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OT: President Whittaker to Resign?

Psycho Jim said:
Worse than that, It all happened before he got to UCF
He fixed the system so it won't happen again, and now this...
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Wasn’t Whittaker the Provost before he was President? It’s not like he just stepped foot on campus the day he became President. I have a lot of respect for Whittaker and I hope he stays. The man is a great leader.

My issue with all of this is just that this is all politics. If this was UF or FSU, this would be a footnote somewhere. The issue was identified, new controls were put into place to prevent it from recurring, and the people directly involved were terminated. Seems cut and dry but politicians need to get their name out there. I want to see that bozo from South Brevard replaced either by someone else from his party or the opposing party (Brevard is very red - so their primaries are very heated and are sometimes the election).
 
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Hitt needs to fall on the sword and donate some money to these assholes in Tally. Problem solved.
 
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I really wish that someone I trust would weigh in on whether I should be pissed about this or not. We have plenty of conspiracy theories, some who blame the trustees/administration, some who blame Whitaker, some who blame Hitt, some who blame Whitaker/Hitt, and some who blame the state legislature.

But it would be really helpful if someone without skin in the game would say whether he's a good president who is getting screwed or a bad president who is getting what he deserved. I feel like it's a lot of silence and rumors at this point.
 
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atsKnight said:
I really wish that someone I trust would weigh in on whether I should be pissed about this or not. We have plenty of conspiracy theories, some who blame the trustees/administration, some who blame Whitaker, some who blame Hitt, some who blame Whitaker/Hitt, and some who blame the state legislature.

But it would be really helpful if someone without skin in the game would say whether he's a good president who is getting screwed or a bad president who is getting what he deserved. I feel like it's a lot of silence and rumors at this point.
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I don’t actually care one way or another. I pretty much just focus on our sports. The other stuff I don’t follow. I only even knew who Hitt was when I was there because my girlfriend worked or interned in his office. As long as we stay under radar I’m happy. This will all go away soon.
 
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atsKnight said:
I really wish that someone I trust would weigh in on whether I should be pissed about this or not. We have plenty of conspiracy theories, some who blame the trustees/administration, some who blame Whitaker, some who blame Hitt, some who blame Whitaker/Hitt, and some who blame the state legislature.

But it would be really helpful if someone without skin in the game would say whether he's a good president who is getting screwed or a bad president who is getting what he deserved. I feel like it's a lot of silence and rumors at this point.
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This

I think it says something that he resigned a day before his hearing...or firing squad.
 
atsKnight said:
I really wish that someone I trust would weigh in on whether I should be pissed about this or not. We have plenty of conspiracy theories, some who blame the trustees/administration, some who blame Whitaker, some who blame Hitt, some who blame Whitaker/Hitt, and some who blame the state legislature.

But it would be really helpful if someone without skin in the game would say whether he's a good president who is getting screwed or a bad president who is getting what he deserved. I feel like it's a lot of silence and rumors at this point.
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You forgot the *. Rebuilding a condemned building with money from the state that’s designated for “repairs” isn’t a big deal in my book. People are acting like he stole the money and bought a yacht
 
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Stormthecourt? said:
You forgot the *. Rebuilding a condemned building with money from the state that’s designated for “repairs” isn’t a big deal in my book. People are acting like he stole the money and bought a yacht
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Agreed. But I’m not in tune enough to think my opinion counts.
 
Stormthecourt? said:
You forgot the *. Rebuilding a condemned building with money from the state that’s designated for “repairs” isn’t a big deal in my book. People are acting like he stole the money and bought a yacht
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Maybe he got a 60 foot boat on the side.*
 
Generally speaking if a person is willing to take a fall, you let it happen. Keeping him isn't going to win you favors, and if something else happens under his tenure the board is now culpable.
 
BlakNGoldAllDay said:
I don’t actually care one way or another. I pretty much just focus on our sports. The other stuff I don’t follow. I only even knew who Hitt was when I was there because my girlfriend worked or interned in his office. As long as we stay under radar I’m happy. This will all go away soon.
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This can effect the Athletics Program. The University President can hurt or help in Conference Realignment, Danny White's commitment to UCF, & the financial future of UCF Athletics and the Football Program.

Dr Hitt's understanding of this is why we passed USF by the last few years. If Whittaker's replacement is a 'stand down' type that cares about the Archaic Florida Legislature's interests over UCF's things could go backwards and destroy everything the Hittman built.
 
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Poolside Knight said:
This can effect the Athletics Program. The University President can hurt or help in Conference Realignment, Danny White's commitment to UCF, & the financial future of UCF Athletics and the Football Program.

Dr Hitt's understanding of this is why we passed USF by the last few years. If Whittaker's replacement is a 'stand down' type that cares about the Archaic Florida Legislature's interests over UCF's things could go backwards and destroy everything the Hittman built.
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This. One of the biggest reasons for UM’s lack luster decade in sports is an administration that didn’t see the benefit in athletics so they didn’t prioritize them.
 
