The sweetness of Ben Ladner's dismissal from AU has been soured by the board of trustees' recent decision to award his dishonesty and unethical behavior with a $3.75 million severence package. He will receive $950,000 in compensation, as well as rights to a $1 million life insurance policy and $1.75 million in retirement funds
No one is sad to see the investigation come to a close, and we are nothing short of elated to be rid of Ladner, but this "settlement" highlights the board's lack of ability to adequatly solve the school's problems, as well as a severe lack of backbone. Does it make sense to fire Ladner with cause (meaning he gets no money, no tenure), but then decide to cut him a fat check? How about declaring he owes more money to the IRS, only to offer him a severance package large enough to practically pay off the additional taxes for him? If Ladner were to rob a bank, would it make sense for the bank to then pay his legal fees? We are quite understandably upset.
When Ladner's predecessor, Richard Berendzen, was offered a $1 million severence package, students successfully lobbied for it to be rescinded. Ladner is even less derserving of a comfortable retirement on the school's dime. This should not require much explanation, but since it isn't clear to the board, we will spell it out: Ladner got fired because he helped himself to money that wasn't his. He was found guilty, and we needn't give him anymore.
The board of directors is incapable of acting in a competant and responsible fashion. Most of its members, if not all of them, need to be replaced. The rules that govern the board need to be rewritten. While paying off Ladner is not a reasonable or acceptable expense, spending what it takes to get an adequate board to oversee these curcial decisions is abosolutely necessary.
We feared that the resignation of board members Bains and Wolff would leave the board without a voice of reason. Sadly, that seems to be the case. Students, parents and faculty must be given a hand in the changes that are to come because the board is incapable of making the upcoming decisions on their own. Furthermore, this coming reform must affect the board or we will continue to spend millions of dollars and reap nothing but more bad apples.
