UNT Fires President...

[FirefightnRick]

http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/12/21/4503112/unt-regents-fire-president-of.html

.."accused him of sowing 'internal discord' by opposing a possible merger of the Fort Worth center and the main university campus in Denton....

..."didn't include the systems chancellor in discussions With Fort Worth community leaders about the merger"...

Rick

[FirefightnRick]

Dr. Scott fires back in today's Star Telegram.

..."-- Regents said Ransom didn't include the system chancellor in discussions with Fort Worth community leaders about the merger. "The letter is full of misstatements, factual errors and untruths," Ransom told regents, according to his presentation.

Ransom also struck back at claims in Wall's letter that he had "a personal agenda" to undermine a plan to centralize administrative and business services through a Business Services Center located in Denton.

Ransom told the regents that, far from improving services, the consolidation created slowdowns and, in one case, potentially dangerous conditions. Payroll was late, and electric and water bills weren't paid, he said in the presentation. In addition, the electronic medical records were shut down for two days, which he said could have affected patients.

Ransom said Jackson "exploded" when he learned that Ransom had asked his staff to assess the pros and cons of the consolidation and then submitted their findings to UNT system auditors.

"He was unbelievably angry and told me to pull the report from audit or I would be fired," Ransom said, according to the document. "Clearly, he did not like the results of the study and was trying to cover up the study.

"In my opinion, the chancellor was really angry because he knows that the document proves that he has been misstating the facts regarding the BSC to the regents and various state agencies."

Ransom told regents that Jackson takes disagreements personally and wanted him fired because he didn't appreciate Ransom's contrary opinions.

"Being fired for a difference of opinion is simply not acceptable," Ransom said, according to the document. "Being fired for creating a report that has conclusions different than the chancellor is not appropriate.

"Being fired for the strong opinions from the citizens of Fort Worth related to the merger proposal is not appropriate...."

Gee some of this sounds familiar doesn't it?






Rick

Edited January 4, 2013 by FirefightnRick

[Harry]

I really don't understand this Rick -- are you choosing Fr. Worth over your own alma maters best interest?

[greenminer]

woah, what?!

[oldguystudent]

Is that title not just a wee bit misleading?

[wardly]

Bottom line is that everyone works for somebody. Sometimes people forget that. When they do,they usually get fired,right or wrong.

[GreenBat]

Isn't this the guy that supports TCU on it's radio station and in the stadium. Don't understand the outrage because of his firing.

[FirefightnRick]

Have y'all forgotten the POS that runs half of our school? Mr. SMU Micromanager himself that has failed at every turn to do HIS JOB of getting our lousy law school off the ground?

I challenge you to find one person on campus that personally likes the guy.

Dr. Scott is highly respected and loved in Fort Worth and this dismissal took everyone by surprise.

Rick

[emmitt01]

I really don't understand this Rick -- are you choosing Fr. Worth over your own alma maters best interest?

Quite to the contrary. I think what Rick is pointing out is that Lee Jackson is being shown to be (allegedly) vindictive and hot headed about this whole thing. And, if the firing was the reault of a vendetta, it will open up our university to scrutiny and perhaps having to settle financially.

I can't say I've heard of any real strides or great benefits that Lee Jackson can hang his hat on.

[gksmith]

This is going to get really ugly.

[wardly]

Now that A&M has purchased TWU's law school,as a taxpayer I see no need for another public program in DFW.

[Harry]

Quite to the contrary. I think what Rick is pointing out is that Lee Jackson is being shown to be (allegedly) vindictive and hot headed about this whole thing. And, if the firing was the reault of a vendetta, it will open up our university to scrutiny and perhaps having to settle financially.

I can't say I've heard of any real strides or great benefits that Lee Jackson can hang his hat on.

