Sports v Quality ? -University of Colorado President Elizabeth Hoffman resigned

Discussion in 'Accreditation Discussions (RA, DETC, state approva' started by Lerner, Mar 7, 2005.

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  1. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050307/ap_on_re_us/university_president

    An independent commission reported last year that Colorado players used sex, alcohol and marijuana as recruiting tools.



    By JON SARCHE, Associated Press Writer

    DENVER - University of Colorado President Elizabeth Hoffman resigned Monday amid a football recruiting scandal and a national controversy over an activist professor who compared victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to a notorious Nazi.

    Hoffman, who has been president for five years, told the Board of Regents in a letter that her resignation is effective June 30 or whenever the board names a successor.

    "It appears to me it is in the university's best interest that I remove the issue of my future from the debate so that nothing inhibits CU's ability to successfully create the bright future it so deserves," Hoffman wrote.

    An independent commission reported last year that Colorado players used sex, alcohol and marijuana as recruiting tools.

    And in February, administrators took the first steps toward a possible dismissal of professor Ward Churchill, who likened World Trade Center victims to Nazi Adolf Eichmann.

    In an interview with The Associated Press, Hoffman said her decision to resign would give her time to help the university resolve the controversies.
     
  2. italiansupernova

    italiansupernova New Member

    I don't think one could call it a "Sports vs Quality" issue because sports programs, particularly good ones, can bring in a heck of a lot of money for colleges and universities. Not only for the institutions themselves, but also for local businesses especially hotels & restaurants.

    I simply look at it as some people that just made some bad, VERY bad decisions. I agree that what happened should have never taken place, however, there is good to come of it. The NCAA will most likely keep a closer eye on things to prevent such instances from occurring again & I speculate that they will hold institutions under much more scrutiny in the future.
     
  3. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    I simply look at it as some people that just made some bad, VERY bad decisions.

    I agree.

    But I disagree on the quality issue.

    I think quality is a mark of integrity and ethics among other things.

    How financial profiting is deferent from selling diplomas or cheating on exams.

    There is no room for such illegal activities.

    In my humble opinion, this is as bad as KW- U unethical business conduct.

    As we criticize ITU or others I don’t see them engage in such shameful activities.

    Learner
     
  4. italiansupernova

    italiansupernova New Member

    How financial profiting is deferent from selling diplomas or cheating on exams.

    I'm assumming that what you mean is how is financial profiting different from selling diplomas or cheating on exams.

    Football programs can be a lifeblood of a university. There is massive income that can come from having a nationally competitive athletic program particularly at the NCAA Division 1-A level.

    Think about this hypothetical situation. You're an apple farmer. You come upon an apple tree and the first 5 apples you pick are just rotten to the core. Would you then assume that the whole tree was bad and just burn it? Of course not because somewhere in that tree are some quality apples. I use this as a metaphor for the University of Colorado scandal. You simply CANNOT label the entire university as being of poor quality simply because of one incident.

    Here is an excerpt taken from the address listed plagiarism.org:
    A study by The Center for Academic Integrity found that almost 80% of college students admit to cheating at least once.

    According to a survey by the Psychological Record 36% of undergraduates have admitted to plagiarizing written material.

    Based on my understanding of your post there are a whole lot of colleges & universities out there that are of poor quality.

    If I misunderstood your post, I'll retract it post relavent thoughts to your clarification.

    G'day.
     
  5. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    I think that if there were 5 rotten apples I wouldn’t have a problem.

    If the farmer knowingly would sell to me the rotten apples what
    else I can trust that he will try to cheat me with.
    To me these things are connected.
    I do understand the importance of the economy.

    So why not sell five faulty airplanes, or cars or tires.
    President of the University resigns over what?

    This is integrity and ethics issue that is in the CORE of the process.
    If economics can compromises Institutional integrity – policy makers make a choice to conduct and engage in illegal and unethical practice then how can they be intrusted with academic integrity?

    Learner
     
  6. italiansupernova

    italiansupernova New Member

    It seemed to me that you labeled the ENTIRE university as unethical which is untrue because it was only within the athletic department (for the most part). You can't call professors, students, etc. unethical just because they are part of a university that went through a scandal. That's unfair to the students.

    Colorado may indeed have many problems which, yes, will tar the image of the entire university, but that's the case with anything. A celebrity who was formerly a drug addict will always have that label stuck with him/her years after they have cleaned up. It's very likely that a soon-to-be Colorado graduate will hear "Hey, that's the school that had that big scandal isn't it?". That I have no doubts about. However, that does not mean that the student received a subpar education or otherwise.
     
  7. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

     
  8. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

     

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