Untitled Document

Friday, August 11, 2006

Good morning! Here's today's summary of news coverage of Auburn University.
NOTE: Any errors in text are due to formatting by the publication.

Total Clips: 24

	Date	Outlet
'Gradegate' leads to shake-up	08/11/2006	Opelika-Auburn News
Auburn president Athletic department did nothing wrong	08/11/2006	Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Results bring no surprises	08/11/2006	Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
N.C.A.A. and SEC Await Auburns Inquiry on Suspect Courses	08/11/2006	NYTimes.com
Football Auburn clears athletic department	08/11/2006	Dothan Eagle, The
Auburn Ousts 2, but Doesn't Fault Athletics	08/11/2006	New York Times (NY)
Richardson exonerates department	08/11/2006	Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
2 Auburn professors' judgment faulted, Both resign administrative portions of duties	08/11/2006	Huntsville Times
Auburn leaders step down from posts	08/11/2006	Birmingham News
Auburn profs resign administrative posts	08/11/2006	The Sun Herald (MS)
Two lose posts over AU academic abuse	08/11/2006	Press-Register
Richardson knows not to cross Tuberville	08/11/2006	Birmingham News
Auburn U. Announces new Academic-Quality Policy After Inquiry Into Courses Taken by Some Athletes	08/11/2006	Chronicle of Higher Education, The
Academics heart of AU probe, 'Athletics is a minor player,' Auburn interim president says	08/11/2006	Decatur Daily
Football: Auburn clears athletic department	08/11/2006	Dothan Eagle
Auburn athletic officials cleared of wrongdoing	08/11/2006	MSNBC (NAT)
Auburn University creates agriculture institute	08/11/2006	Southeast Farm Press
Establish Scholarship Fund	08/11/2006	Cleburne News, The
Officials embrace probe's findings	08/11/2006	Birmingham News
AU clears athletic program	08/11/2006	Montgomery Advertiser
Sports cleared in grade probe	08/10/2006	Birmingham News, The
Two resign administrative posts at Auburn in coursework probe	08/10/2006	Gadsden Times
AU Professors Step Down, New Course Policy In Place	08/10/2006	WTVM-TV
Auburn absolves athletic department, School sees problem as academic, not sports	08/10/2006	Atlanta Journal Constitution


'Gradegate' leads to shake-up 08/11/2006 Opelika-Auburn News Amy Weaver		Return to Top
Two tenured faculty members under investigation for academic misconduct at Auburn University have resigned their leadership positions, but will continue to teach. AU Interim President Ed Richardson announced to the media Thursday that Dr. Tom Petee had resigned his position as head of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work, Criminology and Criminal Justice, and Dr. James Witte has left his role as adult education program coordinator in the Department of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Technology amid the accusation that each of them taught directed reading courses to a number of students, including athletes, and gave high grades for little or no work. 'I do not believe that professors conducted themselves in a malicious or self-serving way, but clearly very poor judgment was evidenced,' Richardson said. The internal investigation is ongoing but likely will be concluded by the end of the month, in time to make a report to the board of trustees at its Sept. 1 meeting, Richardson said. Besides the leadership changes, Richardson announced changes to an academic policy about directed reading courses. The independent study-style class involving one-on-one teaching is intended to help students learn a topic in detail not available in the regularly scheduled classes. Faculty members receive no compensation for teaching directed reading. It is 'strictly voluntary,' he said. The classes are generally associated with graduate programs and upper-level undergraduates. It is common for students to take such courses when they need a class to graduate but it is not offered at the time. Auburn has required that content in directed reading courses equal what a student would receive in a traditional class, including a syllabus, method of evaluation and prior approval of the universitys Curriculum Committee. But, effective for the fall semester, Provost John Heilman said students of junior status or higher will be eligible for directed reading. Course content must be approved by an administrator higher than the faculty teacher. Faculty teaching more than three directed reading courses and students taking more than nine credits in directed reading need prior approval. The investigation Since the investigation started in June, Richardson said it became clear the issue included more than one department. The Department of Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work, Criminology and Criminal Justice was initially under scrutiny because the university received an anonymous complaint through the online EthicsPoint system in May. The matter gained public attention when sociology professor James Gundlach came forward, accusing Petee of teaching too many directed reading courses and offering students high grades for little or no work. Richardson said the university has found the matter to be strictly academic. He called athletics a 'minor player.' 'I want to emphasize to each of you that this is clearly an academic problem for Auburn University,' he said. 'I believe that athletics was infused into this discussion to provide a sufficient traction to make it newsworthy.' The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Auburns regional accrediting agency, and the NCAA want to be informed of the universitys findings. If the matter results in any athletic repercussions, Richardson said the NCAA wants to know what Auburn plans to do, but they have final say. The academic reputation of the university is 'far more important' than all the athletic programs combined, Richardson said, and will be treated as such. So far, he said the investigation has shown that over the past three years only 1 percent of Auburns class enrollment have been devoted to directed reading. It also showed the problem to be limited to the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work, Criminology and Criminal Justice within the College of Liberal Arts and the adult education program in the Department of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Technology in the College of Education The committee charged with conducting the investigation has interviewed 63 faculty and students, including Gundlach, who was interviewed once but has since refused to cooperate any further. Richardson said they plan to do more, but are having difficulty tracking down some recent AU graduates. He is not directly involved in the investigation process but was reporting on behalf of the committees members, Drs. Sharon Gaber, Marcia Boosinger and Constance Relihan. Between interviews and records reviews, he said the committee has not contradicted Gundlachs findings. 'They were pretty close to being accurate,' he said. Gundlach says he has proof Petee taught 250 students in directed reading over the last few years and gave them high grades for little or no work. Petee has said he took on the high number of courses because there were too few staff in his department. Richardson didnt find that acceptable. He said it was Petees responsibility to convince his dean he had more students than he could staff. Whats next? Richardson didn't anticipate any more staffing or academic changes, at least until the investigation is concluded. The leadership positions held by Petee and Witte will not be filled in the interim but instead the duties will be shared by current faculty. If the investigation finds any students were steered toward directed reading courses, Richardson said he would deal with that as a separate issue. The investigation should conclude in the next two weeks, in time for Richardson to report findings to the board of trustees at its regularly scheduled meeting Sept. 1.
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Auburn president Athletic department did nothing wrong 08/11/2006 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer Christa Turner		Return to Top
AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn University president Ed Richardson said its investigation into possible grade boosting saw no wrongdoing by the athletic department and was just an academic issue - one the university is addressing. Richardson announced the investigation is drawing to a close, but said the three-person committee found nothing indicating NCAA violations in the athletics department. The investigation began when sociology professor James Gundlach alleged Thomas Petee, interim chair of the sociology, criminology, anthropology and social work department, gave high grades for minimal work. Petee taught 272 individual in directed readings classes, an abnormally high number, during the 2004-05 academic year. Gundlach's research indicated that 18 members of Auburn's undefeated 2004 football team took 97 hours of Petee's directed reading classes during their academic careers. The investigation also found additional abuse of the directed readings or independent study format in the adult education program by professor James Witte, director of that program. Both resigned directorship in their respective departments in the wake of the investigation. Richardson called their high number of offerings poor judgment. Richardson said tougher policies regarding directed reading and independent studies have been put in place and will be enforced. He said he fully expects the measures taken by the university to appease the Southern Association of Colleges and , Auburn's accrediting body, as well as the NCAA. Witte declined to comment, referring inquiries to Auburn's communication and marketing department. Petee did not immediately return calls left at his office. TIGHTER POLICY Auburn issued the following criteria for students wishing to take independent studies or directed readings classes, effective this semester -The student must be at the junior level or above. -There must be documentation of course content and objectives, as well as criteria for the assignment of grades. -The course must be approved by an administrator above the level of the faculty member who will teach the course. -Any faculty member wishing to teach more than three students through directed readings in a given semester will need approval to do so. -Any student wishing to take more than nine hours of directed reading for credit toward a degree will need approval to do so.
