U Tenn president Shumaker resigns after controversy over spending, other issues (liberal bites dust)

The Commercial Appeal ^ | 8/8/03 | Richard Locker

[GailA]

UT president Shumaker resigns after controversy over spending, other issues By RICHARD LOCKER locker@gomemphis.com August 8, 2003

NASHVILLE - Embattled University of Tennessee President John W. Shumaker resigned effective immediately today after 14 months on the job, climaxing weeks of controversy that first surfaced over his extensive, questionable use of the university's airplane and other spending.

Gov. Phil Bredesen and Nashville businessman Clayton McWhorter, vice chairman of the UT Board of Trustees announced the resignation at the State Capitol. Bredesen said Shumaker, 60, decided to resign following a three-hour meeting with the governor and McWhorter in Bredesen's office Thursday afternoon -- a meeting that Bredesen asked for earlier in the week.

Shumaker, 60, succeeded J. Wade Gilley, who resigned after less than two years on the job after a romantic relationship with a subordinate became public. A search committee headed by then-governor Don Sundquist last year lured Shumaker away from a seven-year tenure at the University of Louisville with a UT compensation package valued at $733,000 a year.

"It is in the best interest of the university, its students, faculty, staff and alumni, to move forward and put these controversies behind us," Bredesen said. "The past several weeks have been very difficult for the University of Tennessee family. ... I have to say it pained me as governor to watch this happening."

Shumaker, who had been at UT since June 2002, could not be reached for comment Friday morning. Bredesen said he was taking a vacation with his sons.

"I believe that this step is in the best interest of the University," Shumaker wrote in his resignation letter. "I simply cannot permit our students, faculty, staff, alumni and trustees to be distracted from their important work by letting the controversies of the past several weeks continue.

"I have enjoyed my association with the University and with you. I wish the University of Tennessee the very best for the future."

On Thursday, Bredesen said that the allegations surrounding Shumaker are hurting the university and must be resolved soon. But in answer to a question from reporters, the governor said, "I have not said to him, 'I think you need to step down.'"

Shumaker, 60, is under scrutiny by state officials, two universities and the news media since questions arose earlier this year about whether he used the UT airplane for personal trips and charged personal expenses to the UT credit card. A $300,000 no-bid contract to a colleague in Washington to help start UT education programs in China also has been questioned.

Pending completion of an internal audit, Shumaker has cut up the credit card and reimbursed the university $25,000 for commercial and UT airplane flights. His compensation package of $733,550 a year at the 42,000-student university ranked him as the nation's second highest-paid public university president. However, he declined earlier this year to accept any bonuses, saying the state's difficult financial situation made that unwise.

But a contentious divorce in Louisville, Ky., where he was president of the University of Louisville before coming to Tennessee, aired new questions.

Shumaker testified under oath that he accepted a $10,000 "gift" in the mid-1990s from Hyundai after signing a $110,000 training contract with the automaker on behalf of Central Connecticut State University. Connecticut officials said that certainly violated state ethics laws but planned no investigation because the statute of limitations had expired.

Shumaker also testified that he took out a marriage license with his nanny, a former CCSU student from Beijing, without actual plans to wed to help her with visa problems. His ex-wife, Lucy, claimed during the divorce that the selection process used to select him as UT's 21st president was rigged in Shumaker's favor.

University of Tennessee Trustee William Stokely said Friday morning he knew only that Shumaker had met with the governor Thursday night in Nashville. WBIR-TV showed video of his return to Knoxville on its Thursday night broadcast.

Shumaker's car was parked outside the president's house in Knoxville Friday morning. But the housekeeper said Shumaker wasn't there and she didn't "have a clue" where he is.

The governor said earlier Thursday that he was trying to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

"I have expressed my concern that whatever the facts, the whole thing had now taken on such a life of its own, that it is hurting the university and its credibility and I think we need to bring it to closure."

The governor said that what was at stake was "not a narrow issue of 'was that airplane trip appropriate or not?' It's just the issue of what's happening at the university. When you play at that level, whether as president of a university or president of a company or as governor, so much of it is about your credibility."

[GailA]

I LOVE it when high paid liberals on the public dime bite the dust.

[At _War_With_Liberals]

Dunt Dunt Dunt...a lib-er-al bites the dust

[Diddle E. Squat]

Did he abuse his phone card, have a athletic assistant take his test for him, have teachers curve up his scores, and get a scholarship after molesting a girl on a campus visit?

Oops, sorry, I was thinking he was a Tennessee football player...

[Moose4]

Ah, life in the Southeastern Conference.

Maybe that's why the boys here in Columbia can't beat the Vols or the Gators...the Gamecocks don't cheat well enough?

}:-)4

[vetvetdoug]

I saw that Schumaker was a Republican and a personal friend of carpetbagger Sundquist. Is that rumour true?

[samanella]

Wish Adams at Georgia would take a page from his book and leave Athens with his tail between his legs......

