Posted on 12/01/2005 1:15:38 PM PST by ncountylee
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Insulting alumni and donors probably isn't the best way to show that you are trying to improve your university's national profile, as the president of the University of Richmond has found.
During a "state of the university" speech in October at the private liberal arts college, William E. Cooper discussed the school's efforts to become more academically competitive by attracting more talented students.
"The entering quality of our student body needs to be much higher if we are going to transform bright minds into great achievers instead of transforming mush into mush, and I mean it," he said.
He later apologized for his remarks and said they were misinterpreted.
Some alumni remain supportive of Cooper's vision, but he has come under fire from many others, who are calling for him to step down and are threatening to withhold contributions until he is gone. At a recent home basketball game, some Richmond fans wore buttons proclaiming, "Mushheads Unite."
"It's time to send Cooper to the `mush' pit and get our beloved University back on a positive track," Keith Stojka, a 1996 graduate, wrote on an online petition calling for new leadership. "By the way, not a red cent from me until Cooper is sent packing."
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
LOL!
The verbal abilities of the president, including the skill of tact need to be much higher.
I don't quite understand his comments. U of R has always had a good reputation.
The alumni resented being called "Mushheads."
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