02 April 2007

WVU proceeds with search for next president

I finally got my hands on the letter from federal Judge Robert B. King, for today's story from The Associated Press.

King has raised concerns about the ongoing process to find a new president for West Virginia University. Several of those involved in the search respond in the AP article to the letter.

Both AP and MetroNews note that the three finalists will begin the final phase of the search process today on WVU's Morgantown campus.

The Charleston Daily Mail, meanwhile, looks at the pay and the perks of the job today.

10 comments:

Raging Red said...

Hi Larry. Just read your article. Would you upload a copy of the letter to your blog? I know there are several quotes from it in the article, but I'd be interested to read the whole thing.

Lawrence Messina said...

I wish I could. I was allowed to take notes from the letter late last week, but don't yet have my own copy.

Anonymous said...

Interesting quote from the judge: “Choosing its next president through a process that appears to be either politically tainted or lacking in impartiality would undo much of that progress."

Huzzah, your honor. In fact, let's hold the federal judiciary to the same rigorous selection process. I would hate to think that federal judges could be appointed by presidents from their own party on the recommendation of members of Congress from their own party. The same could be said for U.S. Attorneys.

I am sure, however, that when Judge King was appointed a U.S. Attorney by President Carter and a judge by President Clinton (with a stint in private practice during the Reagan-Bush Sr. years), politics were never a consideration...

Anonymous said...

Certainly, politics were a factor, but Judge King was objectively well qualified for both jobs. It's one thing when political considerations lead to the selection of a particular person from among a group of qualified candidates, but another thing when political considerations cause appointment of a person whose only "qualification" is political connection.

Anonymous said...

Larry:

You should also put the quotes of the search members who were upset with the Judge on your blog.

Thanks

Anonymous said...

Larry,

You've got a happenin' hairdo.

Hippie Killer said...

Did you notice if King's letter was or wasn't on 4th Circuit letter head?

Lawrence Messina said...

It was not on official letterhead, nor did King use his title. But he did use his chambers at the U.S. Courthouse in Charleston as the return address.

It was also only three paragraphs, so the quotes I used in the AP article form a considerable portion of the letter.

As for the hair, when it gets too long I look like one of those troll dolls you get out of gum-ball machines...

Hippie Killer said...

Being able to rub one's own hair for good luck sounds like an added bonus to me.

Hippie Killer said...

Oh, re: King using his chambers as the return address: at first I thought that was strange, but then I remembered that the U.S. Marshall service basically requires federal judges to have all of their personal mail sent to the courthouse for screening.

You know. In case a member of the Garrison camp decides to mail him a bag of flaming poo or something.