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Results bring no surprises 08/11/2006 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer		Return to Top
AUBURN, Ala. What an absolute shock. Auburn University's internal investigation into allegations of academic fraud absolved the athletic department of any wrongdoing. Didn't see that one coming. Forgive me while I pause to lift my jaw up off the floor. Naturally, neither Auburn nor any other Southeastern Conference school would enroll academically at-risk athletes in loosely-supervised and barely-graded independent study programs to help keep them eligible. It's not about protecting investments in revenue-producing machines in shoulder pads or the -plus-budget athletic departments they represent. It's about educating the kids, silly fools. It's about preparing them to be the best sociologists they can be. It's about preparing them for careers in adult education by not grading them toughly so they'll know not to do that when they're teaching classes in the real world. Auburn University interim president Ed Richardson said the likelihood that freebie grades were given in various directed reading classes is strictly an academic issue, even though some athletes apparently benefited from what assuredly represents a world record for independent study offerings. I believe that athletics was infused into this discussion to provide sufficient traction to make it newsworthy, Richardson said Thursday afternoon. Athletics is a minor player in this academic issue. Well, duh. Besides, at least some of the 18 members of the 2004 football team sociology professor James Gundlach found in his department's curious independent study offerings could probably tell you what building the classes were held in. Some might even remember the title of the book they were assigned to read. Uh-oh, more breaking news coming in Oklahoma quarterback Rhett Bomar has released the findings of his own internal investigation into charges that he violated NCAA rules by accepting money for a no-show job with a car dealership. Bomar says he didn't do it and that's good enough for me. Guess Oklahoma can put him back on the team. Anyway, as we were saying, Richardson said Auburn will forward its findings to the NCAA because those busybodies wanted a report. But Richardson said there's no wrongdoing by the athletic department, so there you have it. What they (NCAA officials) specifically prefer is that we not draw any conclusions in regards to athletics nor issue any summary statements in a public way, until they have a chance to review the report, Richardson said. What they're saying is, 'You may say what you want, but we will make the final call.' Never mind the apparent contradiction between Richardson's statements and Auburn's actions. Never mind that Oracle Ed seems to be telling the NCAA how it should conduct its own investigation. The man knows what he's doing. Besides, Auburn's high ranking in the NCAA Academic Progress Rate standings has to count for something. Sure, Richardson avoided a question Thursday about whether gimme sociology and adult education credits grants Auburn's APR as much authenticity as cubic zirconium, but maybe he was distracted by those bright TV camera lights. We had an exceptional class that year, he said, obviously not defining exceptional as an athlete actually attending class. This is a six-year program, Richardson continued on about APR. We need to hold judgment until those six years have elapsed. They just happened to pick a good year for Auburn. I think you'll see that drop off some. Not because of this issue. Clearly not. This just in from the ESPN ticker Former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett has announced the completion of his internal investigation into police charges that he led officers on a chase in his SUV and was discovered to have handguns in his vehicle and a bulletproof vest on his body. It may have looked like his vehicle swerved all over the road, but Clarett was just looking for a lost contact lens beneath the accelerator. As for the weapons and bulletproof vest, Clarett was auditioning for the role of Elmer J. Fudd in a dinner theater production of Bugs Bunny and Friends now that the whole NFL thing is out the window. Truly, internal investigations are all about transparency. Anyway, back to Auburn. Richardson said no current athlete who partook of the independent study buffet would lose his or her eligibility for next year. As for those guys who left Auburn for the NFL, graduated, transferred or became sociologists, great news. Their eligibility isn't in jeopardy either. Best of all, Richardson said we have confirmed that no counselor, no athletic staff, no coaches were involved in steering students to these particular courses. Naturally, any wrongdoers would have helped the investigative committee by raising their hands and confessing their sins in order to be identified. Certainly, pangs of guilt would have compelled them to spill their guts if they had steered players to friendly professors. Even the directors of the two academic departments targeted by Auburn's investigation did their part to help foster this transparency and honesty. They stepped down because they were obviously moved -- albeit belatedly -- by the sentiments Richardson expressed Thursday afternoon. Our academic reputation is far more important than all of the athletic programs put together, he said. Even so, Richardson made it clear what grade he'd give the athletic department. A-plus. That might look awfully familiar to some independent study students, athletes and non-athletes alike.


N.C.A.A. and SEC Await Auburns Inquiry on Suspect Courses 08/11/2006 NYTimes.com PETE THAMEL		Return to Top
The National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Southeastern Conference are awaiting the findings of Auburn University's investigation into allegations of academic fraud before determining what action, if any, to take. The New York Times reported last week that Auburn athletes took advantage of so-called directed-readings courses to help boost their grades and remain eligible for their sports, according to a professor who disclosed the matter. In some cases, the courses in sociology and criminology involved no class time and little work. If there was abuse in the case, and I'm not sure that there is, if there was abuse, we would be sure to act, Myles Brand, the N.C.A.A. president, said in a telephone interview yesterday. Brand commended James Gundlach, the whistleblower and the director of Auburn's sociology department, for risking damage to his career by publicly revealing what he had learned. Gundlach told The Times that one of his superiors, Thomas Petee, a criminology professor and the sociology department's chairman, had provided an inordinate number of directed-reading classes for easy grades to athletes and nonathletes. Brand, a former president of Indiana University, said he was dumbfounded that Petee had been allowed to teach so many directed-reading courses; Petee led 152 such courses in one semester before Gundlach reported him. That's an institutional problem of some magnitude, Brand said. It's not an athletics problem. It needs to be addressed on an institutional level. Mike Slive, who has been the commissioner of the SEC for about four years, said that he and his staff work hard in making sure athletes receive quality educations. He declined to comment specifically on the Auburn case until the investigation was complete. We can see the other side of the shore of this body of water, Slive said. A boat blows here or there, but we never lose sight of where we're going. To the extent that anything is out there, our goal is to be on course at all times. Gordon Gee, the chancellor of Vanderbilt, which is also in the SEC, did not share Slive's optimism. Gee said the issues raised at Auburn were very serious and showed why there needed to be more academic oversight in athletics. What is shown is that when there's an athletic culture that allows athletes to migrate toward that kind of approach, that it undermines the academic and athletic integrity of the program, he said. Since going public, Gundlach has been flooded with telephone calls and e-mail messages expressing support and condemnation. He said he had received 69 positive messages and 66 negative ones. As he walked into the main academic building on campus yesterday morning, he said, 10 to 12 faculty members applauded him. It was a very pleasant experience, he said. He did, however, say he was no longer cooperating with a three-member committee investigating the matter because of an inaccurate leak to the local news media about his motivation for going public. The report said that Gundlach had come forward because he was passed over for the job that Petee landed as department chairman. Gundlach said that suggestion was untrue because he never sought the position. Gundlach met once with two members of the investigating committee weeks ago - Sharon Gaber, an associate provost, and Constance Relihan, an associate dean. The third member, Marcia Boosinger, Auburn's faculty athletics representative, was not at the meeting. (Gundlach said that he tried twice to talk to Boosinger about the issue last year and that she did not respond to his e-mail messages. Boosinger is one of a number of Auburn officials who have declined to comment until the investigation is complete.) David Cicci, the chairman-elect of the faculty senate at Auburn, said the investigation had to determine whether athletes had been steered to Petee. I guess the thing to find out in this is has this guy been recommended? Cicci said. Who did and how often? Were all the athletes who took these courses guided to this guy?