[bert]

resign following a three-hour meeting with the governor....

Shumaker, his right arm in a sling said upon exiting " The Vols can't possibly beat Alabama this year and I'm being sacrificed."

[volchef]

Probably pretty poorly since we play at Fl, Miami, Bama and Auburn. We'll be lucky to go 500 this year. Our big games at home are GA and then it goes to Fresno State, Mississippi St., Kentucky and Vanderbilt. I think the mighty Duke blue devils may be in there somewhere. Pretty stinky year to be a fan if you ask me, but hey, I'm not fair weather weenie. Who is your team btw?

As for Schumaker, he's a corrupt liberal like most of the UT faculty inspite of the student population being overwhelmingly conservative.

[Diddle E. Squat]

The real(burnt) orange team. Ranked #4, with #1 and #5 in the same conference.

[TennTuxedo]

The problem is that Shumakers hiring was rigged by a prominant Knoxville businessman, running for Mayor of Knoxville as a Republican. East Tennessee, once was a Republican stronghold, but now thoose "Republicans" helped elect a Democrat governor and elected pro-income tax state legislators.

[Diddle E. Squat]

What is wrong with Adams?

[volchef]

Yup it's a down year for the old SEC and I don't see it getting better anytime soon. Good luck in the Big 12. How's old Simms doing btw? Did he graduate yet or what. And how in the heck are we ranked higher than FL??? And since when did Auburn become a top 10 school?

BTW, the real orange (not that fake burnt crap) team has a more recent national championship :o)

[JDGreen123]

Yes. Unfortunately Dandy Don's fingerprints are all over this one.

Critics of the (hiring)process doubted whether the public arm ever had been meant to recruit a viable candidate, and during the Shumakers' divorce trial, Lucy Shumaker testified that her ex-husband had been prepped before the Feb. 27 interview by Steve Leonard, an assistant to Sundquist, while Strathe (another candidate) received no such help.

Just before Sundquist left office last January, Leonard was appointed UT's executive vice president at an annual salary of $225,000. While Leonard hasn't commented publicly since the trial testimony was released, he issued a statement last week through UT's vice president for public relations, Tom Ballard, in which he called Lucy Shumaker's allegation about the coaching "preposterous."

UT boss met 22 times for job

[JDGreen123]

A copy of Shumaker's resignation letter is online at the Knoxville-News Sentinel. It is very brief. Looks like he wanted to get out of town quickly.

Shumaker Resignation Letter

[Diddle E. Squat]

Yeah, I know, we aren't too happy with Mack Brown about that!

Chris Simms graduated and played will with Tampa Bay in that Japan game, FWIW. Looking like Mack just didn't know how to fully use him(or rather prepare his team for every game).

For some reason I get the idea that your UTenn is a .500 team bit may be something of Lou Holtz style rope-a-dope. Hard to believe that they'll be THAT down. I don't really know what is going on with the SEC, I just like to stir things up in the fiery fandom of college football. That Mike Price era at Alabama sure was something, eh? Yeah, I hear Auburn is picked to win the SEC, which means it is probably time to audit what each player is driving(no payments until 2007!) Is it true that Ol Miss picked for their new mascot the state number(50th)? Does UF have a tough non-conference road game outside of Florida scheduled sometime in the next 20 years?

[summer]

Thanks for posting this enws, Gail.

I was following this story for a time in local newspapers in TN, and there are a lot of other allegations about this university president.

BTW, he is the only university president I ever heard of to make the grossly outrageous sum of over $700,000 (not even Yale, Harvard or Princeton's presidents make anywhere near that). And, he had a private airplane paid for by the university! You would think Knoxville taxpayers just can't think of a thing to do with their tax dollars after reading about all the perks this UT president enjoyed.

In addition, this divorced UT president was allegedly flying the university plane to repeatedly visit his "very good friend" in Alabama, a female university president who, like him, is also single. Apparently, they just like to hang out together - on taxpayer money. And, she flew around on the plane with him too, not to any academic conferences though.

I really think the job of university presidents should be abolished, period. Many universities have boards of trustees who make decisions, and the university "president" is nothing more than a fundraiser, if that. But, they want BIG BUCKS - and, get it.

FL Gov Bush only makes $120,000 as FL gov. That's it.

[summer]

enws = news

[summer]

Also, tuition for UT students just went up considerably (but don't worry, no one put any dent in the UT president's salary):


From The Chronicle of Higher Education:
"State Lawmakers Again Cut Higher-Education Spending /
Half of the states reduce appropriations to public colleges"

[Chancellor Palpatine]

That divorce file is the hottest commodity in town now, from what I hear.

[summer]

From article: Shumaker also testified that he took out a marriage license with his nanny, a former CCSU student from Beijing, without actual plans to wed to help her with visa problems.

BTW - isn't this called "Fraud" when a non-university president does the same thing?