Two days ago University of Louisville president Jim Ramsey didn’t know anything about a potentially fraudulent Ph.D. awarded to Robert Felner crony John Deasy. But now he knows everything and is able to say that UofL broke no rules?
Haha. Wait for it.
Yesterday Ramsey wrote a letter to the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools that said, “we do not believe any violations have occurred.” And then in interviews UofL spokespeople say he was referring to possible violations of residency requirements for doctoral candidates. Ha.
Head spinning yet? Here comes the good part.
But writing yesterday to the commission’s president, Belle Wheelan, Ramsey noted that in 2007, U of L carved out an exception to the agency’s rule.
The exception allows graduate students to transfer more credits “under the rarest of circumstances” when, for example, a faculty member transfers to U of L and brings a graduate student with him.
In his letter, Ramsey said it would appear that the doctoral degree awarded by U of L to Deasy, who had studied under Felner at the University of Rhode Island, “may be reflective of this rare exception … permissible with the approval of the graduate dean, which was given in this case.”
Wheelan was not in her office yesterday and said by e-mail that she could not comment on Ramsey’s letter.
The letter says that the degree was awarded in 2007, when university records show it was in fact conferred in 2004; Inman said that may have been a typographical error.
So Ramsey created some “rare exception” that no one else knew about. And he makes up dates on the fly (like 2007 is really a typo, come on).
He’s totally stepping on his you-know-what here. There’s nothing else that can be said.
Now for the Robert Felner excitement.
Scott C. Cox said there was no connection between the contract and Felner’s efforts to help the doctoral student, John Deasy, win his Ph.D.
No, no connection at all between $375,000 and a doctorate in four months. It would be wrong to think such a thing about a man who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from the federal government and the University of Louisville (he admits he’s paying it back, obviously he stole it).
Cox noted that Deasy had worked on his doctorate for five years before that at the University of Rhode Island.
“It is regrettable that Dr. Deasy has been tainted by what is essentially a false allegation against Dr. Felner, and it is even more regrettable that the U of L has been tainted in any way, because it did nothing wrong,” he said.
A spade’s a spade. False accusations? Look at the hundreds of official documents I’ve published from open records requests at the University of Louisville. Look at Felner’s own history over the past three decades that encompasses losing jobs and being forced out for this very same crap.
51 responses so far ↓
1 ed // Sep 13, 2008 at 11:37 am
Bobby….keep on talking, Man….we love it!!! As for Ramsey…it seems the guy lies awake at night coming up with new and better ways to make himself look like an idiot.
Keep it up, Jim, it’s working just fine. Here’s an idea….write a letter saying there never was a No Child Left Behind grant, and this whole thing is one HUGE misunderstanding. Oh, and add that you’ll probably rehire Bobby when all this is cleared up.
2 alan harbig // Sep 13, 2008 at 12:31 pm
I’m really over this “Ramsey crap,” to steal a line from the University’s Liar-in-Chief. (Why don’t we start calling anything he says that’s questionable “Ramsey crap?”)
At least if Jim and Shirley were trying to cover up their actions, they would be competent enough to get the damn years right on an letter to the accrediting agency!
Some thoughts:
1. Perhaps parents of U of L students should hold a vote of no confidence.
2. Failing that, it would be interesting to see if we could start a grassroots campaign of parents of U of L students to petition the governor and the Board of Trustees (maybe electronically) to remove both the president and the provost.
I’m not trying to overlook the power of the students, but let’s face it, the parents have the money and the power.
Reactions?
3 wc // Sep 13, 2008 at 12:56 pm
U of L carved out an exception to the agency’s rule? ” The exception allows graduate students to transfer more credits ‘under the rarest of circumstances’ when, for example, a faculty member transfers to U of L and brings a graduate student with him.”
Blaine, AJ, Bill Pierce: WHO is UofL here? This aspect of the Deasy case is key to your investigation of this case. If this policy was written by some moronic committee, it is a problem. If decided by Bob Ronau trying to save his skin, we got a proble. If it is more Ramsey crap, we got a biiiiiig problem.