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Football Auburn clears athletic department 08/11/2006 Dothan Eagle, The Collin Mickle / Media General		Return to Top
AUBURN - Bad things happened. But not at the athletic department. That was the essence of Auburn University Interim President Ed Richardsons message at a Thursday press conference. At the conference, Richardson offered an update on the schools ongoing investigation into an academics scandal centered around directed reading courses. This is clearly an academic problem for Auburn University, Richardson said. I believe that athletics was infused into this discussion to provide a sufficient traction to make it newsworthy. I would say & that athletics is a minor player in this academic issue. The president also addressed allegations that academic advisors in the athletic department were steering athletes - especially football players - into easy classes. According to Richardson, that isnt happening. One of the things that has been pleasing about this is that we have confirmed that no counselor, no athletic staff, no coaches were involved in steering students to these particular classes, he said. The investigations findings state only 18 percent of students enrolled in directed reading courses were Auburn athletes; of that total, only 7 percent were football players. There are relatively small numbers involved of athletes, Richardson said. In terms of the numbers, weve gone over it two or three ways. My people have looked at the total university, and I believe the numbers I offered are as close to being accurate as any that could be. Both the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools - AUs accrediting body - and the NCAA have contacted Richardson and asked to be kept informed of the investigations findings. Their requirement in terms of information differs somewhat from SACS, Richardson said of the NCAA. What they specifically prefer is that we not draw any conclusions in regards to athletics nor issue any summary statements in a public way, until they have a chance to review the report. What theyre saying is, You may say what you want, but we will make the final call. We respect that. Richardson also said the universitys investigative committee had interviewed 63 individuals, including faculty and students. That number, which includes some athletes, will continue to rise over the next few weeks as the investigation nears completion. Its unclear how many - if any - former AU athletes have been interviewed by the committee. Departed tailback Carnell Williams and defensive end Doug Langenfeld were both prominently featured in a New York Times story which made some of the original allegations of academic misconduct.
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Auburn Ousts 2, but Doesn't Fault Athletics 08/11/2006 New York Times (NY) Ray Glier and Pete Thamel		Return to Top
Auburn University announced Thursday that two heads of departments have resigned from their positions because of academic irregularities. Professor Thomas Petee, the department head for sociology, anthropology, criminology and social work, and James Witte, the program coordinator for adult education, were forced to resign. But Auburn's interim president, Ed Richardson, stressed that athletes were not shown special favor despite being given high marks for little work in directed-reading courses. Directed-reading courses are independent study-type courses given one on one with a professor and do not require attending a class. Richardson chastised Petee and Witte for using poor judgment, although both will be kept on the faculty because of their tenure. Petee declined to comment when reached by telephone, and Witte declined to comment when a reporter knocked on his door Thursday night. A New York Times investigation in July showed that Petee offered an unusual number of individualized directed-reading courses -- many of which were taken by athletes -- that required little academic rigor. James Gundlach, an Auburn sociology professor who provided The Times with much of the information for that story, said that several of the academically at-risk athletes who took directed-reading courses with Petee also took classes with Witte. He said that their grades in classes with Petee and Witte were significantly higher than their grades in other classes. This is clearly an academic problem, Richardson said Thursday during a news conference in the lobby of the school's administration building. Athletics is a minor player in an academic issue. Having said that, this is a matter of great concern to this administration. Richardson also announced significant changes in Auburn's directed-readings policies, including mandating that an instructor who is to offer directed-reading coursework to more than three students in a semester needs permission from a department head or a dean. (Petee taught more than 250 directed-reading classes during the 2004-5 school year. It is unknown how many Witte taught.) Also, students who take more than nine hours of directed-reading courses while in college now need the approval of the dean and the provost. (Gundlach found that 17 athletes had taken more than nine hours with Petee alone.) But Richardson repeatedly stressed that the issue had nothing to do with Auburn's athletic department. Richardson said 18 percent of the students taking directed-reading courses in the sociology and the adult education departments were athletes, 7.5 percent of them football players. Gundlach said in a telephone interview Thursday evening that the changes were much more than I expected, to be honest. I expected them to do everything possible to clear athletics, Gundlach said. You can see that when this first came out, athletics was their primary concern. With those kinds of policy changes in directed readings, and a change in administrators because they are not maintaining academic integrity, I think are all pretty good things to come out of this. Gundlach found that 18 football players on Auburn's undefeated 2004 team, which finished the season No. 2 in the country, took a combined 97 hours of directed-reading courses with Petee. The 18 players held a 3.31 grade-point average in Petee's directed-reading courses and a 2.14 G.P.A. in their other courses. This diminishes greatly the value of the education received at Auburn, said Wayne Flynt, a professor emeritus of history. Now people all over the country are speculating whether students did any work for the grades they earned at Auburn. I'd rather see an athletics scandal where a handful of athletes were receiving preferential treatment. That would have been a far less damning indictment of the university. When Gundlach brought evidence to John Heilman, then an administrator, in the spring of 2005, Richardson said the university did not launch an investigation because protocol in reporting such matters was not followed. Heilman became provost weeks later and only a year later did the school investigate after a professor reported Petee, despite the fact that Gundlach had brought Heilman examples of Petee's unusual course load and evidence of prominent athletes' cutting academic corners. Richardson said the school's investigation, which he said included 63 interviews of students, faculty and staff, found no evidence that directed-reading courses were used to keep athletes eligible and manipulate data the N.C.A.A. uses in measuring academic progress. Auburn finished with the highest ranking of any public university in a Bowl Championship Series conference in the N.C.A.A.'s latest academic progress report. Among Division I-A programs, Auburn trailed only Stanford, Navy and Boston College, and finished just ahead of Duke. We'll probably never know how much these helped or contributed to Auburn's A.P.R. rating, Gundlach said, referring to the academic progress report. Richardson said no athletes would have their eligibility affected for fall sports. The N.C.A.A., the governing body for intercollegiate athletics, could still investigate once the university has completed its investigation. Gundlach said he was optimistic that there would be positive changes in academics. He noted a memo sent to professors insisting that they provide rigor in their regular courses. I think we're going to see a noticeable change in the academic climate at Auburn, Gundlach said. I think we'll see a lot more students on study dates then drinking dates. Copyright (c) 2006 The New York Times. All rights reserved.
