"The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones.ÿ So let it be with Caesar."
I fear that the words of Shakespeare's Marc Antony will soon ring true in the context of embattled AU President Ben Ladner.ÿ In the past week, I have received an e-mail petition to have Ladner fired or resign, seen 5 of 6 school faculties give him a vote of no confidence and seen a student protest staged.ÿ However, I question how many of the students, faculty and alumni have stopped to consider the good that Ladner has brought to AU.
When I first came to visit AU in the Summer of '95, AU had a business school that looked like it was about to crumble, a useless building called Cassell across the street that I never even entered in my 4 years at AU, a grassless IM field with some sort of toxic chemical beneath it, a few weights and workout machines located in racquetball courts in the Sports Center, no track (or track team for that matter) and a mediocre academic reputation at best.ÿ Now, AU has a new business school (as well as a new Ward building), a brand new Arts Center where Cassell used to be, a beautiful turf field hockey facility/softball field where the IM field used to be, the Jacobs Fitness Center, a track and a track team with five All-Americans in its first six years.
Furthermore, the academic standards have risen significantly.ÿ Admitted freshman in the Fall 1996 (my freshman year) had an average high school GPA of 3.22 and SAT score of 1201, and AU admitted approximately 79% of applicants.ÿ In contrast, the freshman admitted for this fall had an average GPA of 3.55 and SAT score of 1285, while AU admitted only 51% of applicants.ÿ Additionally this year, AU ranked 37th in the National Collegiate Scouting Association "power ranking" poll for athletics, ahead of George Washington, Maryland and Virginia Tech.
Clearly, AU has taken major steps forward in the last 10 years in its facilities, academics, athletics and student life and some amount of credit for that has to go to Ladner.ÿ Yet for some reason, it seems that the students and faculty have always been highly critical of Ladner.ÿ The most common complaints I heard were that he was overpaid and that he did not spend enough time on campus with the students.ÿ However, shouldn't the President's main job be to guide the University's long term strategic plans and go out and fundraise to achieve those plans?ÿ Based on the transformation described above, I would say he has done his job.
I get the sense that this public outrage over his questionable expenses and high salary is less because of what he actually did, because the facts of this inquiry have yet to be resolved, but more based on his previous public image on campus.ÿ The difference between now and six months ago is that the students and faculty that already hated him now feel more justified.
The major fact of this matter is that, as of yet, no one has shown that Ladner did anything illegal or fraudulent.ÿ All that has been shown is that he was highly compensated and may have overspent several hundred thousand dollars of University funds (including $21,000 for which he has already agreed to reimburse the University).ÿ If that proves to be the case, given the success the school has enjoyed under Ladner's stewardship, a more appropriate punishment would be to have Ladner payback the money that the Board of Trustees determines to be excessive and more closely monitor his expenses in the future.ÿ Obviously, if the Board turns up evidence of a deliberate scheme to defraud and/or other illegality, my conclusion would likely be different, but based on what I have heard so far, I will continue to support him.
However, given the sensational and public nature of this inquiry, and the outrage on campus based on many students and faculty member's preconceptions of Ladner, his ability to lead may be compromised and he may have to resign or be fired.ÿ In fact, he may have already resigned or been fired by the time this edition of The Eagle is published.ÿ If that is the case, at least let this column serve to inform some of the newer students and faculty how much better things have become at AU since Ladner took over in 1994, so that more may live after his tenure than a few questionable expenditures.
Will Rayel graduated from AU in 2000 and studied in the School of Public Affairs.