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If the BOT accepts Dr. Whittaker's resignation tomorrow we must also pull Dr. Hitt's name off of the library. Between this happening on Hitt's watch and Hitt allowing the GOL statue, I would hate to see what the next thing we find that happened during Hitt's Presidency.
 
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Flem3000 said:
If the BOT accepts Dr. Whittaker's resignation tomorrow we must also pull Dr. Hitt's name off of the library. Between this happening on Hitt's watch and Hitt allowing the GOL statue, I would hate to see what the next thing we find that happened during Hitt's Presidency.
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I read Hitt stepped down because they found something.
 
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Poolside Knight said:
This can effect the Athletics Program. The University President can hurt or help in Conference Realignment, Danny White's commitment to UCF, & the financial future of UCF Athletics and the Football Program.

Dr Hitt's understanding of this is why we passed USF by the last few years. If Whittaker's replacement is a 'stand down' type that cares about the Archaic Florida Legislature's interests over UCF's things could go backwards and destroy everything the Hittman built.
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I understand the next hire has to emphasize sports. Just this exact story I don’t care about.
 
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So if they find something else that happened in the past, and the people involved have already been punished, the new person still has to take a fall?
 



this is starting to smell like a couple old buddies of Hitt may have screwed up but are letting Dale take the fall....his family wouldn’t put themselves out there if he was more at fault
 
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From The Chronicle of Higher Education....they think part of it is Gators and Noles not liking UCF's growth in popularity


A widening financial scandal at the University of Central Florida, which may have cost a newly minted president his job, has raised deeper questions about whether a culture of ethical shortcuts and lapses in oversight took root during years of unbridled growth at the institution.

The university's Board of Trustees will consider on Thursday whether to accept the resignation of Dale Whittaker, who ascended from provost to president just eight months ago. Whittaker and the university have been in state lawmakers' cross hairs since August, when an audit found that Central Florida had misappropriated $38 million of restricted taxpayer money for the construction of a new building.

For the last two decades, the story of the University of Central Florida has been about more students and more buildings. Under John C. Hitt, who preceded Whittaker and led the university for more than a quarter century, Central Florida transformed from a midsize commuter campus into a behemoth public research university of 66,000 students.

The once-sleepy institution gobbled up territory in Orlando, added a medical school, and cultivated a zealous athletics department that has floated plans for a resort-style "recovery cove" where Division I athletes can glide down their own private lazy river.

It may well be, as some on campus believe, that all of this swagger put a target on the university's back, and Whittaker is paying the price. Lawmakers, including one who recently suggested that the university might need to be shut down over the misappropriated-money scandal, have lambasted the university for months and show no signs of relenting.

To many at the university, this legislative outrage seems overblown. Even so, the controversy has invited a broader conversation about whether the University of Central Florida has played fast and loose with the rules on its path to prodigiousness. Whittaker's resignation is unlikely to put that matter to rest.

'Broken Culture'

The financial controversy at Central Florida picked up steam in January, when an independent investigation found that the university had inappropriately used or planned to use more than $85 million for various new construction projects. The investigation's report,Whittaker said at the time, exposed a "broken culture" and suggested that the university's administration and finance division "didn't place enough value on integrity and competence," the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Manoj Chopra, an engineering professor and former member of the State University System of Florida's Board of Governors, said a larger conversation about accountability and oversight at the university is appropriate. In that vein, he said, it is fair to question whether the university's systems of checks and balances have evolved appropriately to accommodate its rapid growth and complexity.

"All of that is starting to strain the infrastructure, and it cannot be sustained," said Chopra, who has also served on the campus-level Board of Trustees. "I will be blunt in saying growth has to be restrained."

After decades of consistent construction, it was the building of Trevor Colbourn Hall, an academic building that houses the College of Arts and Humanities, that drew the attention of state auditors.

To finance the building, the university tapped into operational funds, which cannot be legally used for the construction of new buildings. Much of the blame was laid at the feet of William J. (Bill) Merck II, the former vice president for administration and finance and chief financial officer, who "clearly understood" that the financing could run afoul of state rules, according to a report by an Atlanta law firm hired to investigate the matter.

Had the campus-level Board of Trustees been informed of the dubiousness of the financing strategy, Merck knew that it would never have approved the project, the law firm stated.

Chopra, whose tenure as a trustee did not coincide with the Trevor Colbourn project, said it is "very difficult to blame trustees" for accepting at face value that construction projects they are asked to approve are legal. It is clear in hindsight, however, that the trustees failed to interrogate whether the university had sufficient internal checks and balances, he said.

"I will take responsibility for not questioning the business model where multiple layers of approval were not provided for all funding sources," Chopra said.

In the wake of the scandal, the university axed the vice-presidential-level position that Merck held, creating two financial-officer positions designed to work as a check on financial decisions.

The controversy has raised questions about the cabinet structure and broader culture that took shape under Hitt, who ended his 26-year run as president in June 2018 at the age of 77. Late in his tenure, Chopra observed, Hitt increasingly relied on his lieutenants.

