid and assistance. Such written protocols shall not be deemed to supersede the authority of other police officers. The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to any of the state institutions and property referred to in section five thousand seven hundred nine of this chapter [pertaining to "special deputy sheriffs" at Cornell University].

So why not just change it? Well, it seems like it might not be precisely legal...

N.Y. EDUC. LAW § 224 (4) No diploma or degree shall be conferred in this state except by a regularly organized institution of learning meeting all requirements of law and of the university, nor shall any person, with intent to deceive, falsely represent himself to have received any such degree or credential [...] Counterfeiting or falsely or without authority making or altering in a material respect any such credential issued under seal shall be a felony; any other violation of this section shall be a misdemeanor; and any person who aids or abets another, or advertises or offers himself to violate the provisions of this section, shall be liable to the same penalties. [emphasis added]

Fake IDs: would it take having one to know one?

Saint Supplanter, the Heel

Former UAlbany Provost Carlos Santiago's role in the Louis Roberts plagiarism scandal remains unexplained:

"I contacted Professor Paul Wallace in Classics, whom Schabel had informed of Roberts' thefts in December 2000. Professor Wallace confirmed that he himself had verified Schabel's evidence and had brought it to the attention of Vice President Carlos Santiago in January 2001. There was a meeting between Wallace, Roberts, and Santiago soon after; but nothing of signficance that I know of has happened since. I myself telephoned Vice President Santiago after returning, but he had nothing to add to what Professor Wallace had already told me."

Monfasani, John. "The Case of Louis Roberts." History News Network. July 8, 2002. http://hnn.us/articles/588.html

Even then, questions remained:

"In disregard of explicit "Inquiry Requirements" published in the Faculty Handbook, the inquiry in the L. Roberts plagiarism case was conducted in early 2001 by Provost Santiago, who made all the critical decisions, and not by the Vice President for Research; no efforts were made to avoid real or potential conflicts of interest during the inquiry; and there was no written report of the inquiry. There is widespread agreement that this mishandling of the inquiry substantially contributed to subsequent problems with this case. Details have been widely discussed at the April 24, 2002, Faculty Forum, at which time the administration admitted that errors had been made.

"The inconsistencies between President Hitchcock's letter to the University at Albany faculty of March 5, 2002, and the admitted errors made in the inquiry, have not been addressed.

"Other questions concerning the administration's statements and actions after the L. Roberts case became public in winter 2002 remain unanswered. (See, e.g., the letter of April 11, 2002, to President Hitchcock by concerned faculty, and the memorandum to the Albany University Community distributed at the Spring Faculty Meeting of May 8, 2002.)"

"Resolution 0203-1R For discussion at the 9/30/2002 Senate meeting. Introduced by Professors Sung Bok Kim, Sophie Lubensky, and R. Michael Range." University at Albany. http://www.albany.edu/resolution_0203-1R.htm

Carlos Santiago eventually left UAlbany for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM).

Stratton, Brad. "Real-life collaborative experiences guide Chancellor Santiago forward." UWM Today 7(2). Summer 2005: 8-12. http://www4.uwm.edu/news/publications/uwm_today/upload/V7_N2.pdf

Santiago was replacing Nancy Zimpher at UWM to become its next Chancellor.

Hansen, Peter. "Impressive record of results; UWM chancellor well qualified to organize education reform effort." Research Profile 23(1). Spring 2001. http://graduateschool.uwm.edu/research/spectrum/snapshots/archives/research-profile/Archive/Vol23No1/zimpher.html

"Past Chancellors." University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. http://www4.uwm.edu/chancellor/past-chancellors.cfm

Zimpher was leaving UWM to become SUNY Chancellor:

When working on the book, "A Time for Boldness," Nancy Zimpher prepared an imaginary, tongue-in-cheek advertisement that might have been used to recruit her as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1998.

The ad would have read something like this: "Wanted: A leader for an institution that is experiencing a sense of invisibility and mission drift."

Her purpose in writing the fake ad was to point out that UWM was "a little adrift in who we were and what our purpose in life was," said Zimpher, who co-authored the 2002 book, a partial history of UWM, with Stephen Percy, director of UWM’s Center for Urban Initiatives, and Mary Jane Brukardt, a former senior writer at UWM. [...]

