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By Emily Corio

Last week, I filed three reports concerning the hiring of WVU Interim President Peter Magrath, and the future of outgoing President Mike Garrison:

It wasn’t easy when it came to the WVU Board of Governors’ handling of the Garrison matter. In fact, it continues to be confusing.

Speaking at the board’s meeting last week, outgoing chairman Stephen Goodwin asked the BOG to approve a "basic agreement" with Mike Garrison since Peter Magrath was hired as WVU's interim president, effective August 1.

The language was very vague, but Mr. Goodwin asked for a motion. A board member said "so moved." It was seconded, and all approved it. Almost a week later, it's still not clear exactly what was approved. 

Mr. Goodwin told a couple of reporters that Mr. Garrison would no longer be employed by WVU after Sept. 1st, but would continue to work as a consultant.

Fury over this proposed arrangement erupted. Three days later (Friday), WVU released a signed agreement between Mr. Garrison and the Board of Governors that did not include a consulting gig.

Mr. Garrison will serve as president until Aug. 1st, then he will work as an advisor to help Mr. Magrath transition into his new role as interim president.

New BOG chairwoman Carolyn Long acknowledged that this agreement was different than what was being talked about earlier in the week.  She said that Mr. Garrison decided not to stay on as a consultant because it would not be good for WVU.

On Monday, I asked Ms. Long if I could have a copy of the first Garrison agreement approved at the July 8^th BOG meeting. I was denied. Ms. Long said it was only a "contract in form" and it was a "fluid document."

This answer was not satisfactory. A document approved by a public body is supposed to be public information. So I asked for the document several more times. But Ms. Long wouldn’t budge. She continued to re-explain that it was a fluid document and it had not been signed by either party. According to Ms. Long, it’s not a public document since it was a “fluid” document.

That’s not all. Ms. Long also said that it is legit for the board to approve an incomplete document.  I asked Ms. Long if the BOG needs to meet again to approve the revised agreement. She said she doesn’t believe so. Ms. Long said the motion passed July 8th makes clear it was an agreement in discussion and gave the board chair permission to make changes if necessary.

That’s not true. The motion doesn’t say anything about giving permission to the chair to make changes to the document.  Here's the exchange between Mr. Goodwin and other board members during the meeting:

Goodwin:  With the selection of Dr. Magrath as the interim president, obviously we will be concluding President Garrison’s presidency and we have also been having discussions as to how that will be concluded, and we’ve arrived at a basic agreement on those things subject to approvals of some state officials and things of that nature, so I would ask if possible that we approve that agreement.  Do I have a motion to that effect? 

Board members:  So moved.  So moved. 

Goodwin:  Second? 

Board members:  Second. 

Goodwin:  Any questions about that?  All those in favor? 

Board members:  Aye. 

As an audience member, it was unclear to me what the board was talking about and voting on, and this makes being a reporter difficult.  How am I supposed to tell listeners what happened at this meeting if public officials use vague language, issue statements to some reporters and not others, and then refuse to give straight answers to reporters when asked?

More importantly, how can you, a member of the public be informed and engaged if you do not have access to this information?

In an interview last week, WVU Law Professor Patrick McGinley told me this is problematic, possibly illegal, and certainly not in the spirit of democracy.

Feel free to give us your thoughts. Meanwhile, here are links to three stories I referred to: 

Peter Magrath named WVU interim president; details of Garrison deal not released 

WVU Board of Governors may have violated state’s sunshine law

Garrison to leave WVU for good Sept. 1

 

O.K., so the chemical industry isn't dead in the Kanawha Valley, but it's definitely on life support. The not-so-subtle sign of that on Sunday was the demolition of two smokestacks at the former FMC plant.

It was so weird to be in the middle of this open field, surrounded by piles of contaminated dirt, with about 500 other people who'd come for the show.

In the story I did for Monday, I called it a carnival atmosphere, but perhaps it was more like a viewing at a funeral, or a wake.

The Kanawha Valley once made the chemicals that powered the world. Those chemicals had a dark side, of course -- we made Agent Orange in Nitro and the same chemical in Institute that killed all those people in Bhopal.

And maybe it was a bad idea to place chemical plants in a narrow valley, next to thousands of residents with no way to escape a chemical leak.