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Richardson exonerates department 08/11/2006 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer Christa Turner		Return to Top
President believes there were no NCAA infractions committed AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn University president Ed Richardson cleared the athletic department of potential wrongdoing in an internal academic fraud investigation, even though the NCAA requests no such declarations be made. While Richardson and the committee he appointed to investigate claims of grade boosting in the sociology, criminology, anthropology and social work department said they believe there were no NCAA infractions, Auburn still may not be in the clear. "What they're saying is, 'You may say what you want, but we will make the final call,' " Richardson said. "We respect that, and think that's an appropriate protocol." Richardson, however, said three times during his Thursday afternoon press conference at Samford Hall that it was purely an academic issue, one which is being rectified. "I want to emphasize... that this is clearly an academic problem," Richardson said. "I believe that athletics was infused into this discussion to provide a sufficient traction to make it newsworthy. Athletics is a minor player in this academic issue." Richardson said the issue regarding athletes is whether they got preferential treatment or were offered something regular students weren't offered. "We did not find that to be the case," Richardson said. Auburn conducted a two-month investigation after sociology director James Gundlach alleged that interim department chair Thomas Petee delivered high grades for little or no work through directed readings classes. Gundlach's research discovered that 18 members of Auburn's undefeated 2004 football team took 97 hours of Petee's directed reading classes during their academic careers. Petee taught 272 individuals in directed reading classes during the 2004-05 academic year. Auburn head football coach Tommy Tuberville said he anticipated the athletics department being cleared and was proud of the department's academic counselors. "When it's all said and done, we've been looked at pretty good," Tuberville said. "I feel good about where we're at. It's just, our guys work hard in the classroom, and they'll continue to do it." The internal investigation also found additional abuse of the directed readings or independent study format classes in the adult education program by professor James Witte, the program coordinator. The committee looked at data from Spring 2003 through Spring 2006. Petee resigned his chair position, while Witte turned over his coordinator duties. Both are tenured professors and will retain teaching duties. Richardson called their high number of independent study offerings "poor judgment." "I would say that the judgment that was exercised by the two individuals was not sufficient to continue in that administrative position," Richardson said. Witte declined to comment, referring inquiries to Auburn's communication and marketing department. Petee did not immediately return calls left at his office. Tougher policies Richardson said tougher policies regarding directed reading and independent studies have been put in place and will be enforced. He said he fully expects the measures taken by the university to appease the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Auburn's accrediting body, as well as the NCAA. Both requested reports. Auburn recently spent a year on probation by SACS for lack of institutional control regarding Board of Trustee members. The organization expressed interest in the outcome of Auburn's investigation. Richardson refuted allegations by Gundlach that academic counselors in the athletic department may have been steering athletes to these classes as a way of boosting grades for at-risk students. "One of the things that has been pleasing about this is that we have confirmed no counselor, no athletic staff and no coaches were involved in steering students to these particular courses," Richardson said. Gundlauch, who anticipated Richardson's changes, said he was very pleased with the structural changes Auburn made. "Those are things that Auburn needed for a long time," Gundlauch said. Gundlauch said he is finished looking into the situation. "If the NCAA wants to look into it, they can," Gundlauch said. "Part of the problem is the way the NCAA rules are written. You have to be extremely dumb to be sanctioned." Still incomplete Richardson said he anticipates the investigation requiring an additional two weeks so the committee can interview a few more former students who haven't been available. He said he will present things to the Board of Trustees at their Sept. 1 meeting. Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs commended the president's leadership in a released statement and said Auburn was "doing things the right way." "Auburn will be stronger than before this process began," Jacobs said. Richardson said only 18 percent of the students participating in either Petee's or Witte's classes were athletes. Of the 16,010 total athlete enrollments from Spring 2003 through Spring 2006, only 211 were filled by athletes. Enrollments can be viewed like having a ticket to an event -- one per person per class. Also, during the three-year period, football players had 4,023 enrollments and 91 were in independent studies in either of the two departments. Gundlach said he started researching Petee's classes when he saw a star Auburn football player from the 2004 team being commended on television for outstanding class work in sociology, yet Gundlach had never advised him. His research showed Auburn football players received 81.1 percent A's and 16.8 percent B's, but those numbers dropped to 40.9 percent A's and 51.7 percent B's after a confrontation he had with Petee during a departmental meeting. Gundlach said the players received an average grade point average of 3.31 in Petee's classes, compared to 2.14 in all other credit hours. Gundlach said he tried to bring this to the attention of John Heilman, now the provost, in 2005. He said he talked to the media when he felt like nothing was being done. Richardson said in the press conference that Gundlach didn't follow proper protocol in introducing the information. "I took it to the university administration and nothing happened until after a year, when it hit the press," Gundlach said. "That speaks to how crippled out administration has been. We've been an acting/interim administration so long, it didn't function when it had the information."
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2 Auburn professors' judgment faulted, Both resign administrative portions of duties 08/11/2006 Huntsville Times Phillip Marshall		Return to Top
AUBURN - An internal Auburn University investigation into accusations of academic misconduct cleared the athletic department of wrongdoing, but two university professors weren't so fortunate. Thomas Petee, interim chairman of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work, Criminology and Criminal Justice, and James Witte, coordinator of the adult education program, have resigned from their administrative duties, interim president Ed Richardson said at a news conference Thursday. "I would say that the judgment that was exercised by the two individuals was not sufficient to continue in that administrative position," Richardson said. "I am pleased they are willing to cooperate with us." Petee and Witte, both tenured professors, will remain as faculty members, Richardson said. According to provost John Heilman, an investigative committee was appointed on June 5 after an anonymous complaint. Sociology director James Gundlach went public with the accusations in a story in The New York Times. The accusations centered around Petee and later Witte teaching excessive numbers of directed-reading courses, which require independent study, one-on-one work with a professor and no class attendance. Gundlach has since said his computer research has convinced him that athletes were being steered into those courses in order to keep them eligible for competition. He did not return phone calls or e-mail messages Thursday. Richardson said the investigation did not support Gundlach's contention relating to athletics and showed no evidence of wrongdoing by officials, coaches or academic advisers in the athletic department. "The investigation has not produced any evidence that the athletic program, coaches, counselors or athletic staffers had any improper communication or pressured faculty in any way," Richardson said. "That is something in which I take considerable pleasure, because we wanted to make sure that there was no undue pressure. "Consistently, we have found that athletics was not trying to pressure or communicate with faculty to encourage such taking of directed studies." Richardson said no current Auburn athletes, in any sport, had maintained their eligibility by taking directed-reading courses. He said the percentages of athletes to non-athletes in the courses in question were small. "This is not an athletics issue," Richardson said. "There are relatively small numbers of athletes involved. I believe athletics was injected into this to give it traction." Richardson said 18 percent of the students taking directed-reading courses were athletes and 7.5 percent were football players. "It is clearly an academic issue," Richardson said. "I say that as no consolation, because I have to tell you, the academic issues are far more of a concern to me than athletic issues." The Southern Association of Colleges & Schools, which placed Auburn on probation in December 2004 because of governance issues, has asked to be informed of the findings of the investigation, Richardson said. He said he had been in contact with the NCAA, which also wants to see the findings. Richardson said he does not expect the issue to cause problems with SACS. The NCAA, he said, asks that the school not draw conclusions in regards to athletics in a public way. "The real issue (is) did athletes get preferential treatment or were they offered something other students weren't offered," Richardson said. "I have not found that to be the case." He said the investigation is in its final stages and should be completed in time for him to give a report to the Board of Trustees at its regularly scheduled meeting Sept. 1. The remainder of the investigation, he said, focuses on academic issues. He said 63 students and faculty members have been interviewed. "We are interviewing students, in some cases some who aren't enrolled in courses on campus this summer," Richardson said. "Two, and more difficult, we're interviewing people that have graduated and gone on to other things and are not as readily available to us. "Our people are working very hard today to make sure we have finished those few we have not been able to contact." In a prepared statement, Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs said the new policies announced Thursday for directed-reading courses will make Auburn stronger. "I can assure you that we are going to do things the right way," Jacobs said. "Auburn people deserve nothing less."