"The fact that he was not aware of what was going on at the institution for the last few years is disappointing and concerning," Chopra said. "That probably led to the malaise. Decisions that should have been made at the executive level were made at the lower levels. John relied on the expertise of people, but potentially that conflicted with structural checks and balances in the system."

The Chronicle requested interviews with Hitt and Whittaker through the university's communications office, but neither was made available.

Faculty Response

The crisis at Central Florida has further strained relations between administrators and some of the university's unionized faculty members. For them, this isn't a byzantine story about a university's tapping the wrong pot of money for a building in violation of some obscure regulation. It's the story of an administration willfully taking money that should have gone to faculty salaries, all the while poor-mouthing to the union in collective-bargaining sessions.

"The faculty-union position is that we are not anywhere near the bottom of this," said Scott Launier, president of the university's chapter of the United Faculty of Florida. "We've known for years that we've been lied to about how much money there was to compensate and provide for faculty."

Launier found a tongue-in-cheek reason to be upbeat about the unfolding story.

"Every year, the university has said, 'We would like to give you more money, but we don't have it,'" said Launier, a writing and rhetoric instructor. "It is nice that they have finally changed that narrative, and they have finally said, 'We have the money, we just don't want to give it to you.' At least we're having an honest conversation."

The Faculty Senate held an emergency meeting on Wednesday afternoon. William (Bill) T. Self, chairman of the Senate and a university trustee, said that some professors had expressed anger that Whittaker felt forced to resign because of legislative pressure. Others, he said, felt that the president ought to resign in light of the investigation's findings.



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The Atlanta law firm's report said that Whittaker knew that operational funds had been used to pay for Trevor Colbourn Hall's construction, but that he had been given "vague and arguably misleading information" on the subject. Whittaker told investigators that he did not know about restrictions on the money.

Self, in a text message to The Chronicle on Wednesday evening, said that Whittaker "shows strong personal character in his willingness to sacrifice his position as president for the sake of the university."
 
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Poolside Knight said:
also Fcuk Knight News, they are a disgrace and actively work to hurt this University and Football Program
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100%. I’m all for good investigative journalism. But since they stopped being affiliated with the school, that paper just tries to ruin careers.

I hate the term “fake news.” But they’re the definition of it. The National Enquirer of UCF.
 
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if you guys/gals wanted a real world example of why South of I4 becoming a separate State isn't the worst idea we just got one, let those idiots in Tallahassee turn the rest of the Peninsula into Alabama
 
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Poolside Knight said:
if you guys/gals wanted a real world example of why South of I4 becoming a separate State isn't the worst idea we just got one, let those idiots in Tallahassee turn the rest of the Peninsula into Alabama
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We’ve got to get some alums up there!!! The BS that’s flowing out of Tallywackassee is even making some Gators gag (and that’s hard to do!!!)
:eek:[banana]
 
Shark59 said:
We’ve got to get some alums up there!!! The BS that’s flowing out of Tallywackassee is even making some Gators gag (and that’s hard to do!!!)
:eek:[banana]
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I’ve made a few gators gag....
 
Tough to know what was happening in this situation. On the one hand, it's tough to argue that the provost was cut off from where the money was coming from. On the other hand, I know that I've put a lot of faith in lieutenants or broke budgetary/tax rules that I thought were inane and I believed wouldn't amount to more than a slap on the wrist, so that sounds like a plausible narrative.

The whole thing about everyone disagreeing who was to blame is not a good look and points to some systemic dysfunction. If it were just the legislature being overzealous, I feel like there would have been more unity on the UCF side, even from those who have had to leave.
 
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Hard to figure out what happened, but I now seem to think it's not too good.

But, if you're young, or even half-way through your career and end up getting fired not because you got caught coming out a "massage parlor" but because of an economic scandal,your chosen career, the one you loved and thought might end in a Provost or college Presidency, well that's just been exploded, even if it is just a legislature being overzealous. That amount of anger would make some people say whatever to take anyone and everyone else down. I doubt that above article since it's only filled with some woman's "thoughts". Show proof, don't report thoughts.

Have to admit, that this money came from salaries instead of building, does look bad.
 
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80'sKnight said:
Hard to figure out what happened, but I now seem to think it's not too good.

But, if you're young, or even half-way through your career and end up getting fired not because you got caught coming out a "massage parlor" but because of an economic scandal,your chosen career, the one you loved and thought might end in a Provost or college Presidency, well that's just been exploded, even if it is just a legislature being overzealous. That amount of anger would make some people say whatever to take anyone and everyone else down. I doubt that above article since it's only filled with some woman's "thoughts". Show proof, don't report thoughts.

Have to admit, that this money came from salaries instead of building, does look bad.
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It's horrible that it came from salaries. Shows an administration that's focused on the wrong things. If you aren't paying as best as you can then you aren't attracting or retaining the best talent. Yeah our buildings are nice, but who is teaching those students. Time to end this constant state of rapid growth, we're not a country, we're a university.
 
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