Good Old GOP White Boys trying to oust Texas A&M's first female and Hispanic president

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Power struggle under way at A&M
Regents to meet Monday to consider future of top executives.
By Ralph K.M. Haurwitz
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, June 13, 2009

... Recent events and disclosures reveal a power struggle involving system Chancellor Mike McKinney, campus President Elsa Murano, the regents, the faculty and, to some extent, Gov. Rick Perry. In the latest development, the regents announced Friday that they would meet Monday to consider reassignment, discipline or dismissal of top system and campus employees, which could include the president and chancellor. The meeting comes a little more than a week after the A&M System released personnel records to the American-Statesman and other news organizations revealing a deep divide between McKinney and Murano. The release followed McKinney's comments that combining his job and Murano's could save money. As chancellor, McKinney is the chief executive of the system, which includes the College Station campus, eight other universities, a health science center and seven state agencies...

McKinney's most recent performance evaluation of Murano — and her response to it — amount to a bare-knuckle brawl in the usually staid academic arena. The chancellor gave the president low marks for honesty, decision-making, integrity and other attributes, and said that she does a "very poor" job of carrying out board decisions with which she disagrees. He added this handwritten comment about her decision-making: "Too slow. Is very inclusive. ... Should work WITH faculty, not FOR." Murano, in a 10-page typed response, said the review is "ludicrous," "besmirches my character" and is "not based on facts." "Allowing constituents to provide their input on important issues — to have a seat at the table — is what enlightened governance is all about," she wrote.

In a separate document submitted to McKinney in advance of her review, Murano said that system officials have sometimes bypassed her in working out agreements with faculty members or private companies to commercialize scientific advances. Such scientific initiatives have been a particular interest of Perry's, and his influence in policy and personnel at his alma mater and the A&M System is considerable. Not only did Perry appoint all nine regents, but McKinney is a former chief of staff for the governor. Guy Diedrich, vice chancellor for federal relations and commercialization, is also close to Perry. Mark Ellison, associate vice chancellor for economic development, is a former director of the state's Emerging Technology Fund, a pet project of Perry's.

Perry also had a hand in recruiting Brett Giroir, a former official of the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, to the position of vice chancellor for research. And retired Lt. Gen. Joseph Weber, the vice president for student affairs, has been friends with Perry since they were classmates at A&M. Some faculty members say the governor's influence has led to excessive emphasis on research that can be commercialized as opposed to basic research. Some also express concern about a Perry-flavored program under which faculty members can receive bonuses of up to $10,000 based on evaluations by students. Critics say that amounts to a one-dimensional view of teaching and smacks of consumerism. McKinney established the program after such bonuses were touted at a May 2008 summit on higher education organized by Perry...

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/06/13/0613aggies.html

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1. This is a fascinating study in the GOB network, indeed.

The posters at Texags.com seem to think en masse that McKinney is all wrong, and even protect Dr. Murano to a certain extent. The theory is that this whole mess is designed to provide a soft landing for Governor Perry in the almost certain eventuality of his upcoming loss to Senator Hutchison. He has his eyes on the job of President of TAMU.

You might also remember that Dr. McKinney was the instigator of the so-called "Second Battle of the Alamo"-after Texas Tech beat the highly regarded Aggies in football, the Tech fans stormed the field and tore down the goalposts. Dr. McKinney picked a fight with a near-bye patron, got clocked in the noggin and required stitches to close a wound over his eye. He loudly and vociferously blamed the "classless" Tech fans for attacking him. Turns out the guy who punched him was another Aggie, and the wound to the brow was caused by Dr. McKinney swing his binoculars on their strap like a weapon.

Look for a huge uprising if Murano is fired.