Thursday, February 28, 2013

Wayne Watson--Conspiracy Theorist

There are no depths to which Wayne Watson will not sink in his desperate attempt to stave off a well-earned termination. Today, I came into possession of a letter Watson reportedly sent to the Board of Trustees “about importance (sic) matters that led up to my request for an administrative sabbatical.”

The letter combines vile personal attacks with numerous allegations against a variety of persons: two members of the Board of Trustees, the Chicago State University Provost and the president of the Faculty Senate. Because some of the letter’s content seems libelous, I will not post it. Rather, I will provide a summary of its major points.

Watson claims that the “chair and vice chair of the board” improperly involved themselves in the internal affairs of the university and provides several examples of that involvement. He claims that he has e-mails to prove his allegations and that “members of the Administration have agreed to give sworn testimony to the truth of these statements.” In his estimation, this is the primary reason the Board wishes to remove him from the presidency.

He then moves on to the Provost and assigns responsibility for the 2011 enrollment scandal to her, claiming that “the General Counsel was prepared to explain her role in facilitating the policy directive that allowed hundreds of students to continue to enroll and receive federal and state aid while not meeting published academic standards.” He also made other claims regarding Dr. Westbrook’s truthfulness that he provided no evidence to support.

Watson saves his most vituperative attack for Faculty Senate President Philip Beverly. He begins by accusing Dr. Beverly of “using the majority of his classroom time to seek to organize students against the changes that led to the turnaround at the University rather than covering the curriculum approved by his department and paid for by students and taxpayers.” His next accusations sound libelous and do not deserve to be repeated. Watson then goes on to claim that the Senate’s no confidence vote is not supported by the Chicago State Faculty and that the 28 Senators who voted for the motion did so because they were “under Dr. Beverly’s control.”

Watson concludes his pleading by asking the Trustees (save for the Chair and Vice Chair) to “help me continue the mandate to transform the University.”

When the document is boiled down to its essence, Watson is implying that members of the Board, the Provost, and the Senate President are all conspiring against him for a variety of personal reasons. As has been the case with all the “defenses” of this president, Watson’s document contains no affirmative portrayal of his administration or its accomplishments and its argument is primarily Ad hominem.

Hopefully, this man will be discharged tomorrow.

1 comment:

  1. Bullshit. An incredibly well documented indictment was prepared against the failed ex president by the faculty, staff and student body of the University. I am proud to have been part of the prosecution on this case.

    The Board of Trustees looked over the evidence and reached the only possible verdict.

    ReplyDelete