The Daily Pennsylvanian :: Stetson Departure | Experts say honesty the best policy for Stetson

The University's handling of the departure of former Dean of Admissions Lee Stetson may be doing Penn more harm than good, crisis-management experts say.

Ever since Stetson announced his resignation at the beginning of the semester, both he and Penn officials have repeatedly refused to give an explanation of the departure.

Penn President Amy Gutmann has only said it was in the "best interests" of both Stetson and the University.

But several public-relations experts say that, in cases like this, the best defense against bad publicity is openness and honesty.

"The rule in any kind of issue that becomes a crisis is that you try to tell as much a you can as often as you can," said Anne Klein, president of Anne Klein Communications Group Inc.

Klein, who handles crisis management for her clients, said being open about negative news is usually the best way to defuse a situation because mystery tends to make things worse.

"The problem is that sometimes [refusal to comment] becomes the story," she said.

Scott Barkett, senior vice president of crisis management for public relations firm Dix & Eaton, agreed.

"When something has gone wrong, the quickest and simplest way to get it behind you is to disclose what you know, admit what went wrong and talk about what your next steps are," he said.

Barkett also cautioned that organizations that avoid this generally accepted crisis-management tactic "expose [themselves] to the possibility of creating a larger story."

The upshot of this open approach can be seen in the departure of Marilee Jones, former admissions dean for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

When MIT discovered that Jones had falsified parts of her resume, both she and the school issued statements explaining why she was leaving.

Ben Jones, an MIT admissions spokesman, explained the reasoning behind it in a blog post on the MIT admissions Web site.

"Many are asking why MIT didn't accept Marilee's resignation quietly," he wrote. "The answer is simple: Transparency and openness . are the backbone of our culture. People needed to know the specifics to avoid the rampant speculation that would undoubtedly follow otherwise."

Contacted by e-mail yesterday, Ben Jones reiterated that rationale.

"It was in both MIT's and Marilee's best interest to simply tell it like it was," he said.

Marilee Jones' resignation became a national story, but as a result of MIT's openness, the school avoided major damage to its reputation.

But Klein and Norm Hartman of TMT Worldwide said an agreement might exist between Penn and Stetson that forbid either from giving reasons behind his departure.

University officials have not said any such agreement exists when asked why they refuse comment.

University spokeswoman Lori Doyle said that "the departure of a senior executive is not a crisis," and that it happens regularly at institutions like Penn, though she did not provide any examples of similar situations in which no explanation has been given for resignation.

Comments (23)

Let's just hope that if the University leadership were to become appropriately transparent to rightfully help us move on when there is a concern raised, the members do so with true honesty rather than with misleading or false statements. Case in point: Looks like the recent formally released statement made by the new Wharton Dean Robertson,when called upon to explain his over 25 joint ownership of a home in Cape Cod with Scott Ward (the former Wharton professor now jailed pedophile) led us to believe, as he said in the statement, that he "had" joint ownership with Ward - Not true apparently. See comments and links in postings below. May our University see a culture of honest transparency soon... http://www.phillymag.com/blogs/philly/2007/10/03/wharton-dean-speaks-out-on-ex-pal-pervert-scott-ward/ http://www.ivygateblog.com/blog/2007/10/new_wharton_dean_kinda_bff_with_the_disgraced_scott_ward.html

Great write up, very informative! http://www.columbiachronicle.com - Columbia College Chicago

THERE ARE ONLY 3 REASONS WHY HE WOULD LEAVE. 1- HE WAS OFFERED A MORE CHALLENGING JOB AT ANOTHER UNIV. - NAH, THAT'S GOOD NEWS AND WOULD HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED & HE WOULDN'T SUDDENLY DEPART 2- ILLNESS, COULD BE. HOWEVER, EVEN WITH A SUDDEN DEPARTURE HE PROBABLY WOULD HAVE ANNOUNCED THAT HE WAS LEAVING DUE TO A MEDICAL PROBLEM AND LEAVE IT AT THAT. - THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN. 3- HE WAS GROPING AMY - YEP, THAT WOULD GET HIS ASS KICKED OUT REAL FAST AND THE UNIV WOULD KEEP THAT REASON VERY SECRETIVE - THUS, THIS SCENARIO SOUNDS THE MOST LOGICAL TO ME. AND..... DP - LEAVE THIS STORY ALONE - YOU'RE TURING THE DP INTO A TOOL FOR GOSSIP, VERY UNDIGNIFIED.