"The Milwaukee Idea has really allowed the university to pay more attention to building its research capacity, which I understand is a high priority of (current UWM chancellor) Carlos Santiago,” Zimpher said in a recent telephone interview from her Cincinnati office.

"It’s about building blocks," she said. "You have layer upon layer of work to build a university, and I like to feel like I was a building block from (former UWM chancellor) John Schroeder to Carlos Santiago."

Santiago agrees. As chancellor, Zimpher raised UWM’s profile to lay the foundation for the initiatives he is pursuing on campus today.

"It made my job easier because when I began talking about the key role UWM plays in regional economic development, people already had a sense of who we are, and the great potential that exists on our campus," Santiago said."

[...] her enthusiasm was infectious, a definite change from Milwaukee’s typically conservative — and male — community leadership at the time, said Milwaukee public relations executive H. Carl Mueller.

'She turned everyone’s heads and people were enthusiastic about the possibilities,' said Mueller, one of two UWM alumni to serve on the chancellor search committee that hired Zimpher. 'She encouraged bold, audacious ideas. ‘Don’t think small; I want to hear bold ideas,’ she would say. They didn’t hear a lot of that in old, conservative Milwaukee.”

The foundation that Zimpher helped set has since led to big changes and growth under Santiago’s tenure, such as the establishment of two new schools — public health and freshwater resources — the first new schools approved for UWM in more than 30 years, 'a huge achievement,' Mueller said.

Sneider, Julie. "Zimpher helped build new UWM vision." The Business Journal. August 10, 2008. http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2008/08/11/story10.html?page=all

Big, bold, new, audacious, anti-conservative, infectious solutions to mission drift? The problem of mission drift is a problem of new radical changes infecting old conservative university values (academic values, not necessarily political ones). Those solutions are seemingly the opposite of what was needed.

In 2012, with his UWM predecessor Zimpher at the head of SUNY, Carlos Santiago was inexplicably short-listed to become President of the University at Albany, in spite of those remaining questions about his handling of the Louis Roberts plagiarism scandal.

"The current list of finalists includes Robert Palazzo, former Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute provost; Carlos Santiago, chief executive officer of the Hispanic College Fund and a former UAlbany provost; John Roberts, dean of University of Houston's College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences; Valeria Hardcastle, dean of the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Cincinnati; Carlo Montemagno, dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Cincinnati; and Steve Ballard, chancellor of East Carolina University."

Waldman, Scott. "UAlbany position finalists dwindle; Six candidates for president remain after three withdraw." Albany Times Union. July 31, 2012: A3. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=19362498

galling memorial disservice

"Wendy Knoebel had been employed by UAlbany since 1995. She received the Lawrence E. Gall Award in 2002 after 'exhibiting excellence in police services' to the campus community, according to a 2009 article posted on the university’s website."

Mason, Justin. "Ex-UAlbany cop gets no jail on drug count." Daily Gazette. http://www.dailygazette.net/standard/ShowStoryTemplate.asp?Path=SCH/2012/05/15&ID=Ar01100&Section=Local_News

"In 2002, Knoebel received the Lawrence E. Gall Award, awarded to officers exhibiting excellence in police services to the UAlbany community."

"Wendy Knoebel: Driven by Evidence." April 20, 2009. Campus News. University at Albany. http://web.archive.org/web/20090504133846/http://www.albany.edu/news/campus_news_6077.php

I'd been curious who Lawrence E. Gall was. There's very few mentions of the award online.

The UPD Investigator who'd encouraged Wendy Knoebel to bring her weapons on campus, and then removed her unregistered handgun from her locker, no questions asked, while she was being investigated by the state police and the DEA, then brought it back on campus himself and logged it in as evidence himself, was Matthew A. Griffin. He'd won the award too:

"Lawrence Gall Memorial award for professional police service"

"Matthew A. Griffin." http://police.albany.edu/Member2.asp?LName=Griffin&FName=Matthew

Thankfully, someone who doesn't seem to have been investigated has won it as well:

"Lawrence E. Gall Award for excellence in exhibiting excellence in police services"

"Kim Sigond." http://www.albany.edu/news/campus_news_6047.php

The above really does says "excellence in exhibiting excellence": the phrase appears on the page twice, no less.

Memorial awards are usually best when they do justice to the person being memorialized... and when they remember the name of the person. It seems his name may not have been Lawrence E. Gall, but Lawrence E. Gaal.