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Auburn leaders step down from posts 08/11/2006 Birmingham News Jon Solomon		Return to Top
2 forced to resign for providing too many directed-reading classes AUBURN - Two Auburn University administrators have been forced to resign those roles because they provided too many directed-reading courses to students. Thomas Petee, the chairman of the Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work, Criminology and Criminal Justice Department, submitted his resignation, and adult education program coordinator James Witte was assigned to the College of Education dean's office. Both remain tenured professors. The reassignments, along with policy changes for future directed-reading courses, came as Auburn nears the end of a two-month investigation into claims of grade inflation for students, including some athletes. At a news conference Thursday, Auburn Interim President Ed Richardson said the investigation is "clearly an academic issue," and that athletics is a "minor player" that was used to make the story newsworthy. "I say that with no consolation because the academic issue is of far more concern to me," Richardson said. "I think this goes to the very heart of Auburn's existence." Richardson said Petee and Witte applied poor judgment in conducting so many directed courses. Petee's directed-reading course load reached up to 152 in the spring of 2005. Richardson did not indicate how many Witte taught. Starting this semester, Auburn faculty members wanting to teach more than three directed readings in one semester will need approval. Students wanting to take more than nine hours of directed readings toward their degrees must be approved and be juniors or above. Courses must be documented by objective criteria for the assignment of grades. Approval for courses must come from an administrator above the faculty member who teaches the class. Previously, Auburn required directed-reading courses to be equivalent to that of a traditional course, including having a syllabus, a method of evaluation, and prior approval by the university's curriculum committee. One percent of Auburn students took directed readings from 2003 to 2006, Richardson said. He described the issue as "an isolated problem" in two departments. "This is far more than I ever expected to come out of it," said Jim Gundlach, the sociology professor who triggered the investigation by speaking to The New York Times. "I actually really expect to see substantial improvement in academic integrity at Auburn," he said. "A lot of faculty I talked to who were serious, responsible graders felt they weren't being supported by the administration, and this gives a little bit of backbone to those who needed it." The investigation will be completed by a Sept. 1 meeting with the board of trustees once additional interviews are finished, Richardson said. Auburn will send a final report to the Southern Collegiate Association of Schools, its accrediting body, and the NCAA. In a July 21 letter from SACS to Auburn, the accrediting body asked for a report by Aug. 2. Richardson responded in writing Aug. 1 that the investigation would conclude about Sept. 1. Richardson expressed confidence that Auburn's accreditation will remain in good standing. Petee said Thursday he accepted so many directed-reading spots because his department's enrollment significantly increased while the number of faculty members did not. Richardson said, "In the case of a department head, it would have been his responsibility or the dean (to say) that we have more students than we can staff. We have a number of colleges that take a certain number of students, and that's it." Petee said he offered his resignation earlier this week. "In light of the fact my decision-making in this could be called into question, I thought it would be best to step aside and alleviate some of the controversy," Petee said. "In retrospect, it may not have been the best way to use our limited resources." Attempts to reach Witte for comment were unsuccessful. Richardson suggested neither department head would have been allowed to stay in his current capacity. "I would say that the judgment exercised by the two individuals was not sufficient to continue in that administrative position," the president said. "I am pleased that they're willing to cooperate with us." Petee, 47, said he will teach policing to undergraduates and a graduate-level violent crimes course this fall while spending more time on his research. "I won't touch the directed readings - no way," he said. "If you want me for a class, you'll have to catch me in the classroom." Petee questioned Gundlach's motivation for coming forward, saying he "wanted me gone, and he got it." Gundlach said he was concerned about the department's integrity. Richardson was more measured than Petee with his words about Gundlach's role. "In some respects, at the time, I would have to say I wasn't real fired up about (the accusations)," Richardson said. "But I think it's something that needs to be addressed, and I think we'll be better off as a result of it."
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Auburn profs resign administrative posts 08/11/2006 The Sun Herald (MS) Staff and Wire Reports		Return to Top
News brief also appeared in the Springfield News-Leader and the Shreveport Times (LA). Auburn profs resign administrative posts STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS Two professors have resigned their administrative posts but no improper conduct by athletics officials was found in a probe of claims that Auburn University athletes boosted their grades in an independent study course, Auburn's interim president said Thursday. Ed Richardson, at a news conference, said an internal investigation determined that athletes were not steered to the courses of sociology professor Thomas Petee, who was accused by a colleague of helping football players stay eligible through easy, "directed-reading" work. Richardson said the probe, launched after sociology professor James Gundlach made the allegations about Petee's courses, found it was purely an academic matter. He said 82 percent taking the courses were non-athletes, 18 percent played a sport of some kind and 7.5 percent were football players. He said the school is now limiting the number of such "directed-reading," or independent study courses a professor can offer. In the 2004-2005 academic year, Petee had allowed some 250 students to take the courses, which don't require classroom attendance but one-on-one work with the professor. Richardson said the investigation centered on the sociology department initially but also found problems in the adult education department.