It is too bad your kid did not get in considering he was ED legacy. My brothers and I were'nt ED or legacy and got in. In fact, all of us learned English as our second language. I think the real problem is your expectation of entitlement. The most impressive people I knew at Penn came from families who only knew sacrifice and toil, sweating everyday in some restaurant kitchen or store in a dangerous neighborhood. A lot of the legacy admits were clearly unqualified, over-fed, over-tutored, and over-privileged drunks. Thank you for your kind and respectful comments, alum. You speak very well for yourself and for our alma mater. As I said in my post, my son is in fact HIGHLY QUALIFIED and was admitted to several other equally competitive universities. He is not over-fed, over-tutored, over-privileged, and has never been drunk in his life. Neither he nor I has any expectation of entitlement. However, as a simple statistical fact, it is odd that he was not admitted to Penn. Since you are claiming that so many unqualified legacy applicants are admitted, it makes it seem even stranger that a highly qualified applicant would be rejected. I said in my post that I don't think Stetson's departure is related to admissions decisions. However. with the admissions dean under scrutiny it causes people to wonder. Transparency is definitely called for.

Bob, do you know this for a fact? And if so, what/who is your source (at least generically)?

My comment isn't really specifically about me or my son. What I'm trying to express is that there are thousands of highly qualified applicants rejected from Penn every year. I'm sure that those applicants and their families are interested in finding out for sure that Stetson's departure has absolutely nothing to do with any wrong doing with regard to the admissions process. Penn should come clean and let us know what's up. Transparency, please!!

Was your son white? Gutmann has been pushing for even more AA. Stetson resisted and that is why he is no longer among us.

Part of Lori Doyle's job is to be a spin doctor, but she can't believe anyone is swallowing the load of crap she's shoveling here. Of course senior executives of companies and universities depart regularly. What *doesn't* happen regularly is that someone is at work in his office one day and suddenly vanishes -- "traveling" -- the very next day. Without any goodbye other than a recorded voicemail message, to all his colleagues and staff, in a place he has worked for an incredible 29 years. With workers sent in to empty his desk and office shortly thereafter. Without a farewell party, or even words of praise from the administration about what Stetson accomplished for Penn. No, Lori, that does *not* happen regularly at institutions like Penn. In Stalin-era Russia, yes, people were made to disappear. But not at an institution like Penn. Not for someone with Stetson's career achievements and accokmplishments for the institution. If Doyle or Amy Gutmann or others running Penn think Penn students, staff and alumni are simply accepting this non-explanation explanation and shrugging it off, they've miscalculated. They should listen to the management experts and clear the air. Whatever the misdeeds that led to the sudden axing of Stetson, how can they possibly feel it's better to bottle it up and have it eventually come out in the weeks or months ahead -- because the truth comes out eventually -- when Penn iss poised to lunch its massive new development campaign in two weeks. Silence and secrecy is not worthy of a great institution like Penn.

campisi, you animal! that last graf was amazing. hey penn: just fire lori doyle and i, for one, will stop heckling you about stetson.

And another thing....Those of you who have graduated from Penn in the last 25 years?... Stetson's ARRIVAL obviously impacted, in some way, your ability to call yourselves "Alum." So let his DEPARTURE gooooooo!