Committee: Please look into why Mr. Deasy, er, oops, DR. Deasy, does not put URI on his resume. What happened while he was there at RI? There is something mysterious about his time there. What years was he there? If there was a gap between his studies at RI and his “time” at UofL, then this case does not fit even the “rarest of circumstances” of the new policy.
4 beenfollowing // Sep 13, 2008 at 1:13 pm
I looked at the Deasy academic record as presented in these discussions. At looks like with his 9 hours of U of L credit, he still hasn’t taken the 90 minimum for a degree from the CEHD. Perhaps it’s my mistake and I missed some. Also, we don’t have the official transcripts. However, if I’m correct, then there had to also be a rare exception for getting a doctorate with less that the published requirements.
5 ed // Sep 13, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Aside from what he put in the letter, what’s he doing writing it at all??? You set up a committee to look into the situation, then write a letter the next day? Drawing conclusions about things they will no doubt look closely at, and make their own determinations about? And all before they’ve even had a chance to even START looking into the situation???? Who the hell does that?
Makes Waiting for Godot seem sensible.
6 Whatajoke! // Sep 13, 2008 at 1:33 pm
John Deasy: Why rare exception was made? Because this guy paid over $375 thousand dollars to Felner’s center? Can President and Porvost give us some other examples of rarest exceptions? Is there another person in the university who was ever given a doctorate under rarest exception? If not, why Felner’s client?
It seems President has something to hide or he is just plain stupid. He established the committee. Wait for committee’s findings, Mr. President before writing the letter to the accrediting agency. What is the rush? Are you trying to coverup Felner? What he knows about you and the provost? Why are you so scared, Jim? Calm down.
7 Whocares // Sep 13, 2008 at 1:39 pm
As a former student, I am extremely disappointed. What is going on at UofL? I can’t believe how stupid these highly educated people can behave. If a Dean and President behave like this, what to expect from others. I am truly saddened.
8 Give us a break // Sep 13, 2008 at 2:19 pm
In addition to the usual residency requirement, there is also a requirement of at least 45 credit hours earned at UofL in order to be awarded a doctorate. This has been a Graduate School policy for years. Even if an exception was made for the residency requirement, the 45 credit hour requirement still stands and has to be met.
As has been noted more than once by other bloggers, what’s the purpose of appointing a committee to investigate if you are going to immediately move ahead with a letter to an accrediting body claiming your innocence?
If this is how Ramsey has operated as president of UofL, he has always been incompetent, out-of-touch, and a great liability. Now, it appears he wants to prove it to the public.
Instead of trying to find out how all of this mess was allowed to occur, Ramsey continues to do whatever he can to cover up. How about looking at the actions of Felner’s “leadership” team and remove them from the positions they have abused? Who do you think aided Felner in getting around every rule and policy that he could possibly violate, Dr. Ramsey (other than you and Shirley, of course)?
The awarding of doctoral degrees in CEHD is overseen by the very incompetent Bob Ronau who is incapable of forming an intelligent sentence or forming a productive working relationship with any other human being. He has mimicked his boss in terms of being rude and cruel to those who have had to struggle to work with him.
Let’s use this mess as a chance to make some productive changes instead of trying and trying and trying and trying to cover up. All of Felner’s supporters remain in their administrative offices, earning their inflated administrative salaries, and performing their job duties incompetently.
CLEAN HOUSE!
9 Changing Rules Again // Sep 13, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Well stated Give us a break.
I hope the committee will also be able to justify the equivalency between the course work and degree program at URI and the degree awarded at the UofL.
Losership team, do everyone a favor and finally do the right thing, STEP DOWN.
10 wc // Sep 13, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Surely Blake will assist the Losership Team in stepping down after the NCATE visitonly one month away. It won’t happen before then.
11 Judy // Sep 13, 2008 at 4:15 pm
We’re supposed to believe that “Dr.” John Deasy doesn’t know that he has a bogus Ph.D? Yeah, right.