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Two lose posts over AU academic abuse 08/11/2006 Press-Register Evan Woodbery, Sports Reporter		Return to Top
AUBURN -- Auburn University interim President Ed Richardson stripped two department heads of their duties and instituted strict new rules for directed-reading classes Thursday, but said that the university's investigation of academic irregularities had exonerated the athletics department. "I believe that athletics was infused into this discussion to provide sufficient traction to make it newsworthy," Richardson said. "I would say that athletics is a minor player in this academic issue." The university is investigating allegations first raised in a front-page New York Times article last month that a professor was abusing the directed-reading system by giving out easy grades to hordes of students, including many athletes. That professor, Thomas Petee, has resigned as chairman of the sociology department. Richardson also said that the university's investigation uncovered a second department -- adult education -- that had been abusing the directed-reading system. The program director for adult education, James Witte, has also resigned. The professors are tenured and will remain employed by Auburn. "I do not believe that the professors in question conducted themselves in a malicious or self-serving way, but exercised very poor judgment," Richardson said. In his 45-minute press conference at Samford Hall, Richardson repeatedly stated that the athletics department was blameless in the scandal. Specifically, he exonerated members of the coaching staff and academic support counselors, and said no one had contacted or pressured faculty members to accept athletes into classes or give them easy grades. The university's investigative committee has not yet completed its work, and a few students are still to be interviewed. But Richardson said he wanted to announce the changes before the new semester begins on Wednesday. James Gundlach, the sociology professor whose allegations prompted the Times article, stopped cooperating with the university's investigation two weeks ago. He told the Press-Register he believed the purpose of the committee was to clear the athletics department of any wrongdoing and avoid NCAA sanctions. The university knew of Gundlach's allegations more than a year ago when he arranged a meeting with John Heilman, who is now provost. But Richardson said the complaints were never acted on because Gundlach failed to follow proper protocol. "I don't believe you will find that the professor chose to follow established protocol and go back to the dean (with his complaints)," Richardson said. Gundlach has said that he went to Heilman because he had no other choice. The dean of his college was ill and eventually died after a battle with cancer. Richardson said the university didn't form a committee to investigate the complaints until this summer, when Auburn received an anonymous complaint. Richardson said he was satisfied that the university's data showed no special privileges were given to athletes. He said 18 percent of the students enrolled in directed-reading classes in the sociology and adult education departments were athletes, and 7.5 percent were football players. "I think we can again see that it is not an athletic issue, it is clearly an academic issue," Richardson said. When asked about Gundlach's allegations that individual athletes were steered toward directed-reading classes to keep them eligible, Richardson said he believes the university's data is reliable. "The real issue on the standard is did athletes get preferential treatment or were they offered something (other) students weren't offered," Richardson said. "I have not found that to be the case." Auburn head football coach Tommy Tuberville said he was pleased that Richardson cleared the athletic department. "You hate that you're going to get that type of publicity," Tuberville said after Thursday evening's practice. "It lasted a month. When it's all said and done, we've been looked at pretty good. Our guys work hard in the classroom, and they'll continue to do it." On the academic side, however, Richardson said he was deeply troubled by the abuse of the directed-reading system. The new rules for directed study, effective immediately, are designed to clamp down on abuses: Any student enrolled in directed-reading classes must be at junior level or above. The class must have carefully documented content and objectives, and be approved by an administrator above the level of the faculty member who will teach the course. Any faculty member wishing to teach more than three students per semester must get prior approval. Any student wishing to take more than nine credit hours through directed-reading classes must also get approval. Academic concerns are particularly sensitive at Auburn. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Auburn's accrediting agency, has monitored the case and will be kept fully informed of the investigation, Richardson said. "I have not only confirmed in writing, but I have confirmed in verbal conversation with SACS representatives that we're committed to conducting a thorough investigation and we'll provide whatever requested information they (need)," Richardson said.
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Richardson knows not to cross Tuberville 08/11/2006 Birmingham News Ray Melick		Return to Top
The problem at Auburn University is one of academics, said Interim President Ed Richardson. Football? No problem there. Why, this could be a banner year for the Tigers, who are expected to contend not just for the Southeastern Conference championship, but maybe even the national title this year. Head coach Tommy Tuberville has an excellent staff, a veteran team, a proven quarterback, and everyone is looking forward to a fine year of football down on The Plain. No sir, there are no problems in the athletics department at Auburn. Tickets are sold, the sky boxes are leased, and all indications are that revenue is up. That sticky little scholastic problem that prompted Richardson to ask two department heads to step down, and caused significant changes in Auburn's policy regarding directed reading/independent studies? Isn't it a shame when the academic side of a university becomes an embarrassment to the athletics department? Don't you just hate it when the stellar reputation of the football program gets tainted by a couple of eggheads over in Liberal Arts? That had nothing to do with football. Why, only 18 percent of the grades given out in these "directed reading" courses were to student athletes! Only 7.5 percent were actual football players! Never mind that athletes make up only two percent of the Auburn student body, suggesting a disproportionate number of athletes found their way to easy grades. The point is, Richardson asked around and said he couldn't find a single person who would say that athletes were directed toward these classes, or that there was any kind of arrangement between the athletics department and these two branches of Auburn academia. Good thing. If anyone had told him that, he'd have had a major NCAA violation on his hands, and that's the last thing anyone at Auburn wants right now, what with the football team going for its fifth straight victory over Alabama this fall. You could almost sense Richardson apologizing to Tuberville for one of Richardson's professors dragging Tuberville's program into this mess. Richardson made sure everyone knew the only thing the athletics department was guilty of was being used by a professor for publicity purposes. That's an ironic twist, don't you think? The football program being used by a professor for his personal agenda? Isn't it usually the other way around? Richardson is no dummy. He knows what happened to the last Auburn president who tried to cross Tuberville. Richardson knows his place. In fact, when he first heard about the accusations made by Jim Gundlach, the sociology professor who triggered the investigation by speaking to The New York Times, Richardson said, "At the time, I would have to say I wasn't real fired up about (the accusations)." Particularly because the informant was one of his own. But then, Auburn has a proud tradition of turning on itself, whether it's one of its prize recruits secretly taping illegal payments from football coaches and boosters or the former president and athletics director flying off behind the football coach's back to hire his replacement while the head coach was still on the job. I can just imagine Richardson at the next faculty meeting, telling everyone, "Keep it down home, cuz." Ray Melick's column appears on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Write him at rmelick@bhamnews.com.
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Auburn U. Announces new Academic-Quality Policy After Inquiry Into Courses Taken by Some Athletes 08/11/2006 Chronicle of Higher Education, The Sara Lipka		Return to Top
In response to lingering allegations that a sociology professor gave athletes good grades for independent studies that required little academic work, Auburn University's interim president, Edward R. Richardson, announced on Thursday the professor's resignation as chairman of his department and outlined a new policy for independent-study classes at the university. Auburn began investigating possible academic misconduct in early June. Last month James H. Gundlach, a professor of sociology, publicly accused Thomas A. Petee, a fellow sociology professor and chairman of a combined department of sociology and several other disciplines, of accommodating athletes with bogus courses classified as "directed readings." Mr. Gundlach scrutinized and compiled statistics on Mr. Petee's directed readings and concluded that the professor gave athletes special treatment. A July 14 article in The New York Times described many of Mr. Gundlach's findings. The article included the example of Doug Langenfeld, a former defensive end for the Auburn Tigers who realized that he had to pick up a new class 10 weeks into a 15-week semester to remain eligible for a football-bowl game. He added a directed reading with Mr. Petee, the player said, and got a B for reading one book and submitting one paper. "My agenda in this whole thing is Petee has proven himself unfit to be a department administrator," Mr. Gundlach told The Huntsville Times, an Alabama newspaper. Mr. Petee said on Thursday that he resigned for the sake of the department, but he defended his decision to offer students directed readings. "It was a resource issue," he said. Because the number of sociology majors was on the rise and the department had lost faculty positions, students could not get into classes they wanted or needed to take, he said. "The two choices I had were probably do something like this for the students, or tell them tough luck," said Mr. Petee. "I have a very difficult time telling people tough luck," he added. Mr. Petee estimated that he had offered directed readings, in lieu of regular classes, to 200 students during the 2004-5 academic year. In a news conference, Mr. Richardson sharply criticized Mr. Petee's actions. "I do not believe that professors conducted themselves in a malicious or self-serving way, but clearly very poor judgment was evidenced," the president said. The university's investigation found that 18 percent of the students enrolled in directed readings in Mr. Petee's department and the Adult Education Program over the past three years were athletes, and that just under half of those were football players. While the number of athletes involved was disproportionately high, compared with Auburn's overall student population, it was in line with the number of athletes in those departments, Mr. Petee said. Many athletes major in sociology because "they come from more disadvantaged backgrounds, and the subject matter in sociology deals with some of those issues," the professor said. Also, he added, sociology "is probably the most flexible major from the standpoint of what courses you have to take." Mr. Petee, who will remain a tenured professor of sociology, estimated that he had supervised only about 25 students in directed readings during the last academic year, saying that his department had been trying to limit use of that class format. Under the new policy announced by Mr. Richardson on Thursday, enrollment in the independent-study courses will be limited by class standing and major, and students wishing to enroll -- as well as professors who intend to offer the classes -- will have to gain approval from department heads and deans. Instructors will ordinarily be limited to teaching three students through directed readings per semester and will have to submit syllabi and grading criteria. The new policy is designed to ensure "that the academic quality of directed readings is materially equivalent to the academic quality of other courses," according to its preamble. "Auburn University takes great pride in its academic reputation, which is far more important than any athletics program," said Mr. Richardson. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Auburn's regional accrediting agency, has indicated that it will keep an eye on that academic quality. The agency sent a letter to Auburn last month requesting that administrators there share all findings of their investigation. In 2003, the agency placed Auburn on a one-year probation because of trustees' meddling in the university's athletics department (The Chronicle, December 11, 2003). Auburn has also informed the National Collegiate Athletic Association of its investigation. The university's football team posted the highest NCAA Academic Progress Rate of any top public university in college football's six major conferences, and those who criticized the lax directed-readings oversight say inflated grades may have contributed to that standing.