"Mabee was the recipient of the Lawrence Gaal Award in 2003 for Professional Service"

"Michael Mabee." http://police.albany.edu/Member2.asp?LName=Mabee&FName=Michael

"the Lawrence E. Gaal Award for Professional Service (Police Officers) was awarded to offers [sic] Peter Farnum and Alan Lapage"

http://www.albany.edu/studentsuccess/assessment/docs/2008-09%20Annual%20Report%20-%20COMPILED.pdf

Spelling "officer" correctly might have been a little more professional.... The Gaal family has been done an injustice, I think.

EDIT: Indeed, the late Lawrence E. Gaal had been a University at Albany peace officer who'd been shot in the line of duty:

Reinhart, Janice. "Mental Patient Found Not Guilty." Albany Student Press. January 29, 1980: 3 cols 1-5. http://library.albany.edu/speccoll/findaids/issues/1980_01_29.pdf

According to that article, Lawrence E. Gaal saved that shooter's in-laws' lives. It's a noble line of work; I've had some family serve as police as well. Officer Gaal subsequently died young of cancer:

"The year 1985 was a very difficult year for Ted. Both his wife, Marie and their oldest daughter, Georgiana (Gaal) Schamens died of cancer the same week. Another blow fell in 1987, when their son, Lawrence E. Gaal also died of cancer."

"Theodore Daniel Gaal." Post Star. January 1, 2010. http://poststar.com/lifestyles/announcements/obituaries/article_79bf8ffe-f756-11de-b35a-001cc4c03286.html

Ms. Knoebel had won another award, but UPD is disinclined to remind anyone at present. Mr. Wiley had given her the Chief's Award for Excellence in 1999:

"On Tuesday, February 9, 1999, University President Hitchcock officiated at the police officer swearing-in ceremony. Also present were Vice Presidents Kirchner and Doellefeld, and the New York State Director of University Police, R. Bruce McBride. Many officers brought their families to share in the celebration as their took their oath of office as police officers.

"This event, held at the Alumni House, also served as the Department's annual awards ceremony. Tim Brady received the award for 1998 Officer of the Year, and Investigator Wendy Knoebel received the Chief's Award for Excellence"

"What's New…" University at Albany, Department of Public Safety. http://web.archive.org/web/19990501211630/http://www.albany.edu/public_safety/whatsnew.html

What had Investigator Knoebel done in 1998 that was so excellent? They'd failed to solve their biggest of 1998, the disappearance of Suzanne Lyall http://www.suzannelyall.com

The picture to the right of the "ONGOING INVESTIGATION Missing Person Suzanne Lyall" at the following link is of Investigator Wendy Knoebel holding what might be her 1998 Chief's Award for Excellence, flanked by Investigators Paul Berger and Garry Slyke. http://web.archive.org/web/19991023053405/http://www.albany.edu/public_safety/ciu.html#lyall

Every cold case cries out to be solved. UPD's page for the Lyall investigation is hard to find and doesn't appear to have been maintained in years, from all the broken image links there: http://police.albany.edu/2ColPage.asp?PageSName=SL. The NYS Troopers, however, still have a more prominent page for the investigation http://www.troopers.ny.gov/Wanted_and_Missing/Missing/view.cfm?ID=7d2586b3-87fc-44bb-b602-52825c71e4f0, though it was last updated on March 3, 2004. There's an age-progression picture (to 2004), as well as very unusual jewelry she was thought to have been wearing.

Dead Presidents

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the constitution of the United States, and the constitution of the State of New York, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of [X], according to the best of my ability

It's a requirement both in the New York State Constitution:

N.Y. CONST. Art. 13, §1 http://www.dos.ny.gov/info/constitution.htm

and in NYS law, N.Y. CIV. SERV. LAW §62.

Swearing and filing such oaths with the NYS Secretary of State is required by SUNY procedure http://www.suny.edu/sunypp/documents.cfm?doc_id=546

Oaths aren't esoteric things; the NYS Librarian had written about them recently:

"An important reminder for library trustees and library directors is that New York State Public Officer’s Law requires public officials to take an Oath of Office and file it within a timely fashion, or the position automatically becomes VACANT."