12 ChangeAgent // Sep 13, 2008 at 4:41 pm
If the “exception” rule really was written in 2007, what do you want to bet it was because they found out about Felner’s student and in retrospect decided to cover their butts. In other words, I’ll bet they’ve known about Deasy for more than a year!
13 Whocares // Sep 13, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Was this rare exception made only for Felner’s friend who contributed $375,000? What about others? What a nonsense!
14 Whocares // Sep 13, 2008 at 9:40 pm
WC: I hope you are correct. I am not that optimistic. Blake is also a part of this losership team. He is President’s close friend? He does not know what to do. He will not dare to stand up against the losership team. What has he accomplished so far?
15 Verydisappointed // Sep 13, 2008 at 9:45 pm
I am extremely disappointed with President’s comments. Could he simply remain silent. Every time he speaks he proves himself incompetent. Could he wait to hear from the committee, before writing to the accrediting agency.
16 beenfollowing // Sep 13, 2008 at 10:44 pm
His ability and motivation to spin was best displayed when he communicated that the faculty senate supported his work, that he had the best interest of the University foremost in his plans. However an examination of the complete letter from the outgoing chair shows that this was a preamble to a more forceful tone. Beth did not mean what Ramsey later relayed and he took her words out of context.
Really, this is becoming more than just spin; it’s becoming a lie, something we are taught not to do in kindergarten
.
17 Novena // Sep 13, 2008 at 11:29 pm
“The Animal Farm at Belknap”
Good to be back, and I thank Break, ed, et al., for all their wise comments.
Just two questions right now:
(1) JR, it’s a simple truism: Don’t put the horse before the cart, i.e., let the damn committee (that you yourself picked out) investigate the Deasy case before you send any pre-ordained “answers” to the accreditors. Gettin’ nervous, Jimbo?
(2) JR, learn the big lesson from Watergate: Any cover-up causes more trouble then the actual crime. (Maybe you should learn more political science from Mitch and Anne.)
P.S. To quote Orwell, “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutinary act.”
18 Novena // Sep 14, 2008 at 5:44 am
“Confusin’ Mess Gets Me Confused”
In comment #17, I meant: JR, don’ t put the cart before the horse. After reading JR’s “prose” and that of our PR Dept., I am beginning to adopt dizziness as a normal state of mind. Sorta like JR sending his letter before any decision has been made. Sorry, denizens of the animal farm.
19 wc // Sep 14, 2008 at 8:21 am
TO THE DEASY CASE INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE: When exactly was Deasy admitted to UofL? Did he come ABD? In other words, did he take qualifying exams at URI or some other place? Or did he take exams at UofL? Who evaluated them? Did his (apparently hastily formed) UofL dissertation committee actually approve his study design? If so, where is the documentation for this? (There is supposed to be a hearing to approve the design of the study.) And if so, where is documentation for IRB human subjects review? If there was no proposal hearing, was this omission approved by CEHD Associate Dean for Research Bob Ronau, who is supposed to approve all such things? Approved by Graduate School Dean Atlas? What else did Atlas approve? And why did he do it?
20 ed // Sep 14, 2008 at 8:30 am
“Everybody In The Pools!!”
I’m thinking it won’t be long before pools start popping up around this mess. The first will be how long Bobby’s sentence will be. Guess we have to wait to see the charges before that one gets going. The second will be Ramsey’s last day in office. My guess there would be 6….possibly 7….minutes after Bobby’s case is finalized.
21 Novena // Sep 14, 2008 at 10:17 am
“UofL Dragnet: Danger Ahead?”
wc, you’re like Sergeant Friday on the Deasy case: “Just the facts, ma’am.” If you were on JR’s “investigating” committee, the case would already be solved. Indeed, we will need a huge dragnet for this whole UofL mess. (Bigger than the canopy for the honchos’ barbecues before Card games.) Who knows all that will be unearthed if the inquiry is just and true? BTW, what’s with the sheep-like Faculty Senate on this?
P.S. ed, are you talking about betting pools in Louisville, Urbana-Champaign, Kingston, Auburn, New Haven, Vegas, or Ireland?
22 Flag // Sep 14, 2008 at 10:30 am
beenfollowing: your statement about Beth’s words beign taken out of context is correct.