But it's sad for me to see the chemical industry go. When I first moved to Charleston 12 years ago, I taught at Charleston Catholic, and I was shocked at the diversity of our students. My kids' parents were born in India, Pakistan, Brazil, China -- all over the world. This is especially unusual in the state with the lowest rate of immigration in the U.S.

Of course, many of them were here because of Union Carbide. They were scientists and engineers. They supported the educational and cultural life of the valley. And now, many of them are gone.

Other remain, like the wife of a scientist who retired rather than be transferred, after Dow took over Carbide. We're still living off those retirees -- but what happens when they're gone?

Some people say the valley will recover. I don't know. All the data shows that this island of education and relative prosperity in the heart of West Virginia is becoming less educated and prosperous.

On the FMC site, they've built a pharmacy, a car dealership and an auto parts store. More retail is planned for the rest of the site. If we're going to find our way back to prosperity, I think we need to re-invent our identity -- what are we good at doing here in Charleston? In what markets are we going to compete?

Any ideas?

May 15th, 2008

West Virginia's image has taken another hit. Sen. Hillary Clinton overwhelmingly defeated Sen. Barack Obama, and it's clear that intolerance played a role in her victory. An Associated Press exit poll shows that race was on many voters' minds.

We've found in our own reporting that many people don't believe Obama is a Christian. Instead, they suspect he's a Muslim, and they're holding it against him. We've also spoken to voters who refuse to vote for Obama because of his race.

On Wednesday, Comedy Central's The Daily Show poked fun at West Virginia in this segment. Jon Stewart remarked the new state slogan is "No Interviews Please."

During today's All Things Considered, NPR listeners heard several West Virginia voters reveal their prejudices toward Obama.

The segment also includes a conversation with Washington Post reporter Kevin Merida about the racial slurs and doors that have been slammed in the faces of Obama campaign workers around the country. Click here to listen to the segment. Anna Sale gathered the sound of West Virginia voters who were part of this segment.

On Friday's West Virginia Morning, Scott Finn and Anna address the role of race and religion in West Virginia presidential politics. You can listen and read that story here.

So why am I writing all this? We want to hear from you.

How much of a role do you think race and religion played in West Virginia's Democratic presidential primary? How much of a role do you think it will play in the general election if Sen. Obama is the Democratic nominee?

Just click on the comments link below and tell us what you think. We'd also like to use your comments on the air.
- Greg Collard, News Director

From Greg Collard, News Director

West Virginia is getting a lot of attention this weekend, and not just because of the election.

Sunday is the 100^th anniversary of Mother’s Day. For those who don’t know, Mother’s Day began in Grafton, West Virginia.

Emily Corio produced an interesting story on how the holiday started, and why founder Anna Marie Jarvis later worked to rescind the holiday. Click here to access audio and video versions of this story.

Emily also produced a Mother’s Day story for NPR that is scheduled to air this weekend on Weekend Edition Sunday.

Anna Sale is scheduled to lead into the Mother’s Day segment. She’ll discuss the West Virginia presidential campaign with host Liane Hansen. It’s well-documented that Barack Obama has many challenges in West Virginia.  She reported on these challenges last week in this story.

New York City

This week, Anna Sale also spoke to WYNC’s John Hockenberry on the program, The Takeaway. Check out that interview by clicking here. Anna is scheduled to reappear on the program Monday morning.

Scott Finn also discussed the presidential race with WNYC’s The Leonard Lopate Show. One listener commented: I have no sympathy for these people anymore. They deserve the economic dislocation they are going to get under GOP policies. You can listen to Scott’s interview by clicking here.

For several years, we’ve heard many complaints about our Web site, and deservedly so.

We weren’t providing the online services that our audience expects and deserves.

We’ve made some improvements here and there, but they were really just baby steps in the right direction.

Today we’re taking a giant leap with our new Web site.

It’s now easier to listen and read our stories. Our stories are easier to locate, and you’ll be able to access them from our archives. Just type key words in our search engine, and you should be able to find any locally-produced news story.

You can also sign up for RSS feeds. You’ll be notified anytime we post a story.

This is just the beginning. In the future, we will be podcasting all of our local news programs, including West Virginia Morning and Inside Appalachia.

We also want to hear from you. If you have ideas for improving our online services, feel free to e-mail us.

Bottom line: We’re not done. This is just the beginning of a new era for West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Greg Collard
News Director