"I have chosen to resign because of the intense public attention and criticism from my hiring of Mrs. Mary Easley and now because of questions surrounding the way I was hired as provost."


http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/5145960/

5/14/2009 11:52:10 AM

I just read the latest feature from sunday's paper about Mike Easley's dealings with McQueen Campbell, which also touched on the Larry Nielsen/Mary Easley hiring.

One of my buddies worked for Campbell's commercial real estate firm for a few years and quit abruptly about a year ago. I wonder if he caught wind of some of the shady shit going on. i'm gonna have to badger him about it when i see him tomorrow.

5/14/2009 12:05:37 PM

Quote :

"I also repeat that I am resigning because I can no longer bear the anguish of dealing with these matters on a daily basis"

Do you guys really think he was dealing with this stuff "on a daily basis"? I mean, I imagine as this shit went down, he had to answer some questions and take some press time, but the only thing I can imagine he might now with now that its mostly blown over in the media are daily emails or something. Usually when someone quits AFTER allegations and press coverage have blown over, and I imagine that they're not dealing with it anymore, then they want to get out before they get found out. Who knows if that's the case here.

5/14/2009 12:12:44 PM

Damage control is a daily basis thing. It sucks, but once something gets out there, it takes on a life of it's own. If the only thing you have is credibility, then say bye bye to that.

5/14/2009 12:31:44 PM

After conducting a national search, they'll just hire some other equally terrible internal candidate to replace him.

5/14/2009 12:48:32 PM

http://www.technicianonline.com/

couple of stories and media slideshow w/ audio here

5/14/2009 6:34:44 PM

Easley and the campbells are tight from way back, Mac Campbell was on the DOT board for years and quit a while back. What exactly does Mary Easley do for NCSU? 6 to 1 odds she resigns with n 6 months.

5/14/2009 7:30:04 PM

state government is excellent at being corrupt

5/14/2009 8:31:04 PM

didn't larry nielsen have a big say during the whole lesbian/gay/transgender center debacle awhile back

5/14/2009 8:52:01 PM

I posted about this situation nearly a year ago, but nobody seemed to give a shit then. Yeah, but you're a poopyhead, hooksaw.

message_topic.aspx?topic=517497

Provost Says He Acted Alone in Hiring
Conflict-of-interest questions surround trustees chairman's role

Quote :

"In addition, Carolina Journal's investigation of the matter reveals a potential conflict of interest. Because of his longtime friendship with Gov. Mike Easley, trustees chairman D. McQueen Campbell appeared to have had a conflict of interest when he approved Ms. Easley's job and 88 percent raise. The governor appointed Campbell to the Board of Trustees in 2001 and reappointed him in 2005. Campbell was elected chairman in 2007. Campbell played a key role in a 2005 real estate transaction in which the Easleys purchased a Carteret County waterfront lot for $549,880. News reports later showed that the price the Easleys paid for the lot was significantly less than comparable sales in the same development. One year after the purchase county tax officials appraised the lot at $1.2 million."

Quote :

"When asked who suggested that he consider Ms. Easley for a job, Nielsen said, 'I can't remember. I don't recall.' When asked whether it was Campbell, Nielsen said, 'I don't remember.'"

Quote :

"Oblinger has acknowledged that NCSU had not been following the UNC General Administration's requirement for the NCSU Board of Trustees and the Board of Governors to approve salary increases greater than 15 percent and more than $10,000. 'We believed we were using the right approach in the way we were handling fixed-term contracts,' he said in a statement. 'As an institution that prides itself on doing things in the right way, we are embarrassed by this difference of interpretation and will take immediate steps to ensure that our contract approval processes are consistent with Board guidelines,' Oblinger said."

Quote :

"According to the Observer, Cannonsgate salespeople used the governor's purchase to help market the other lots. Campbell did not return phone calls for this story."

Quote :

" http://www.carolinajournal.com/exclusives/display_exclusive.html?id=4899 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zOB01gCEsw 8/25/2008 3:35:04 AM"

[Edited on May 14, 2009 at 10:27 PM. Reason : I will say that Provost Nielsen is a nice man. I attended a function with him not long ago.]

5/14/2009 10:26:41 PM

Quote :

"What exactly does Mary Easley do for NCSU? 6 to 1 odds she resigns with n 6 months."

Id bet she gets fired/let go by August.

5/15/2009 8:49:46 AM

There is no way she is leaving or getting fired. She is too well connected and brings too much to the table already.

5/15/2009 9:41:46 AM

i for one think its sad someone who has served the university and the state so well has resigned because of an article full of half truths and lies...and now erskine bowles has thrown us under a bus....thanks president of the university system for siding with a newspaper and not an entity you are supposed to be the ultimate leader of.

[Edited on May 15, 2009 at 10:40 AM. Reason : spelling]

5/15/2009 10:40:13 AM

.

5/15/2009 11:56:31 AM

I'm not sure I believe that a guy who's been in academia for 32 years is surprised by the way things work.

5/15/2009 12:43:50 PM

then just believe what you're going to believe anyway

I've worked with the man, and he was easily the best provost since kermit hall

5/15/2009 1:06:39 PM

^ so, I must admit I'm a bit uninformed as what the role of the provost actually is, but are you saying that its kind of like a position where you're constantly trying to balance the competing interests of those who you work with?