Margolis, Bernard A. "News from the State Librarian: Oaths of Office – Is Your Board in Compliance with Public Officer’s Law?" Trustee 22(1). Winter 2010-11. 2. http://librarytrustees.org/newsletter.php?newsletteryear=2011&newsletterseason=Winter&articleid=397#article http://librarytrustees.org/newsletters/newsletter-winter2011.pdf

Not filing an Oath of Office with the Secretary of State results in the office being vacated, according to N.Y. PUB. OFF. LAW §30 (1) (h).

People ex rel. Walton v. Hicks (173 App. Div. 338, affd. 221 N.Y. 503), at 341 stated of the New York Public Officers Law,

"This statute is emphatic and unequivocal. It does not seem possible that it can be misunderstood. In case a person appointed to office neglects to file his official oath within 15 days after notice of appointment or within 15 days after the commencement of the term of office, the office becomes vacant, ipso facto. That is all there is to it. No judicial procedure is necessary. No notice is necessary. Nothing is necessary. The office is vacant, as much so as though the appointee is dead. There is no incumbent, and the vacancy may be filled by the proper appointive power."

The SUNY requirement states that the SUNY University Counsel is responsible for ensuring such Oaths of Office are sworn and filed with the Secretary of State. When George M. Philip had been appointed, John J. O'Connor was General Counsel. There's been some issues with appointments for which Mr. O'Connor was responsible.

"A top official at the State University of New York accused of giving a no-show job to the daughter of the former Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno, has resigned amid mounting scrutiny of his conduct.

"The university’s board of trustees voted unanimously at a meeting on Friday to accept the resignation of the official, John J. O’Connor, the secretary and a senior vice chancellor of the university system and the president of its research foundation.

The board’s vote came after trustees reviewed an 89-page report by an outside law firm hired by the SUNY chancellor, Nancy L. Zimpher, to look at the research foundation, which offered a highly critical assessment of Mr. O’Connor’s leadership style.

Kaplan, Thomas. "Under Scrutiny, Official at State University Resigns." N.Y. Times. June 3, 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/04/nyregion/john-oconnor-suny-official-in-bruno-case-resigns.html?_r=0

Suspecting that many SUNY employees had not sworn and filed their Oath of Office with the Secretary of State, I'd filed a FOIA/FOIL request for them with the University at Albany's Records Access Officers on August 2, 2012: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7Mt-S77wZKfSlZiV2RvMzV3NEU/edit. Neither officer ever replied, when they're required to at least acknowledge the request within five days. I did get a nasty threatening e-mail from Clarence L. McNeill the next day, though. He cc'd it to George M. Philip, J. "Frank" Wiley, and others.

When I refiled with the Department of State instead, they informed me that Philip has no Oath of Office on file. D'oh! Well, it probably explains the nasty e-mail. Why he didn't quickly file one back in August, I don't know. Arrogance?

Anyway, to paraphrase People ex rel. Walton v. Hicks:

The office of University at Albany President is vacant, as much so as though the appointee is dead.

"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." 1 Timothy 6:10.

UAlbany's Judicial Affairs: smellin' like a felon

John M. Murphy, when he was the head of UAlbany's Judicial Affairs had written in his 2000-2001 Annual Report:

"The Director of Judicial Affairs continues to serve as University liaison with the Office of Parole in the New York State Department of Corrections. This responsibility requires the investigation of criminal histories for convicted felons who are seeking admission to the University. In the past few years since the felony conviction question was placed on the application for admissions, the number of applicants who were convicted felons increased. For example, in 1996 there were six applicants and that number increased to twenty-one in 1999-2000 and twenty-eight this past year. The preceding year the number was twenty applicants and we must assume that this significant increase will continue in the future. In addition, applicants dismissed or suspended from other colleges or universities have their conduct reviewed as part of the admissions process. Judicial Affairs continues to work closely with of the Offices of Undergraduate and Graduate Admissions to ensure these special applicants are reviewed with great care. In addition, Judicial Affairs has been called upon to resolve several cases of students admitted to the University after providing falsified information on their applications."

http://www.albany.edu/studentsuccess/assessment/docs/AR%202000-01%20-%20FINAL.pdf

The statistics are presented in a rather jumbled way. I think they're unscrambled like so:

Convicted felons seeking admission to the University at Albany

[University at Albany transitions from Division III to Division II athletics]

• 1996: 6

• 1997: [not stated]

• 1998: 20

[University at Albany transitions from Division II to Division I athletics]

• 1999-2000: 21

• 2000-2001: 28

• 2002-future: "we must assume that this significant increase will continue"

For Murphy's 2001-2002 Annual Report http://www.albany.edu/studentsuccess/assessment/docs/AR%202001-02%20-%20FINAL.pdf he copied and pasted the above paragraph. He thus did not provide any information about how many applicants with felonies there had been for 2001-2002. If that's sloppiness, that's a heck of a thing to be sloppy about.