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Academics heart of AU probe, 'Athletics is a minor player,' Auburn interim president says 08/11/2006 Decatur Daily Bradley Handwerger		Return to Top
AUBURN — Academics, not athletics, is at the heart of the ongoing probe into Auburn University's sociology department, the interim president said Thursday during an afternoon news conference. "I believe that athletics was infused into this discussion to provide a sufficient traction to make it newsworthy," Ed Richardson said. "I would say... that athletics is a minor player in this academic issue." Additionally, the investigation itself has cost the two professors directly involved their jobs as department heads. Richardson said Thomas Petee, the interim department head of the sociology, anthropology, criminology and social work "has submitted his resignation and will no longer server in that capacity." Also, James Witte, programs coordinator for adult education, has "been reassigned to the dean's office in the college of education. That person will not serve as program coordinator any longer." Both Petee and Witte are tenured professors and will continue to teach. The probe should be finished within the next two weeks, Richardson said, at which point, the university will send its final report to both the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the NCAA. The NCAA, however, will take Auburn's report and determine any wrongdoing, if any, on its own, Richardson said. "What they specifically prefer is that we not draw any conclusions in regards to athletics nor issue any summary statements in a public way, until they have a chance to review the report," Richardson said. "What they're saying is, 'You may say what you want, but we will make the final call.' We respect that and think that's an appropriate protocol." Richardson will submit a new list of guidelines to the board of trustees at their Sept. 1 meeting. Included in those guidelines, professors will only be allowed to teach three directed-reading courses per semester; the professors will have to submit a form for approval listing the course objective, the proposed schedule of meetings, the proposed work products and the criteria that will be used to determine a final grade; and that the student must be at least a junior in class standing. Since the investigation began June 5, Richardson said the investigators have combed through three years worth of information, finding that only one percent of the student population took directed-reading courses and that of that one percent, 18 percent consisted of student-athletes. The investigation has cleared Auburn's academic advisors for athletes of any wrongdoing, Richardson said. It also has found that no athlete received any preferential treatment. "One of the things that has been pleasing about this is that we have confirmed that no counselor, no athletic staff, no coaches were involved in steering students to these particular classes," Richardson said. Richardson added, "We see at this point no student athlete having eligibility affected." Athletics director Jay Jacobs added: "We in athletics support the academic mission of this university and will continue to move toward our goal of being the preeminent athletics department in the country. In reaching that goal, I can assure you we are going to do things the right way. Auburn people deserve nothing less." Sociology professor James Gundlach earned whistle-blower status in mid-July when the New York Times published a story using his numbers and research to determine that Petee was teaching too many directed-reading courses. Furthermore, Gundlach asserted that one of the main problems was that athletes weren't earning their grades, yet were consistently receiving A's and B's. Petee reportedly taught more than 250 directed-reading courses during a two-semester period. "I would say at the outset that I do not believe that the professors in question conducted themselves in a malicious or self-serving way, but exercised very poor judgment," Richardson said. Richardson said the committee found that of Witte's directed-reading students, only 20 percent were athletes. The new policy, in effect immediately, allows professors to teach only thee directed-reading courses at a time, far fewer than what Petee was teaching. "What you saw, particularly in sociology, but much the same in adult education, was numbers far greater than that, which would lead one to question whether or not you could provide adequate supervision and maintain the academic integrity of those individual students," Richardson said. Gundlach originally brought up the problems a year ago, speaking at first with then interim provost John Heilman. But Richardson said Gundlach didn't go through the proper channels, which is why it took so long to begin investigating. "Dr. Heilman recommended that Professor Gundlach bring that to the appropriate dean, in this case liberal arts. I think that was the correct advice," Richardson said. "I don't believe you will find that the professor chose to follow established protocol and go back to the dean."
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Football: Auburn clears athletic department 08/11/2006 Dothan Eagle Collin Mickle, Media General		Return to Top
AUBURN - Bad things happened. But not at the athletic department. That was the essence of Auburn University Interim President Ed Richardson's message at a Thursday press conference. At the conference, Richardson offered an update on the school's ongoing investigation into an academics scandal centered around directed reading courses. "This is clearly an academic problem for Auburn University," Richardson said."I believe that athletics was infused into this discussion to provide a sufficient traction to make it newsworthy. "I would say … that athletics is a minor player in this academic issue." The president also addressed allegations that academic advisors in the athletic department were steering athletes, especially football players, into easy classes. According to Richardson, that isn’t happening. "One of the things that has been pleasing about this is that we have confirmed that no counselor, no athletic staff, no coaches were involved in steering students to these particular classes," he said. The investigation's findings state only 18 percent of students enrolled in directed reading courses were Auburn athletes; of that total, only 7 ½ percent were football players. "There are relatively small numbers involved of athletes," Richardson said. "In terms of the numbers, we've gone over it two or three ways. "My people have looked at the total university, and I believe the numbers I offered are as close to being accurate as any that could be." Both the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, AU's accrediting body, and the NCAA have contacted Richardson and asked to be kept informed of the investigation’s findings. "Their requirement in terms of information differs somewhat from SACS," Richardson said of the NCAA." What they specifically prefer is that we not draw any conclusions in regards to athletics nor issue any summary statements in a public way, until they have a chance to review the report." Richardson also said the university's investigative committee had interviewed 63 individuals, including faculty and students. That number, which includes some athletes, will continue to rise over the next few weeks as the investigation nears completion. It's unclear how many, if any, former AU athletes have been interviewed by the committee. Departed tailback Carnell Williams and defensive end Doug Langenfeld were both prominently featured in a New York Times story which made some of the original allegations of academic misconduct.
