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.