The 9 UofL hours credited to Deasy probably is just the dissertation research hours, not regular course hours. I have to admit it is quite a “happening here” thing to see a Ph.D. awarded by a school that did not participate in the management of the student’s learning and which did not monitor his/her classroom performance and qualifying exams. I suspect SACS hasn’t heard of too many institutions that practice their craft in this manner either.
If this is Ramsey’s plan to achieve the scorecard’s goal of increasing the number of Ph.D. graduates, we’ve got a winner. Just think of how many ABD’s are ready to knock on UofL’s door.
If I were a grad student who was limited to the typical 6 hours of transfer credits, I believe I might petition for an exception under Ramsey “rule”; might even file a grievance. How could they say no?
23 ed // Sep 14, 2008 at 10:47 am
Novena,
All of the above, and they’ll probably dwarf Super Bowl pools. In fact….I hear they’re already laying odds if Vegas.
24 Bagwiz // Sep 14, 2008 at 11:36 am
There is more to check out on John Deasy than his doctorate. On his resume he claims to have taught chemistry, calculus, physics and english at the high school level. He claims to have been a high school principal in two counties. He claims to have been a director of personnel and an assistant superintendent. All of this supposedly happened from the time he graduated college until around 1996, when he became the Superintendent of the Coventry School District in Rhode Island.
I figure he somehow pulled all of this off in fifteen years. That’s pretty impressive. Interestingly, no names of schools or districts are given so there is no way to verify he actually held all of these jobs.
As for the doctorate scam, I find it interesting that no one has noted how Deasy dissertation used data and results obtained from the surveys he bought through the U of L with $375,000 of Santa Monica taxpayers’ money. That’s right, the money Deasy directed toward Felner was used to conduct research in Samta Monida that was later used in Deasy’s dissertation.
People might also be interested to know that it has long been known Mr./Dr. Deasy has his sights set on the post of Secretary of Education in an Obama White House. People are kidding themselves if they think he came to Prince George County because he wanted to make a difference for the students there. Instead, he came for three reasons:
1. PGC is a stone’s throw from Washington DC.
2. PGC is a huge district and anyone who runs it automatically has a political advantage in terms of being “seen” by the Washington elite.
3. PGC is paying him a lot of money. Everyone keeps talking about his $275,000 salary but NO ONE is looking at the value of his total compensation package. This is a man who negotiates HUGE car allowances, living allowances, tax xheltered retirement stipends, benefits and much, much more. I would not be surprised if his total compensation package is in excess of $400,000.
On a final note, as bad as all of this scandal seems and probably is, I’ll bet one and all that Mr./Dr. Deasy lands squarely on his feet and all the mud just runs off him like nothing ever happened. He’s a master of spin and people fall for it time and time again. School Boards appear to be the most easily deceived of all.
25 le gardien // Sep 14, 2008 at 11:46 am
novena: “BTW, what’s with the sheep-like Faculty Senate on this? ”
Surely you are not surprised by this; I would be downright shocked if they made some serious waves, so to speak.
Even worse in my opinion is the apathy or incompetence or (i wish i could find a proper adjective here) of the so called “independent” student newspaper. They are sleeping through all this, reporting on all the sports & “happenings” on campus. while a national story passes by under their noses…
In the scientific arena, a PhD dissertation usually generates one or more publications in a refereed journal. In some departments, it’s a requirement. So does anybody know whether the Deasy dissertation was peer reviewed???
Finally there is the absurdity of the blue ribbon committee reporting to SW & JR. I believe that the faculty grievance committee was made up of earnest people committed to giving their time to see that justice was served. There was no glory in this, no publications, no tailgate parties, no kickoff lunches, etc. About as much glory as refereeing a hockey game. At some deliberations there were times I felt that a “hockey game might break out”–as Yogi Berra might say. AJ was the chair of this committee & she knows better than anybody else of what “happens” after the committees rendered their reports. The rest of rarely found out the end of the story. I fear that the only proper action at this time was mentioned a few blogs ago–CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE & LIGHT A FIRE UNDER HIM/HER; our politicians recognize written comments from constituents…
26 jake // Sep 14, 2008 at 11:48 am
In case anyone is still confused, just a clarification about what a “blog” is.
