She’s president, as the New York Times puts it this morning, “of the entire University of Michigan.” Yet in the years I’ve kept this blog, I’ve never known her to issue a direct statement, let alone appear in public… I mean, she must appear in public… convocations and all… But she’s so withdrawn that UD figures she’s either very shy or very queenly…
And frankly, given that university’s problems – many of them involving Rich Rodriguez, and therefore of her making – it comes off as regal rather than inhibited when Coleman says nothing, or appoints one of her mouthpieces, to deal with the latest accusations against him and his program.
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Now she’s getting all of this attention from the world’s newspaper of record because of her corporate directorships – the Johnson and Johnson one in particular, where, in exchange for attending a few meetings, she gets close to $250,000 a year – and yet again she makes one of her serfs do the talking.
Responding to questions on Ms. Coleman’s behalf Monday, Kelly E. Cunninghan, a spokeswoman for the university, said the president satisfies policy by disclosing her outside work.
Who says? I mean, who says that’s enough?
The situation calls for transparency, which Michigan has, [one expert] said, and a specific policy and approval process which do not appear to exist. Ms. Coleman is required to report her outside work to a vice president, who works for her.
“Disclosure is a step down and not equal to approval,” [Thomas] Donaldson said. “I think it’s important in an instance like this where there’s a possible conflict of interest for a responsible group to say yes, to think about it, and not just have it reported to them.”
It will be interesting to know President Coleman’s response to this point as soon as she designates a courtier to speak on her behalf.
Meanwhile, the Times notes the prevailing hypocrisy:
The University of Michigan medical school became the first in the nation last month to say it would refuse any funding from drug companies for its continuing medical education classes. The decision could cost it as much as $1 million a year, but it was worth it, the medical school dean said, for education to be free from potential bias.
At the same time, Mary Sue Coleman, president of the entire University of Michigan, sits on the board of directors for the pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson…
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Update: Coleman comments on the issue:
I think it’s my duty to be out there understanding what the commercial world is doing and I think if it perfectly aligns with what we do in terms of our engagement in economic development, I think it’s important. …I don’t treat patients, I’m not an MBA, I have no control over any interactions or anything…
Why does Johnson and Johnson pay President Coleman $200,000 a year to understand the commercial world? She doesn’t do anything there, as she notes. Since she’s basically there to learn, why isn’t Coleman paying Johnson and Johnson?
July 13th, 2010 at 8:00AM
It’s kind of like being the Queen of England, no? Periodically, some guys give you some speeches to read in public, you have to adorn the boards of a bunch organizations, and you have troublesome younger courtiers, such as Rich.
July 13th, 2010 at 8:29AM
But the Queen’s in her eighties, and still makes world tours!
July 13th, 2010 at 8:58AM
At our place the chief flack-catcher for our fearless leader is one Dan Wolter. He is usually trotted out when brown stuff hits fan. An examples of his fine work is:
“University spokesman Daniel Wolter said that Bruininks does not comment on his compensation [$733,421 ] but said he was ‘quite surprised he ranked as high as he did.”
It says something about the intelligence – or integrity – of a university president when they can’t answer direct questions from the media without the perpetual intervention of a flack or in very contrived or controlled situations. Our open forums usually consist of one question, no follow-up, and a kill the clock performance that often has nothing to do with the original question.
As J-school prof Ison put it in “The Closed U” http://bit.ly/a21Irn :
Take the recent e-mail [Wolter] sent to a reporter after she politely explained her role as a journalist and said she hoped to forge “a more professional and collaborative” relationship with his office. Wolter responded in part by criticizing her calls to other University offices, saying “there’s nothing in their job description about talking to the media.”
Really?
And so it goes.
December 15th, 2012 at 7:32PM
[…] Oh pish posh. What’s the public good of Michigan’s president, Mary Sue Coleman, collecting huge sums from corporate boards for doing little other than attending meetings that cut into the time she can devote to the university? Was she distracted by her corporate boarding when she insisted on the catastrophic hiring of Rich Rodriguez? […]