Alum...In answer to your reply, "If everybody had your attitude back in 1941, we would be speaking german and japanese now. There is clearly a stench of misconduct and people should be told the truth." You are sooooo right. Stetson's departure is CLEARLY comparable to HITLER and the HOLOCAUST. Good god man...get some perspective.

[QUOTE id="a467bb9e-121e-42f2-99cf-d45073b8a42e"]Let it GGOOOOOOOOO! If there are parties involved DIRECTLY (Stetson, PENN, one or numerous offended people) in something "bad," they aren't talkin'. The only people crying for some sort of explanation are those whom it does not DIRECTLY involve. Admissions did not miss a beat and nothing else seemed to be amiss since his departure or the DP would have surely pointed it out. Therefore, the only conclusion I can come to is, those that want an explanation just want to salivate over some POTENTIALLY juicy story AND the DP has to fill white space. Ask yourself... did my life change because of this?!??!? Was I personally wronged in some way!?!?!? Again, let it GGOOOOOOO![/QUOTE] It is too bad your kid did not get in considering he was ED legacy. My brothers and I were'nt ED or legacy and got in. In fact, all of us learned English as our second language. I think the real problem is your expectation of entitlement. The most impressive people I knew at Penn came from families who only knew sacrifice and toil, sweating everyday in some restaurant kitchen or store in a dangerous neighborhood. A lot of the legacy admits were clearly unqualified, over-fed, over-tutored, and over-privileged drunks.

[QUOTE id="a467bb9e-121e-42f2-99cf-d45073b8a42e"]Let it GGOOOOOOOOO! If there are parties involved DIRECTLY (Stetson, PENN, one or numerous offended people) in something "bad," they aren't talkin'. The only people crying for some sort of explanation are those whom it does not DIRECTLY involve. Admissions did not miss a beat and nothing else seemed to be amiss since his departure or the DP would have surely pointed it out. Therefore, the only conclusion I can come to is, those that want an explanation just want to salivate over some POTENTIALLY juicy story AND the DP has to fill white space. Ask yourself... did my life change because of this?!??!? Was I personally wronged in some way!?!?!? Again, let it GGOOOOOOO![/QUOTE] Enough Already, you ask if anyone was personally wronged. I don't know the answer to that question. My highly qualified son applied ED (legacy) to Penn -- and I do mean HIGHLY qualified. He was flat out rejected. His GC was offered no legitimate reason for his rejection. Everyone who knew him was stunned. So, we are waiting to find out if there was any form of wrong doing that impacted the admissions process. My son is attending some other university of equal stature to Penn, so no worries on his part. Makes it even more puzzling why a legacy ED applicant was rejected at Penn, but accepted at other equally competitive universities. The Stetson departure probably has nothing to do with admissions policies and procedures, but until we know for sure, we'll follow the story.

Let it GGOOOOOOOOO! If there are parties involved DIRECTLY (Stetson, PENN, one or numerous offended people) in something "bad," they aren't talkin'. The only people crying for some sort of explanation are those whom it does not DIRECTLY involve. Admissions did not miss a beat and nothing else seemed to be amiss since his departure or the DP would have surely pointed it out. Therefore, the only conclusion I can come to is, those that want an explanation just want to salivate over some POTENTIALLY juicy story AND the DP has to fill white space. Ask yourself... did my life change because of this?!??!? Was I personally wronged in some way!?!?!? Again, let it GGOOOOOOO!

Ditto - Transparency is "suppose" to be one of the core values of Penn and is part of the office of Development and Alumni Relations core values. It is sadly a value rarely practiced. The lack of transparency unfortunately is prevalent in various departments within Penn and needs to be eradicated - it is only hurting us, not helping us. It is always better to confront the public with the truth...there will be a buzz but it will go away. This will not go away and is going to hurt the capital campaign which ultimately hurts the institution..and our students. And yes, people depart Penn. But it has been my experience over the past several years that even when encouraged to leave - a party is given, some fond words spoken and a gift presented. And, I have seen those who have committed some pretty hefty 'sins of the father' get a simple slap on the wrist and then a promotion. So the handling of this makes no sense to most of the world and creates more of a stir than necessary. Tell the truth, and move on. Leadership from the top. Leadership by example.