I see it differently Emmitt - I see that the UNT Chancellor and the Board of Regents are trying very hard to get us Tier 1 Status and saw that merging the medical school with the flagship could help that cause. When they approached Ransom on this, instead of supporting their efforts, he sided with the City of Fort Worth who selfishly wants the medical school to remain separate from UNT even though it hurts UNT as a whole. It's not that I have a problem with UNTHC having a relationship with Fort Worth it's that when my school is trying to secure Tier 1 funding; and they truly believe merging UNTHSC with UNT could aid in that - then Ransom should have supported their efforts not undermined them. This is a classic case of, "now I'm too powerful for you to do anything to me." and I applaud the UNT BOR for having the stones to can him!

[DeepGreen]

Harry, when you say merge the medical school in Ft Worth with the main Denton campus, are you saying physically, as in building new facilities in Denton?

If correct, then I say close down and/or sell off UNT-Dallas and drop the law school plans. To late to the game. Concentrate on Denton.

[Harry]

This will give you the background Deep: http://inhouse.unt.edu/unt-system-proposes-merger-unt-and-unt-health-science-center

It's not merging facilities, it's integrating the health science program (UNTHSC) into an academic university (UNT). Right now they are two completely separate institutions under the UNT System umbrella.Here is a quote from Jackson on this.

"I asked UNT President Lane Rawlins and UNTHSC President Scott Ransom to collaborate in a review of some of the key questions. Together they have begun a series of staff work group meetings. Attached are the questions they will address initially before we determine if this proposal has merit in our System.

Other Texas universities are moving forward with their review of this concept, and it appears that some integration of health science programs into an academic university is likely in College Station and in Austin, if state funding formulas are adjusted next year to ensure existing programs do not lose funding due to an administrative change."

So it appears to be the direction being taken at UT and Texas A&M....Ransom didn't think it was the best for us...so instead of follow the direction of his board he undermined it and that is why he was fired.

[emmitt01]

I see it differently Emmitt - I see that the UNT Chancellor and the Board of Regents are trying very hard to get us Tier 1 Status and saw that merging the medical school with the flagship could help that cause. When they approached Ransom on this, instead of supporting their efforts, he sided with the City of Fort Worth who selfishly wants the medical school to remain separate from UNT even though it hurts UNT as a whole. It's not that I have a problem with UNTHC having a relationship with Fort Worth it's that when my school is trying to secure Tier 1 funding; and they truly believe merging UNTHSC with UNT could aid in that - then Ransom should have supported their efforts not undermined them. This is a classic case of, "now I'm too powerful for you to do anything to me." and I applaud the UNT BOR for having the stones to can him!

Reading Ransom's side of the story it appears he polled those who would be effected (good leadership IF true) and Lee Jackson became irate because he was met with anything other than rubber stamp approval. Whether this move would move us to Tier 1 status or not, it should give everyone pause that our chancellor demands a totalitarian atmosphere (again, if Ransom is telling the truth. Especially when he has done nothing to warrant absolute power.

[FirefightnRick]

So it appears to be the direction being taken at UT and Texas A&M....Ransom didn't think it was the best for us...so instead of follow the direction of his board he undermined it and that is why he was fired.

Doesn't sound like this was the case at all. Ransom was asked to look into it and, probably after years of dealing with the cluster up in Denton, just like we have all experienced through the years...with bills for the Health Science Center not being paid on time for electricity etc..an opposing opinion was given and the child in the room threw a fit.

And by the way, had we not sat on our hands and wasted our oppoortunity we would already have a law school with a facility and everything..when TWU approached us about buying theirs back in the early 2000's. I asked two BOR members after the deal fell through in the green room after a basketball game why we didn't jump on it and they said TWU wanted too much money, around $20 Million and some change. Now after spending that and more since, where's that UNT Law School now?

No, I think Ransom was all too familiar with the dealings in Denton and understands what was at stake and saw ahead what was coming and tried to prevent trouble before it occurred, or at least tried to offer another solution and someone in Dallas crapped the bed over it.

Rick