That job would be horrible.

5/15/2009 1:11:46 PM

^The provost is the chief academic officer, in charge of all things academics. Boss of the Deans of the individual colleges.





^^So he's easily a better provost than one other guy, I can work with that.

I'm not saying he never did anything worthwhile, because I think he otherwise did a good job, though I never worked with him, and only distantly for him. But he made a series of errors in this Easley deal, and that Easley deal is getting pretty ugly. I don't think him quitting over it is a 100% bad thing.

5/15/2009 1:24:39 PM

http://www.newsobserver.com/front/story/1529080.html

McQueen Campbell's gone

5/15/2009 2:40:26 PM

he should be replaced with another muppet if possible.

5/15/2009 3:39:20 PM

marko would know better than most. I'd take his word over the news and fishwrap.

5/15/2009 6:48:58 PM

Quote :

"Id bet she gets fired/let go by August."

She has a 5 year, $850k contract. I'm sure they are trying to figure out how to get out from under that.

5/16/2009 8:20:57 AM

It would certainly free up a lot of money in such rough financial times for the university. I'm guessing they'd have to pressure her to leave the position to avoid breaking the terms of the contract?

5/16/2009 9:09:42 AM

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/5166255/

5/18/2009 12:33:45 PM

o snap

5/18/2009 12:37:44 PM

good riddance

5/18/2009 12:39:32 PM

I was talking to one of my professors about Easley, and she said the university could pay for ~50 history classes taught by adjuncts with Easley's salary.

Could the chancellor just kick her out instead of asking her nicely to leave? I know it wouldn't look pretty, but it would make me like him a bit more.

5/18/2009 1:59:43 PM

nah, there's a contract or some shit

5/18/2009 2:01:10 PM

Well, if the dust settles and they determine that the contract was improperly awarded, they could get out from under it.

5/18/2009 2:13:04 PM

6^

Oblinger's call for Mrs. Easley's resignation is the first public display of leadership that I've known to come from him.

But why so late in the game? It's as if he was waiting for someone to give him an idea of what to do.

5/18/2009 2:42:46 PM

or maybe due diligence?

5/18/2009 2:45:40 PM

I doubt it.

This has been developing for months, and we're talking about one person (plus the handful of members that comprise the BOT if you want to include them).

If due diligence were required, it should be merely be a matter of contract review and labor law. I have seen equity firms complete due diligence for acquisitions in the same period of time.

Besides, should due diligence be required to ask for a resignation?

5/18/2009 2:52:51 PM

Yes.

Signed,

Jim Valvano

5/18/2009 2:54:56 PM

apples & oranges.

[Edited on May 18, 2009 at 2:55 PM. Reason : and you know it.]

5/18/2009 2:55:27 PM

You know, for so many people to be claiming that nothing improper was done, there sure as hell seem to be a lot of resignations, calls for resignations, and investigations going around. Maybe something improper actually did occur--just a thought.

5/18/2009 7:18:05 PM

Or maybe the N&O stories have created such a shitstorm that people couldn't reasonably keep their positions.

just a thought.

5/18/2009 8:46:46 PM

in that case, i wish they'd create a shitstorm with tom stafford right in the eye of it

5/18/2009 9:12:11 PM

^^ Um. . .no. The University admitted wrongdoing last year:

Mary Easley's raise skirts rules
The first lady's pay increase at NCSU sets off a wide review by the UNC system
Eric Ferreri - Staff Writer
Published: Thu, Jul. 10, 2008 12:30AM

Quote :

"In a statement released late Wednesday, N.C. State officials said they have 'historically' interpreted the [UNC] system policy incorrectly and have been giving raises without the governing board's approval."

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/higher_education/story/1136648.html

The "why" of it all is what's in widespread question now. Carolina Journal asked why and gave some answers about this situation nearly a year ago, but as I indicated, nobody gave a shit because it is a conservative publication.

^ Seriously. Love him or hate him, isn't it past time for Stafford to retire?

[Edited on May 19, 2009 at 8:13 AM. Reason : OH, THE HORROR!]

5/19/2009 8:10:48 AM

So here's a slightly related question...

What did Mike Easley do to piss off the NandO/McClatchy enough to hang one of their own (liberal/democrat) in effigy?

5/19/2009 8:22:14 AM

^ Just a theory:

1. Easley's out of office now, so he can't be removed from office or forced to resign. It seemed that the media would report a little of this stuff, but then quickly pooh-pooh it as nothing much. I mean, as I've made clear, all this information was available almost a year ago--why the wait?

2. Newspapers are hurting now and this big story with legs was just hanging out there and building momentum. They simply couldn't ignore it any longer for a number of reasons.