This website is a “blog”
The stories on this site are “posts”
The comments left on this site are “comments”
27 le gardien // Sep 14, 2008 at 11:55 am
Jake: Thanks for enlightening me–my comment should be “mentioned on this blog in the comments of a few posts ago”
Please pardon me, but i am truly a rookie at this. I learned about this only after that Ramsey letter sent to groupwise accounts this summer. I went ‘googling’ for news on what he was talking about as i was 2500 miles away. I discovered this site (i mean blog) Jake, as the best damn source out there. I truly admire your pursuit of justice here. And I checked out many. For real, I never did this sort of thing before…
28 jake // Sep 14, 2008 at 12:09 pm
le gardien: was just trying to throw a few terms out there to help folks new to the site have a better understanding of the lingo.
29 JCPS Teacher // Sep 14, 2008 at 12:49 pm
I know this is a tangent, but I’m still stuck on the Superintendent Berman/Stiglitz affair. Does Berman have a taxpayer provided phone? Has anyone looked at his side of the phone conversations and e-mails? I’m wondering if there’s more to Felner’s connection with all these higher muckity-mucks than just money and power–like sexcapades, perhaps!? Are Felner, et al. swingers?
30 Novena // Sep 14, 2008 at 1:14 pm
“While UofL Sleeps”
le gardien, for a “rookie” commenter, you make some good points. I’m not really surprised by the sheep-like response of the Faculty Senate. Faculty governance has been a mockery here for years–and the Bobby situation (something the faculty should rally around to fight) has shown it for its typical lame self. As for the undergrads, they are not expected (as transients to the scene) to be so involved, though they ideally should be. I expect that they are more concerned with the beer and circus that the campus encourages, rather than thinking about the total dismantling of UofL’s integrity as an academic institution. And it is going on right before our eyes day after day after day. Has the campus become anaesthetized to absurd anti-academic, unethical behavior? Keep on sleeping and we all die.
31 blowin' in the wind // Sep 14, 2008 at 2:18 pm
jcps teacher….. the jcps connection is not a side issue. Two senior administrators, Marty Bell and Bill Eckels went to Ramsey with Steve Daeschner to defend Felner in 2006. Bill Exkels gave Felner a $50,000 contract out of the Wallace Foundation grant for a paper on the principalship that appears not to have been worth the paper it was printed on. No one has yet called them to account and looked closely at why two Felner-like administrators are still causing havoc at JCPS!
32 Novena // Sep 14, 2008 at 3:34 pm
“Signs of Hope?”
I thank Joe Petrosko for having the good sense (more than I can say for JR) to step down from the “investigating” committee.
I am glad that A. J. Moorman is now on it. She is quite judicious. Indeed, I think she had the most rational, thoughtful comment in the two-month history of the Felner saga on this blog (i.e., her reflective rebuttal to Sam). Go, A.J.
P.S. The “audacity of hope” on the UofL campus? I know it seems a stretch, but never deprive us of hope. It’s all we have.
33 UofHell Escapee // Sep 14, 2008 at 8:09 pm
After reading Bagwiz’s very interesting comments I took a closer look at the Deasy dissertation this afternoon. And it’s interesting to note that on page 34 he writes:
“Research began in the summer of 1998 and concluded in the fall of 2002.”
So the research was completed BEFORE he was even admitted to the UofHell. This is not really surprising because the abstract of the dissertation (on page “v”) has the date May 2003.
The significance of this is that:
(1) There is nothing that I’ve seen in the dissertation that would indicate that it was written or even revised in 2004. There is one reference to a work published 2000, but most of the “recent” references come from the mid-to-late 1990s. The indications are that the dissertation was likely completed on or around the May 2003 date (as listed in the abstract). Which makes one wonder if the dissertation was submitted to URI and was not accepted (e.g., Deasy failed his defense). If this is the case, there’s the motivation for Deasy not listing his graduate study in Rhode Island on his vita.