If the University at Albany has reported the number of convicted felons seeking admission after 2000-2001, I've so far been unable to find where they're reporting that. It's no longer in the annual report of the Judicial Affairs office (since retitled the Office of Conflict Resolution and Civic Responsibility).

John M. Murphy's the University at Albany's Clery Act Compliance Officer at present.

"Throwing around the old pigskin"

"Some of those that work forces, are the same that made passes," to paraphrase Rage Against the Machine.

• 19?? "high level", "high impact sports"

"I'm an aging former high level athlete. [...] More recently, arthritis caused by years of high impact sports was winning the battle. My back, knees, shoulders, and achiles tendon limited my motion and were painful."

Wiley, J. Frank. "Testimonials." Berkshire Massage Therapy. http://www.bmt.massagetherapy.com/testimonials

• 1981 Baltimore Colts training camp

"Frank Wiley, a Baltimore policeman who plans to attend as many practices as he can, said, ‘It is outstanding. Seeing the players close up, talking to them and getting to known them is just great. All the players I talked to thought the fans made them practice with more intensity.’"

Snyder, Cameran C. "Open practice scores with Colts and fans." The Sun [Baltimore, MD]. July 21, 1981: C7. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/baltsun/access/1850835422.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jul+21%2C+1981&author=&pub=The+Sun+(1837-1985)

• 1993 Assistant college women's basketball coach

"Assistant Coaches [...] Frank Wiley (Sojourner Douglas [sic] '89)"

"UMES 1993-94 Lady Hawks Women's Basketball: Lady Hawks Quick Facts." Hawk Yearbook. University of Maryland Eastern Shore, 1994. 110. http://www26.us.archive.org/stream/hawk1994univ#page/110/

• 1996 New York Giants training camp

"The University at Albany Department of Public Safety was the primary law enforcement agency for the New York Giants' professional football training camp held at Albany in July and August of 1996. […] The hiring of temporary security officers assisted the University in providing 24 hour/day security for the Giants' work and living areas […] University Public Safety Officers staffed all Giants practices and meals. They worked with the Giants Organization in providing reasonable access to fans, while at the same time maintaining the security and safety of the players. The University and the Capital District community have described the Giants training camp as having been a great success."

"New York Giants Football." Dept. of Public Safety. SUNY Albany. Ca. 1996. http://web.archive.org/web/19970802165356/http://www.albany.edu/public_safety/whtsnew.html

• 1996 J. "Frank" Wiley hired as chief of UAlbany's peace officers

Though "a teacher in Baltimore City Public Schools and former [Baltimore, Maryland] police officer," at the time, and having been rejected by Oberlin College in Ohio earlier in 1996, SUNY Albany appointed Mr. Wiley as chief at age 40, though he'd evidently never previously served as a police officer in New York State.

"University Appoints New Police Chief; Former U. of Maryland Chief Takes Reins." University Update 20(1). September 4, 1996. http://www.albany.edu/updates/1996/9-4/otherarticles.html

• 1997 New York Giants training camp

The Schenectady Gazette didn't report that the 1996 Giants training camp had been a "great success". It's unclear who might have, other than UPD above (perhaps UPD had even found it "outstanding"?):

The Times Union will pay $158,000 to the University at Albany for maintenance and security for the 1997 training camp, which began Friday. […]

the Giants training camp fell short of economic expectations.

Last year, the LADC said the presence of the Giants would mean increased sales revenue for the city, which would benefit residents.

The Center for Economic Growth projected an $18 million economic impact from the team. But local business owners, who had hoped out-of-town Giants fans would spend money by eating, shopping, and drinking locally, said last summer that business was much slower than expected.

Many also said fans didn't come from great distances to watch the team practice.

[...]