3. X-factor: Politics. Whether it's Republicans, Democrats, watchdogs, or some folks at the University.

Or maybe someone involved just pissed somebody off or rubbed him/her/them the wrong way. It was reported that McQueen Campbell "bragged about his connections, writing that he had the 'political presence' and 'strong relationships throughout state government' to get developments approved 'much quicker than any other developer.'" This kind of braggadocio often turns people off--maybe he turned off the wrong one.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2972/story/1520957.html

5/19/2009 8:36:45 AM

Quote :

"he was easily the best provost since kermit hall"

Agreed. I hated that Hall left, and also hated that he died while swimming in the ocean with his wife.

5/19/2009 8:57:40 AM

Easley spent most of his time as GOV treating the media like shit. Not giving interviews, not providing stuff that is supposed to be public record, so on and so forth. Which probably wasn't a good idea.

He also did a lot of stuff that was worthy of getting written about. I'm still cheeved that he thinks he can tell me a cheeseburger and fries costs $60 in France and expect me to believe it.

5/19/2009 9:00:16 AM

^^^^^

come on hooksaw, that post is completely beside the point.

The question is whether:

a) the fact that people are resigning is further evidence/suggestion of wrongdoing
b) the N&O stories and aftermath have created such a mess that regardless of wrongdoing or not, these people, assuming they were reasonable, had to resign.

Would you not agree that b is the case? When people are faced with enormous pressure to resign due to massive public upheaval, in most cases they resign, regardless of whether they are guilty of anything or not, and especially if they are concerned with the well-being of the University.


[Edited on May 19, 2009 at 9:01 AM. Reason : more arrows]

5/19/2009 9:00:37 AM

^

Quote :

"that post is completely beside the point."

I disagree.

Sure, sometimes b is the case. But what about Campbell's "mea culpa" to Erskine Bowles?

Quote :

"Erskine Bowles told The (Raleigh) News & Observer on Thursday that Campbell phoned him this week and 'went through a whole mea culpa.' Bowles said Campbell recounted telling Chancellor James Oblinger that Easley was looking to change jobs before N.C. State hired her in 2005. 'He said, "I did tell Jim Oblinger in passing that Mary Easley was going to change jobs and he may not even remember that." Bowles said. 'And I said, "What?" That was about the end of the conversation. I was surprised.'"

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/597/story/725374.html

And then there's the whole mess with Mike Easley and how it ties in and the multiple investigations. And don't forget that the chancellor defended Easley's hiring and so did Bowles.

Look, I realize that there are some decent, dedicated folks involved here, but something stinks. And the sooner we found out what it is, the sooner we can flush away the offending item(s)--this scandal makes the University look bad.

I want the truth. Don't you?

5/19/2009 9:16:21 AM

THE TRUTH?!?!?!?! YOU CANT HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!

5/19/2009 9:23:27 AM

^^

Absolutely - the more investigations the better.

What I don't like is when people get hung out to dry based on insinuation.

Also, I'm not buying that "telling Jim Oblinger in passing that Mary Easley was going to change jobs" = mea culpa. If that's all Campbell did (and that is all Bowles is insinuating he did) what exactly is he culpable of?

[Edited on May 19, 2009 at 9:25 AM. Reason : .]

5/19/2009 9:25:34 AM

M cQueen Campbell, March 11

N&O: In 2005, what were the discussions about bringing her on at N.C. State?

Campbell: None.

N&O: You didn't talk to anybody about it?

Campbell: Nope.

N&O: Why not?

Campbell: Because the trustees aren't involved in hiring.

N&O: Did Mary Easley ever say anything to you?

Campbell: Never.

N&O: There wasn't any discussion?

Campbell: No. I never lobbied for her. Never.

N&O: The question wasn't about lobbying. There were no conversations?

Campbell: There were none.


Just frt, that's the earlier statement.

5/19/2009 10:06:19 AM

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/5176543/

Raleigh, N.C. — Federal investigators on Tuesday subpoenaed employment records for the wife of former Gov. Mike Easley.

North Carolina State University Chancellor James Oblinger said the subpoenas seek her employment records back to 2002.

5/19/2009 4:57:25 PM

He and Neilsen are actually being asked to appear in person with the documents in front of a grand jury:

http://www.newsobserver.com/front/story/1534286.html

5/19/2009 5:19:12 PM

I don't know what the real deal behind any of this is, but so far I have seen nothing to substantiate ANYTHING at all.

If the accusation is that Easley was hired as a direct result of a deal to get Nielsen the post of Provost, then who lobbied on Nielsen's behalf to get him the job? I have yet to see any sort of evidence at all that anything was done incorrectly, just a series of facts that people are accumulating into a circumstantial case.

Maybe there is a lot of unknown information (or at least unknown to me), but if there is anything, it should be put forth. Has Easley done a poor job in her role? Did Nielsen do a poor job in his position? Was the raise to Easley unique and totally without merit and precendent, or have others received similar raises in a similar fashion? Did her work merit an increase in pay commensurate with increased duties and responsibilities?

I fail to see how anyone has answered any of these questions or even asked others that were pertinent...I'm not saying any of what I mentioned is what the real issue is about. I'm saying that after reading every article referenced and reading this entire thread, I still don't see where the impropriety lies. Without some clarity on that front, I think all of the insinuation is out of line. If individuals HAVE done something wrong, great, hang them from the yardarm, but show me some EVIDENCE.

5/19/2009 5:38:20 PM