(2) If the research was completed (and the dissertation written), what exactly did the dissertation committee do? Someone should as Petrosko, Mahony, Ronau, Kolander what exactly happened on that committee. How could this committee have operated in any traditional sense of a dissertation committee if the research was already completed before the student was even in the program? What did they read? How could approve a dissertation based on research that was conducted BEFORE the student was in the program? (Or has the UofHell taken the “give credit for past experiences” approach to graduate education?)
(3) Most importantly how could the UofHell IRB give ethics/human subjects research approval to a study that was conducted BEFORE a student was even enrolled in the university? And even if IRB approval was given in this case, how could it be rationally justified?
The UofHell Office of Research Integrity’s policy on “Scientific and Scholarly Merit” notes external legal and ethical requirements and then states:
“To determine that the approach is sound and the research design will yield valid results, research projects involving human subjects and conducted by University of Louisville faculty, staff, or students, or for which the University is responsible, will be reviewed PRIOR (my emphasis) to its initiation… (http://research.louisville.edu/researchintegrity/policies-and-procedures.html).
So, how could: (a) this policy be followed if the research was already conducted; or (b) if it known by the committee that the research was already completed and had ethics/human subjects research from another university, why the heck is/was the committee acting like Deasy’s dissertation was the normal, run of the mill UofHell disseration? And, that makes the Deasy’s exclusion of his Rhode Island graduate work even more problematic.
34 HowardWCampbelljr // Sep 15, 2008 at 1:31 am
UofHE has some valid points, however, every university has the option of allowing the use of existing data for a dissertation. The problem is that I do not believe that Felner/Deasy had a IRB approval on record at UofL.
35 Novena // Sep 15, 2008 at 6:06 am
“Bobby=Nixon?”
As Tricky Dick used to say, the law doesn’t apply to the President. Substitute “dean” for President and one might discover why the rules could’ve been “softened” in the Deasy case. And Nixon’s underlings (like Herr Bob’s) had the groveling habit of just taking orders and following them. Mein, what an ethos in UofL Fatherland.
P.S. For Mitch & Anne: Your W. ignores the law
even more than Nixon did (and the public sleeps–sorta like 1930s Germany).
36 ed // Sep 15, 2008 at 9:02 am
I received Google Alerts overnight and read more stories on all this. Pretty much everything we already know. In one of the stories, they again mention the fact that the investigation includes looking into the purchase of “illegal merchandise.”
I know I brought this up a couple of weeks ago, and Jake theorized it meant the houses, cars and other toys he bought using grant money.
Still….I don’t know. It just feels to me that the term itself….in that adjective/noun kinda way….implies something else entirely.
I know we don’t know yet, so I’m not really asking for an answer. But I’m more than a little intrigued by what it could possibly mean.
At this point, not too much will surprise me.
37 ed // Sep 15, 2008 at 9:15 am
The news is reporting how hard Louisville got hit by the storm. I hope you’re all ok and came through it without too much damage.
38 Novena // Sep 15, 2008 at 9:20 am
“Hurricane Jimbo”
ed, UofL is in session, despite 60% of Louisville being in disastrous condition. Oh, that’s right–the campus is in even more calamitous condition (if one speaks academically, morally, and spiritually). So, the “search for truth” goes on.
39 ed // Sep 15, 2008 at 9:28 am
Novena,
I read that this morning. Just like everything that’s come out of that place in the last couple of months, I find it unbelievable.
40 jake // Sep 15, 2008 at 9:50 am
Goods/merchandise/materials/whatever.
Everything Felner has purchased since he’s stolen whatever money (or whatever it is he’s done) is probably suspect.
I think you’re reading too much into that angle of the story. Just hold your horses and we’ll eventually know all the details. Just gotta wait for law enforcement to do its job and for Felner’s attorney to spin things and figure out a way for him not to spend a million years in prison. Then all the facts will come out.
