Dear Editor,
Yesterday's Washington Post reads that the Board of Trustees have been negotiating a new contract with Dr. Benjamin Ladner to bring the now infamous University President back to campus, stating that it, "would include compensation of about $800,000 for Ladner and a salary for his wife, Nancy Ladner, of at least $80,000."ÿ Let's ignore the fact that our university's president, who overlooks 11,000 students, makes double that of the President of the United States, who overlooks (for better or for worse), approximately 250,000,000 people.ÿ Let's ignore the fact that his wife will be paid $80,000 to be on his arm at all of his fancy parties (and Lord help us if any more of their children get engaged.) You want to talk money?ÿ Let's talk about the fact that I will not give a cent of money to this institution after I graduate if the trustees vote to reinstate Ladner.ÿ
I am a senior this year and had every intention of contributing in at least some small part to the school after I left.ÿ ÿ Now, I want what's mine returned to me.ÿ If the Board of Trustees is going to so flagrantly disregard the voices of the students, of the faculty, of the public, and of the facts- if they are so brazenly and unilaterally making their decision without taking into consideration the way the students- their bread and butter- feel, then they will have to deal with the consequences of no future donations, no future endowment, and no future alumni support.ÿ It disheartens me that this Board that is supposed to look out for own best interest has made me feel so apathetic to the University I used to love.ÿ If the Board allows Ladner to come back, then I will take my now lessened and cheapenedÿdegree in May, walk away, and not look back.ÿ
And my check book is coming with me.
Jen Piantedosi CAS, '06
Dear Editor,
I have been reading the stories about AU's embattled president, Ben Ladner thinking this is a bad movie in the making with bad acting. When I attended AU I like many, received some financial aid, but I also paid a lot of money out of my own pocket ( I am still paying ) to get what I thought at that time was a good education from a reputable institution.ÿ
I chose to attend AU because it seemed to be a well thought of school that offered its students a rewarding experience that prepared them for a competitive and challenging work place. When I finished attending AU and received my degree, I was offered no guidance on how to write a resume. I didn't even receive a letter from my guidance counselor asking me to stop by to talk about my experiences before I hit the road. The career resource center I walked into consisted of nothing more than piles of three-ring binders that contained mostly dated insurance sales job postings. I left feeling like both I and my money were taken.ÿ
Not soon afterwards, I began receiving solicitations from AU for money. After all, why would I not want to continue to drop money on a school that I was already in the habit of giving so much of my money to already? No matter how many times I tried to hide, to move away from them they found me, they called me, they sent me slick magazines, and requests for money, money, money. I moved every year for the first five years after I was out of school ( not by choice ) and they still found me. I have to give them credit for the job they do. They have better intelligence on people then the CIA does by far. Collection agencies do not do as good a job finding people as the AU alumni fundraisers do. The FBI and the CIA should take a lesson and outsource the job of tracking down its most wanted to AU's fundraising team. They find people better than anybody I know.
I was a student when Dr Berentzen was president and he was brought down by scandal. While this is much different, this is not at all unlike what has been regularly occurring in the news with Enron and Tyco. This is a classic case of greed gone wild on all levels with no one taking responsibility. If I, like most people who walk this earth submitted "questionable expenses" I could not justify at my job like Ben Ladner did I would not only be expected to reimburse those expenses, but I would be dismissed without reservation.ÿ
Ladner should resign, but he should not be the only one. Until you have boards that are held accountable, we will continue to see this pattern again and again of take the money and run. In the end, it was the boards' bright idea to go along with Ladner's "caviar induced" compensation package to begin with. This board needs to have their feet held to the fire as well. What were they thinking? Who knows? My congratulations to Ben Ladner and its board for screwing its shareholders ( the students ) and attaining publicity on the level of Tyco!
Curt Leger Class of 1991
Dear Editor,
As of May 2005, I was an alumni of American University. What spurred this commentary was a link that was sent to me by a fellow alumnus, which redirected me to an online petition for the permanent removal of Ben Ladner, signed by 178 alumni. I did not sign this electronic petition, and I will state why below.ÿ
First and foremost, I must say that I do not approve in any way of the misappropriation of unversity funds by Ladner and his wife. In fact, their greed makes me sick. As an alum of AU who currently has almost $40,000 in loans to pay off, it infuriates me to know that our president, who makes $800,000 annually would choose to expense lavish dinners, bottles of wine, french chefs, and costly travel to the university. There is no dispute that Ladner was wrong, and that he should pay the consequences.ÿ
The issue that I have with petitions like the one my friend sent me is this: AU students are notorious for complaining about their school, but don't take time to "smell the roses" so to speak--and there are many on our campus. I graduated from American University, a school that was a first-rated. rich kids party school (and little more) not more than a decade ago, and has since undergone a transformation into a top notch, world-class university. Sure AU might have a long way to go before it starts making Harvard and the rest of the Ivy's sweat, but what people must realize is that a transformation has certainly taken place, and someone is responsible for that.ÿ
I have read numerous articles about President Ladner's efforts to gain notoriety for American University. During his tenure as President, he has helped raise millions of dollars for the university and has constantly focused on expanding the network, and improving the image of our school. Can I testify that he was doing this for any other reason than to get increases in pay (which he received)? No. Did I ever shake Ladner's hand in the 4 years before graduation? No. Do I think that Ladner is the greatest president on earth? No. Did I feel upon graduation that in a decade, my degree was going to carry substantial weight in the future of my career? Most definitely. I believed this because I felt that Ladner was doing a good job improving American University as an educational institution, regardless of my personal distaste for his style or presence on campus.ÿ
In conclusion, I have to say that students have to remember what they are at American to accomplish. It is important to keep things in perspective. Try this on for size...I read somewhere that Ladner misappropriated something like $21,000. As a whole, that is an astronomical number, however if divided by the 6,000 students that attend AU (undergrads only), that is $3.50. I suggest that before we lead a revolution to have him banned from DC, lets just have him take a pay cut, pay back his debts to the university, and continue the relatively strong performance that he has put on while in charge the last decade. I do not tolerate unnecessary greed and outlandish spending among the wealthy people of society, but let's not let that get in the way of what's ultimately good for all of us.
Liam Darmody Class of 2005
