WVU President Search: Connecting The Dots

In my article for The Associated Press earlier this week, I alluded to the connections among West Virginia University Board of Governors members, candidate Mike Garrison and others involved in the search for the school's next president.

As one of these figures told me when AP first reported on the letter from Judge Robert B. King, "It's a pretty small state. You can connect the dots pretty easily in West Virginia."

You ain't kidding, brother.

Here's a more detailed look at said dots:

1. WVU Board of Governors

From 2001 to 2003, Garrison was Tax and Revenue secretary and later chief of staff to then-Gov. Bob Wise. At least 9 of the board’s 12 current appointee members (besides 3 representative and 2 ex-officio members) were picked by Wise:

- Curtis H. "Hank" Barnette (appointed 2001, reappointed by Wise in 2004)
- Elizabeth E. "Betty" Chilton (appointed 2001, reappointed by Wise in 2003)
- Stephen B. Farmer (appointed 2004)
- Chairman Stephen P. Goodwin (appointed 2002)
- Russell L. Isaacs (appointed, 2003)
- Douglas J. Leech (reappointed, 2003)
- John T. "Ted" Mattern (appointed 2002*)
- Parry G. Petroplus (appointed 2002)
- Robert A. Wells (appointed 2004)

But… Wise appointed Farmer and Wells after Garrison left his administration. Wise also replaced Mattern on the board before leaving office; Gov. Joe Manchin has since reappointed him.

And...classified staff representative Paul R. Martinelli also held that slot when Wise appointed the original board in 2001.

Also...Wise's 2001 appointees were all from WVU's Board of Advisors. Serving solely in the capacity suggested by its title, this board was replaced by the Board of Governors when the Legislature reconfigured the state's higher education system in 2000.

2. Presidential Search Committee

Of the 6 board members on the committee, 5 were Wise appointees:
- Goodwin (committee chairman)
- Farmer
- Leech
- Mattern
- Wells

But...see above notes regarding Farmer, Mattern and Wells. The committee also includes:

- Dean Mary Ellen Mazey, sister of Judge King;
- Joan Corson Stamp, wife of U.S. District Judge Frederick P. Stamp of the state's northern federal court district;
- Morgantown Mayor Ron Justice, who gave Garrison a key to his city, Public Broadcasting reported;

3. Garrison's clients

Garrison became a lobbyist after leaving the Wise administration in 2003. At one point, he had more clients registered with the state Ethics Commission than any other lobbyist.

Garrison has represented:

- Centra Bank (Leech is president and CEO);
- Mylan Laboratories (Dr. Thomas B. Clark, a board member, was a vice president);
- Platinum Properties (Petroplus is manager).

4. The Goodwins and the Kings

- King, of the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, graduated from WVU's law school in 1968. Goodwin graduated from there in 1970;

- Goodwin's brother Thomas R. Goodwin, is a 1969 WVU law school graduate;

- Goodwin's brother and U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin, of the state's southern federal court district, got his WVU law degree in 1970;

- King's nephew (and Mazey's son) is deputy general counsel to Gov. Joe Manchin;

- Goodwin's son is general counsel to Manchin.

CAVEAT: These lists are presented solely to inform the ongoing debate. I welcome additions and corrections.

And for the record, I am Wheeling Jesuit '91.

In related news, the school of candidate Daniel Bernstine has gotten some bad news. Inside Higher Ed reports that Portland State University was erroneously included among the Top 1o electrical engineering programs in the latest U.S. News & World Report graduate school guide ("their rankings are actually so low that the magazine doesn’t give them out," the article said).

Bernstine is president of PSU, which had initially (and understandably) heralded the mistaken ranking.