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Former Dean of University of Louisville’s College of Education and Human Development Robert Felner isn’t criminally charged, but a crime has been committed to the students of CEHD, both publicly and educationally.
It is the crime of “guilty by association.”
There’s a big banner posted on the U of L education school building which boasts: “Ranked in Top 100 Graduate Schools in Education,” according to U.S. News & World 2007 Report
However, that, along with an established reputation, may change. Yet it is not the students’ fault their degrees may be looked upon with skepticism.
Administrators at U of L should have addressed the Felner fiasco with more urgency, instead of idealistically backing a corrupt individual.
A faculty grievance, documenting some of Felner’s unethical behavior, was filed in May of 2005 and should have provided ample evidence that he was bound for further negligence.
Fast forward to the summer of 2008 and the news isn’t that surprising.
But U of L President James Ramsey’s apology for Felner’s mishaps and the administration’s oversights didn’t come until early September, leaving many to doubt the administration’s efforts into appropriately handling a situation of this magnitude.
In addition to the federal investigation of the mishandling of a $694,000 education grant by Felner, the September 11 issue of “The Washington Post” reported a former colleague of Felner’s received a doctoral degree in 2004 after attending one semester at U of L’s College of Education under Felner’s administration.
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education President James Cibulka told The Courier-Journal that a board from their group will visit U of L this fall, “to investigate whether the College of Education followed its stated policies and procedures in allowing the expedited Ph.D.”
Cibulka also said the agency could place the education college on probation and possibly deny continued accreditation.
It is unfortunate that U of L did not look further into Felner before they hired him. Now there is a pool of embarrassment to both the education school and U of L.
These actions are not synonymous with some of the words used in U of L’s “It’s Happening Here” branding campaign. Words like “Will” and “Courage,” with smiling faces on U of L banners are seen by students throughout campus.
Large amounts of money have been poured into U of L’s image. Now one man may have tarnished it.