41 ed // Sep 15, 2008 at 10:04 am
I’m working on holding my horses and I do know we’ll learn it all in due time. Also, I guess I could be reading more into that phrase then is intended. Who knows, maybe in some dark recess of my mind I’m hoping they find he was a drug kingpin to boot!!!
I’m kidding.
But I do like the idea of a million years in prison. That feels just about close to fair.
All that said….and I promise I won’t bring it up again….but given that the feds are always so careful in their choice of words during an investigation, I just can’t help being piqued by the use of that particular term.
Horses held.
42 UofHell Escapee // Sep 15, 2008 at 11:31 am
HowardWCampbelljr, you’re confusing secondary analysis of existing data—data that has been collected in ways consistent with various ethical guidelines) and an original research study with the imprimatur of a university, which fails to comply with the legal and ethic standards that imprimatur supposedly guarantees.
And, Deasy does not present his dissertation research as analysis of existing data but as a collection of original case studies. Read the dissertation.
43 At UofL // Sep 15, 2008 at 11:48 am
Forcing faculty, staff and students to work today while Louisville is the middle of storm clean up, repairing our homes, cars, no gas, food or electricity for most in the city are more examples of the total lack of humanitarian concern from the UofL Administration.
44 ed // Sep 15, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Escapee,
Is there any way to read his dissertation on line?
45 Novena // Sep 15, 2008 at 12:49 pm
“Brownie=Jimbo?”
Note these rich comparisons between them.
To quote Michael Brown, the infamous ex-FEMA director in the aftermath of Katrina: “Anything specific I need to do or tweak? Do you know of anyone who dog-sits?”
To quote Jimbo on various aspects of the Felner mess:
“(On the Deasy case) we do not believe any violations have occurred.”
“You (Felner) have done an incredible job here, and I a deeply indebted.”
Most of the complaints against Felner were “anonymous crap.”
P.S. This quote from ex-Gov. Kathleen Blanco (LA) on Katrina sums up our current UofL crisis: “The situation is untenable. It’s just heartbreaking.” Give it up, Jimbo.
46 UofHell Escapee // Sep 15, 2008 at 3:24 pm
If you have access to the Dissertation Abstracts database (say through a university library) you can download a full-text pdf of Deasy’s dissertation.
47 ed // Sep 15, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Thanks, Escapee.
48 HowardWCampbelljr // Sep 15, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Escapee, you make my point. There are means by which existing data can be made into a dissertation and it is the IRB that makes those decisions. There is none for Felner/Deasy. Also, don’t you mean approbation instead of imprimatur. I don’t think that UofHell has been a religious organization for over 125 to 150 year.
49 UofHell Escapee // Sep 16, 2008 at 1:01 am
I reckon either term works.
But now that you mention it, UofHell seems me to have much in common with religious organizations, e.g., irrationalism.
irrationalism |iˈra sh ənlˌizəm|
noun
a system of belief or action that disregards or contradicts rational principles.
imprimatur |ˌimprəˈmätər; -ˈmātər|
noun
an official license by the Roman Catholic Church to print an ecclesiastical or religious book.
• [in sing. ] a person’s acceptance or guarantee that something is of a good standard : the original LP enjoyed the imprimatur of the composer.
approbate |ˈaprəˌbāt|
verb [ trans. ] rare
approve formally; sanction : a letter approbating the affair.
50 Novena // Sep 16, 2008 at 6:09 am
“Irrationality Almost Pays”
Escapee, you’re so spot on, especially on irrationality. The UofHell crew must have learned this quote from Scott Adams in kindergarten: “Nothing defines humans better than their willingness to do irrational things in the pursuit of phenomenally unlikely payoffs.”
Yet Bobby made it a likely payoff for 30 years until his insane world went CABOOM. Nor is Jimbo doin’ so badly in the wallet for doin’ a Brownie-like job.
P.S. Anne & Mitch, your W. has had a phenomental career, too–for an irrational imbecile.
51 Kentucky: Felner Speaks, Ramsey Has Foot-in-Mouth Disease // Feb 13, 2009 at 8:25 pm
[...] PageOneKentucky.com: Felner Speaks, Ramsey Has Foot-in-Mouth Disease [...]
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