Because the Times Union covers the University at Albany, its sports programs and the Giants summer camp, there's a possibility for conflict of interest, said [Times Union publisher Timothy] White. 'We simply talk about this a lot and do our darndest to prevent it,' he said." The preliminary agreement signed in 1996 between the University at Albany and the New York Giants calls for the Giants to hold summer training camp at the university for five years.

Bryce, Jill. "Giants camp gets new backers; Newspaper agrees to help defray costs." Daily Gazette [Schenectady, NY]. July 19, 1997: B6 cols 3-6. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1957&dat=19970719&id=OFlGAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5ugMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1478,4239195

• 1997 Footballers on Patrol

In an effort to broaden the scope of the University Police Department’s (UPD) community policing initiatives, the Great Dane Ride Along Program has been created. The concept was put into action by UPD Chief J. Frank Wiley and head football coach Bob Ford. The Program will bring together officers of UPD and members of the University’s football team. The players will ride on regular patrol with the officers in two hour shifts.

“The program will expose the students to some of the problems University Police Officers face every day and at the same time will expose the officers to some of our student-athletes,” Ford said. “This is one of those things that only good can come from.”

According to Wiley, both the players and the officers are excited about this opportunity and so far, approximately 60 players have volunteered to participate in the program. He added that special planning will be used to ensure that the program will not interfere with the players’ academic schedules. University Police officers assigned to Quad Liaison duties will coordinate the department’s efforts. The program took effect after spring break.

"Great Dane Ride Along Program." highLIGHTS. University Update 20(13). April 2, 1997.http://www.albany.edu/updates/1997/4-2/highlights.html

• 2011-2012 Football Mentorship

"Establish an MOU [Memorandum of Understanding] with the UA Football program to create a leadership development opportunity for football players. MOU was established and signed and pilot program has begun" (38)

"An MOU for a new mentorship program (ATLAS) with UPD and the UA Football team was established."

"Student Success Celebrations." Student Success 2011-2012 Briefing Book. 43. http://www.albany.edu/studentsuccess/assessment/BriefingBook/UAlbany%20Briefing%20Book%2011-12.pdf

• abt. 1999-present: An ideal police officer = an ideal basketball player?

"And most importantly . . . my ideal officer understands that "gentlemen and gentlewomen consider the rights of others before their own feelings, and the feelings of others before their own rights."

Wiley, J. Frank. "Chief Wiley's Ideal Officer Profile." University Police Department. University at Albany. http://police.albany.edu/IdealOfficer.shtml.

One might suppose an "ideal officer profile" (whatever purpose that serves?) to be an evolving thing, changing in the light of new experience. Well, not so much:

"And most important . . . my ideal officer understands that 'a gentleman/gentlewoman considers the rights of others before his own feelings, and the feelings of others before his own rights.'"

"Department of Public Safety Mission Statement." UAlbany Police Department. http://web.archive.org/web/19990501192909/http://www.albany.edu/public_safety/mission.html

The 1999 version awkwardly transitioned from "gentleman/gentlewoman" to "his." The 2011 version has "gentlemen and gentlewomen" and "their," which at least matches. Neither seems to an actual quote, however.

Chief Wiley's quote about the most important characteristic of his ideal police officer is actually misquoted, unattributed advice from a UCLA basketball coach:

"A gentleman is one who considers the rights of others before his own feelings, And the feelings of others before his own rights."

Wooden, John with Jack Tobin. They Call Me Coach. 1972. McGraw-Hill, 2003. 146.

It doesn't strike me as particularly profound. It's much more concisely stated as "my ideal officers consider others' rights and feelings first."

Wiley's predecessor was forced to retire at 55; Wiley turned 55 in 2011. Though retirement doesn't appear to have been mentioned, he'd shown up on a short list of candidates for Chief of Police at the University of Illinois in June 2012.

Christensen was selected for the position after a nationwide search led by the Hollins Group, which is the firm that assisted in the search leading to Barbara O’Connor’s hiring in 2008.

The search turned out three finalists: Christensen and two candidates from outside of the University. Frank Wiley, chief of police at the University of Albany and Penny Fischer, police inspector at Michigan State were the other two finalists. A committee headed by Renee Romano, vice chancellor of student affairs, chose to recommend Christensen for the job.

Vazquez, Steven. "Christensen named University police chief." Daily Illini. June 10, 2012. http://www.dailyillini.com/article/2012/06/christensen_named_university_police_chief