The abrupt and unceremonious resignation of long-time Dean of Admissions Lee Stetson has left many in the Penn community scratching their heads.
Admissions officers have said they were told by the University not to speak about Stetson's departure and high-ranking administrators claim they were given no information about the dean's resignation.
In yesterday's DP, one senior administrator who wished to remain anonymous was quoted as wondering whether Stetson had encountered either a very serious illness or a very serious legal issue.
The University is doing a disservice to its administrators, faculty, staff and students by refusing to comment on the issue. Their ham-fisted handling of the matter has only invited rampant speculation and left many feeling slighted.
It is certainly possible that the administration - at least those who haven't been left in the dark - has extremely legitimate reasons for being so tight-lipped. Privacy must be respected in certain cases and reputations could be at stake.
But at the very least, they should be forthcoming about why they can't be forthcoming. If the University is trying to protect certain parties then they should explain that.
We deserve something.
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[QUOTE id="00dc6717-b90e-4050-8ca2-8dd27dc6e110"]Wouldn't the Yale Daily News or the Harvard Crimson have breached the wall of silence by now if a similar event had occurred in New Haven or Cambridge?[/QUOTE] je.
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Use your heads - it's not health related. If Stetson were ill, the announcement would have been accompanied by effusive praise, but the actual announcement was terse. So that leaves only a "serious legal issue" as an explanation. The U is legally between a rock and a hard place, so their silence is understandable. On the one hand, they are still exposed for whatever Stetson may have done that got him fired (e.g. the rumor that Stetson had an affair w/ an undergrad and the undergrad is suing Penn). On the other hand, if they publicly state the reason for the firing, they are exposed to suits by Stetson, esp. if the suit turns out to be unfounded. Duke just paid big $ to it's LX players in the (non)rape scandal because their pres. ran his mouth too much. So the best legal (if not PR) advice in such a situation is to say nothing other than the minimum - we have accepted Stetson's resignation, period. Our curiosity (and that's all it is) can wait and surely will be satisfied by anonymous "leaks" and/or court filings soon enough.
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I imagine that the many "left scratching their heads" include dp staffers, a few gossips, and absolutely none of the remaining student body. If you insist on prying into this man's life and satisfying your curiosity, at least justify the relevance of your interest - are any possible answers to this mystifying question important for the public to know? After Stetson's many years of service and an intended upcoming resignation anyway, I would venture the answer is no.
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There is a culture of secrecy and arrogance at Penn. They hide behind Ivy League respectability and do their dirty deeds with no fear of public scrutiny. They are accountable only to some shadowy group called the Trustees. Go find which trustees are lining their pockets with fat Penn contracts. It is a corrupting environment. This is just the latest attempt at damage control through silence and stonewalling. Screw-ups will be ushered out on golden parachutes while parents pay through the nose and staff are mistreated.
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I have yet to see anything reported in the DP or elsewhere that indicates there is anything to this other than that this man, who served Penn quite well for many years, has decided to retire. What's the problem?
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[QUOTE id="535fec02-72b9-47f5-b04a-f7ea248675a1"]I have yet to see anything reported in the DP or elsewhere that indicates there is anything to this other than that this man, who served Penn quite well for many years, has decided to retire. What's the problem?[/QUOTE] http://www.phillymag.com/blogs/philly/2007/09/06/penn-bracing-for-an-ugl...
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[QUOTE id="535fec02-72b9-47f5-b04a-f7ea248675a1"]I have yet to see anything reported in the DP or elsewhere that indicates there is anything to this other than that this man, who served Penn quite well for many years, has decided to retire. What's the problem?[/QUOTE] Bill, You must be kidding! No one leaves the University after 29 years of what appears to be a very successful career and get a terse acknowledgment from the University. Moreover, if such a person does leave the University, their department members are not instructed to not discuss their former leaders resignation. The University is clearly waiting for another shoe to drop here and wants to distance itself from Stetson. The question is whether its a personal scandal or one which potentially taints the University, its reputation, its admissions process, etc..., or which potentially exposes the University to liability. This clearly is not just a well respected former Admissions Director looking to retire without fanfare.
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[QUOTE id="535fec02-72b9-47f5-b04a-f7ea248675a1"]I have yet to see anything reported in the DP or elsewhere that indicates there is anything to this other than that this man, who served Penn quite well for many years, has decided to retire. What's the problem?[/QUOTE] In order to argue against Bill, you posted a link to an article in the Daily Examiner that, drumroll please, cites the DP article as their source? It's really sick how speculation by itself, without any substantiation, is being reported as news. I'm going to start rumors about the DP's lack of substance in their stories must mean something is up - you know, cause we're all used to their stellar journalism skills. What's going on at the DP? Did one of the editors switch to a new diet and now their stinking up the place, leading the reporters to quickly write empty stories so they can avoid that olfactory nightmare?
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I was about to write what Penn Alum wrote but he beat me to it. Bill, did you just fall off the turnip truck? Do you always accept what the authorities choose to tell you at face value? We don't know what's involved here yet but there's clearly more to come - as PA explained, the circumstances clearly telegraph that there is a "problem" and not a routine retirement. That the U is unwilling/unable to spell it out for you in black and white doesn't mean that everything is fine - in fact it means the opposite.
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IF this there is something less than savory prompting Dean StetsonÕs departure, and that is a big IF, I am happy that the University is being as successful as they are in keeping IT under wraps. Reason??? We live in a world where an accusation is as good as a conviction. None of us affiliated with Penn, whether faculty, administration, parents or studentsÉespecially students, have anything to gain by something ÒleakingÓ or being served up before properly vetted. Two words for anyone who chooses to challenge my thinking: Duke Lacrosse
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Why doesn't the DP do some good reporting to find out what's going on? This is a challenge to your journalistic ability.
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There is a completely lack of accountability in College Hall.
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Wouldn't the Yale Daily News or the Harvard Crimson have breached the wall of silence by now if a similar event had occurred in New Haven or Cambridge?