CSU Faculty Voice: Wayne Watson Unscripted: Press Release from Willie Preston's Attorney

Friday, April 3, 2015

Wayne Watson Unscripted: Press Release from Willie Preston's Attorney

Below is a press release from Rima Kapitan, attorney for Willie Preston and Brittany Bailey. This press release refers to an audio recording in Kapitan's possession which includes nearly an hour-long conversation between Wayne Watson and then Chicago State undergraduate student Jokari Miller.

In addition to the passages about Willie Preston noted in the press release, the conversation features a foul-mouthed Watson threatening Miller physically, calling him a "punk" and continuously reminding Miller that he (Watson) is talking to Miller as a "black man," not as the university president.

It seems difficult to imagine a discussion like this taking place between any other university president in the United States and an undergraduate student.

4 comments:

Phillip BeverlyApr 3, 2015, 9:42:00 PM
Holy audio smoking gun Batman! Do you mean that there is actually an audio recording of a university president making the remarks that are quoted in the press release? Well surely the board will terminate his contract now. Or has the embarrassment not reached the threshold of intolerable. I am sure an economist could design an econometric model that would show how many students the university loses every time its administration does something stupid like this. Maybe that's why this regime eliminated the Economics degree, minor, department and faculty.
Enough already!
ReplyDelete
Replies
Concerned FacultyApr 3, 2015, 10:59:00 PM
No one should speak to a student that way.

He ought to resign immediately.
ReplyDelete
Replies
TeacherApr 4, 2015, 3:27:00 PM
This is truly outlandish. Mr. Watson should resign from his current
'Curb owning' venture. What a creepy thing to do to a student. It is now a wonder that the Board is not calling publicly for Watson's departure, say on Monday morn g.
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Thanks to Haki Madhabuti

"1. He/she must be a scholar of national note, with significant peer review publications and books in his or her field. There must be no doubt as to his/her standing in the community of scholars. This would also include a history of the candidate’s participation in the appropriate professional organizations.

2. He/she must have served with distinction as the administrative head of a major unit within an institution of higher learning or at the important position of Provost and/or Dean. Of course, prior service at the presidential level is preferred.

3. He/she must have a documented history of raising significant monies from the private and public sectors. At most major and research one universities it is not unusual to expect the president to come with a plan to raise in excess of half a billion dollars or more in the first few years.

4. The prospective president must have a consensus buy-in from the faculty, students, administration and staff, therefore, arriving with a unity mandate to lead by joining a University community that has bought into his or her vision for the future."

From an open letter to the CSU Community, 2009.