Ditto - Transparency is "suppose" to be one of the core values of Penn and is part of the office of Development and Alumni Relations core values. It is sadly a value rarely practiced. The lack of transparency unfortunately is prevalent in various departments within Penn and needs to be eradicated - it is only hurting us, not helping us. It is always better to confront the public with the truth...there will be a buzz but it will go away. This will not go away and is going to hurt the capital campaign which ultimately hurts the institution..and our students. And yes, people depart Penn. But it has been my experience over the past several years that even when encouraged to leave - a party is given, some fond words spoken and a gift presented. And, I have seen those who have committed some pretty hefty 'sins of the father' get a simple slap on the wrist and then a promotion. So the handling of this makes no sense to most of the world and creates more of a stir than necesssary. Tell the truth, and move on. Leadership from the top. Leadership by example.

Personnel matters are routinely confidential. What is so hard to grasp about that? Clearly there was an incident of some sort and agreement that it was in both parties' best interest for it not to become public. As likely as not, it was Steton's desire that the matter not become public. Let it go already.

[QUOTE id="c0eecdb8-0b0c-4012-8dad-67900525e92a"]Well put, Alum! I agree completely. And congratulations to the DP for keeping this a front-page story. A lot of alumni will be on campus next weekend for Homecoming and the big capital campaign kickoff, and they need to be asking some hard questions about this. It's up to us to ensure that Penn is known as a transparent institution upholding the highest ethical standards, and not as some sort of star chamber where the truth is suppressed. This kind of stuff really hurts Penn's credibility.[/QUOTE] Ditto - Transparency is "suppose" to be one of the core values of Penn and is part of the office of Development and Alumni Relations core values. It is sadly a value rarely practiced. The lack of transparency unfortunately is prevalent in various departments within Penn and needs to be eradicated - it is only hurting us, not helping us. It is always better to confront the public with the truth...there will be a buzz but it will go away. This will not go away and is going to hurt the capital campaign which ultimately hurts the institution..and our students. And yes, people depart Penn. But it has been my experience over the past several years that even when encouraged to leave - a party is given, some fond words spoken and a gift presented. And, I have seen those who have committed some pretty hefty 'sins of the father' get a simple slap on the wrist and then a promotion. So the handling of this makes no sense to most of the world and creates more of a stir than necesssary. Tell the truth, and move on. Leadership from the top. Leadership by example. And congratulations to the DP for keeping this a front-page story. A lot of alumni will be on campus next weekend for Homecoming and the big capital campaign kickoff, and they need to be asking some hard questions about this. It's up to us to ensure that Penn is known as a transparent institution upholding the highest ethical standards, and not as some sort of star chamber where the truth is suppressed. This kind of stuff really hurts Penn's credibility.[/QUOTE]

I too think the DP is doing a great job here. My question is how many others, who might not have had Dean Stetson's prominence, have been purged over the past several years. How many appointments made based on questionable justifications have not made it to the fron page of the DP? Someone above mentioned 'Stalin-era Russia.' Maybe the staff of the DP should start this by asking Lori Doyle about the appointment Gutmann & Co. made in CGS and all the surrounding circumstances.

Enough already with the conspiracy theories. He left. He's not coming back. End of story. Let's move on. He did an excellent job for 29 years, but he is not the only reason Penn has risen to where it is.

Well put, Alum! I agree completely. And congratulations to the DP for keeping this a front-page story. A lot of alumni will be on campus next weekend for Homecoming and the big capital campaign kickoff, and they need to be asking some hard questions about this. It's up to us to ensure that Penn is known as a transparent institution upholding the highest ethical standards, and not as some sort of star chamber where the truth is suppressed. This kind of stuff really hurts Penn's credibility.

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