I feel obliged to report on this because this man handed me my diploma: Oregon Board of Higher Education decided not to renew the contract of Richard Lariviere, University of Oregon president. To put it nicely, he’s fired.
Why? It looks like the man didn’t have many supporters in the Oregon University System, let alone Gov. John Kitzhaber, due to his budgetary decision making.
- University of Oreogon
- “The Hat” and his posse. Aka students.
“Dr. Lariviere’s actions have done damage to our vision for higher education and other institutions of higher learning; and, ironically, have served to undercut his own aspirations for the University of Oregon,” Kitzhaber told the Oregonian.
But his firing didn’t go unnoticed. Nearly 60 pro-Lariviere faculty members filed complaint to the university’s state’s ethics commission, as the Board of Higher Education apparently publicized their decision prior to a mandatory meeting and vote. Students aren’t too pleased either. Last night, a group of upset students decorated OUS Chancellor George Pernsteiner’s home with eggs, leaving behind an angry letter and the words “The Hat” — Southern gent Lariviere is known for his ever-present fedora, see photo — spray painted on the driveway.
Larievere remains classy in his rejection. On Wednesday, he published a letter to the campus: “I have been heartened by the outpouring of support I have received for the work we are doing to reimagine public higher education in Oregon. While the positive comments from members of the campus community and beyond help to galvanize my commitment to this outstanding institution, I hasten to remind you that this is not about me. We must all redouble our efforts to bring about positive change to the governance, funding and accountability of Oregon’s public universities.”
His contract terminates on June 30, 2012.
You have a number of key facts wrong in this article – in fact, this is one of the most sloppy pieces of reporting I have ever seen in the Mercury.
1. Lariviere has not been fired. A board member has told him that his contract will not be terminated. This leads to –
2. The ethics complaint was not made to any University body. It went to the Oregon Government Ethics Commission. The complaint was made because the Board of Higher Education HAS NOT YET FIRED LARIVIERE, but seems to have made the decision (not simply “publicized” it) without going through mandatory open meetings procedures.
3. This had nothing to do with Lariviere’s “budgetary decision making”! It’s related to his plan to change the entire funding and management structure of the U of O and, really, the state system of higher education…. ‘Managing up,’ as it were.
4. I don’t know anything about journalism, but I think it would have made more sense for you to quote from Lariviere’s latest letter to the University (which I have forwarded to you).
I suggest you take this post down, bring yourself up to speed on this issue, and then post a correct article. http://www.uomatters.com is a great resource, as is (somehow) the O.
Hmm..It looks like his decisions based on OUS funding/budget without much discussion with peers led to OUS dissatisfaction. I also linked to Lariviere’s most recent letter in the post, while I didn’t pull a quote directly from it. I’m sorry to have upset ya.
You can’t come in arrogant and start throwing elbows at your own bosses. Doesn’t matter how good your new ideas are. Tact and diplomacy are parts of keeping a job, not just your job-specific skills.
Since the state of Oregon only kicks in about 10 percent of UOs budget, maybe Larivierre thought he only had to kiss ass 10 percent of the time.
Oh, and you failed to mention the biggest point of contention between OUS and Larviere: he game faculty raises, out of UOs own budget, when Kitz told all the universities to freeze wages.
Zach’s comment probably comes on a bit too strong, but this post is due for a total rewrite. No offense.
“maybe Larivierre thought he only had to kiss ass 10 percent of the time.”
He was wrong.