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Auburn athletic officials cleared of wrongdoing 08/11/2006 MSNBC (NAT) Associated Press		Return to Top
2 professors quit administrative posts, but probe finds no improper conduct AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn athletics officials were cleared of wrongdoing by a university probe of claims that athletes improperly boosted their grades with easy independent study courses. Interim university president Ed Richardson said at a news conference Thursday that an internal investigation determined athletes were not steered to the courses of sociology professor Thomas Petee, who was accused by a colleague of helping football players stay eligible by offering classes that required little work or no work. “In addition, the investigation has not produced any evidence that the athletic program, coaches, counselors, or athletic staff ... had improper communication with or pressured faculty in any way,” Richardson said. Petee and another professor, who also gave “directed-reading” courses, have resigned their administrative posts. Both are professors have tenure at Auburn and will continue to be members of the faculty, Richardson said. Richardson said the probe, launched after sociology professor James Gundlach made the allegations reported in The New York Times last month about Petee’s courses, found it was purely an academic matter. He said 82 percent taking the courses were non-athletes, 18 percent played a sport of some kind and 7.5 percent were football players. The Times reported 18 members of the undefeated 2004 Auburn football team, including star running back Cadillac Williams, took a combined 97 hours of Petee’s courses during their careers. He said the school is now limiting the number of such “directed-reading,” or independent study courses a professor can offer. In the 2004-2005 academic year, Petee had allowed some 250 students to take the courses, which don’t require classroom attendance but one-on-one work with the professor. Richardson said the investigation centered on the sociology department initially but also found problems in the adult education department. He said Petee was resigning as interim director of the sociology department and James Witte was stepping down as program chair of adult education. Witte also had been allowing students to take independent study courses, but the numbers involved weren’t immediately available. Gundlach alleged that athletes who were at risk of losing eligibility were steered by university athletic officials to easy courses taught by Petee and others. Richardson said 63 people were interviewed in the investigation and the panel handling the probe had access to more information than Gundlach. He said he is confident athletes were not being steered toward the courses as alleged, but those findings did not make the matter any less serious. “Our academic reputation is far more important than all the athletic programs put together,” he said. Petee said Thursday he had no problems with the new policies and had anticipated having to give up his administrative duties. Richardson said the investigation is expected to last about two more weeks. Some students who have graduated still need to be contacted. He said he has been in contact with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which is Auburn’s accrediting agency, and the NCAA, which governs college athletics. He said the completed report will be made public after it is reviewed by SACS.
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Auburn University creates agriculture institute 08/11/2006 Southeast Farm Press		Return to Top
Auburn University is preparing to launch an internal search for a vice-president to lead a new institute that will coordinate AU’s agricultural and natural resource programs. The Board of Trustees approved creation of the new institute, capping more than two years of study that included input from major agricultural, forestry and related constituent organizations as well as faculty and staff of the campus units that will be part of the new institute. Interim President Ed Richardson says he hopes to have a new vice-president on board by early fall to lead the organizational efforts of the institute. The institute will unite agriculture, forestry and natural resource programs from three AU divisions — AU main campus, Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and Alabama Cooperative Extension System. The new vice-president will report directly to the president on administrative matters, but Richardson says academic matters in the College of Agriculture and the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences will still go through the Office of the Provost. Richardson says programs with connections to AAES or ACES through other colleges and schools will remain in the same colleges and schools as in the past. While the initial focus is on improving the ability of Auburn’s relevant research and Extension programs to meet the changing needs of Alabama agriculture, forestry and natural resources, Richardson says AU will organize and operate the institute’s administrative structure in accordance with agreements in effect with Alabama A&M. AU is the third major land-grant institution in the Southeast to consolidate its agriculture-related programs into an institute. The others are the University of Florida and the University of Tennessee.
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Establish Scholarship Fund 08/11/2006 Cleburne News, The		Return to Top
The Loyd P. Owens family has set up a scholarship fund at the Auburn University College of Agriculture. A scholarship shall be awarded each year to an Auburn University student or incoming student who has a minimum GPA of 2.5 and is pursuing a degree in horticulture. Preference will be given to students from Clay and Cleburne counties majoring in ornamental horticulture. Anyone wishing to make a donation toward this scholarship fund can make their check payable to Auburn University Foundation for the Loyd Owens Scholarship. Send checks to Auburn University College of Agriculture, 107 Comer Hall, Auburn, AL 36849. Pictured here are Dona Owens and her son Rick, receiving a donation toward the scholarship fund from Jimmy Jimmerson, President of the Cleburne County Treasure Forest Association and Don Roberts, Vice Chairman of the Cleburne County Soil and Water Conservation District.
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Officials embrace probe's findings 08/11/2006 Birmingham News Charles Goldberg		Return to Top
'Hopefully now people will see we try to do the best we can on and off the field,' Tubberville says AUBURN - Auburn University athletics officials have embraced the findings of a school investigation that concluded the athletics department did not try to keep players eligible by steering them to an easy independent-study program. Auburn Interim President Ed Richardson said Thursday the investigation produced no evidence to suggest athletes benefited from the program more than non-athletes. Football coach Tommy Tuberville welcomed the news. "After being scrutinized for the last month nationally, hopefully now people will see we try to do the best we can on and off the field, that our players do their work, they do graduate and they do it the right way," Tuberville said. "For the last six years, we've done a lot to improve our academic support staff. We've added people, we've added tutors." Athletics Director Jay Jacobs said, "Auburn will be stronger and better than before this process began." Richardson said in his news conference that he considered the problems with the independent study courses in the sociology department and in adult education within the College of Education as academic rather than athletic in nature. Sociology professor Jim Gundlach brought the issue to light when he charged that interim sociology department head Thomas Petee taught too many of the directed reading courses, and gave too many good grades. Gundlach said both athletes and non-athletes benefited from the courses. His claims, he said, were largely ignored by the university administration until he took his message to the media. "I believe that athletics was infused into this discussion to provide a sufficient traction to make it newsworthy," Richardson said. "I would say that athletics is a minor player in this academic issue." Richardson said 18 percent of the students taking the independent study courses were athletes. Football players comprised 7.5 percent of the total. Gundlach has said the representation of athletes in the courses by athletes was still disproportionately high because only 2 percent of the student body is athletes. The professor claimed the athletics department was steering players, especially academically at-risk players, to easy courses throughout the university. But the investigation did not find that an inordinately large number of players was "clustered" into specific easy courses. "We did not find that to be the case," Richardson said. "The real issue on the (NCAA) standard is: Did athletes get preferential treatment or were they offered something students weren't offered? I have not found that to be the case." Gundlach has said his research suggested athletes were clustered in certain courses. "We've used all the data available to the university, which we feel are far more extensive than one individual professor's access," Richardson said. "We're not going to counter what Professor Gundlach has said or the numbers he has. They were pretty close to being accurate. We believe the numbers we've offered are most accurate." The investigation, which included interviews with 63 faculty members and students, did not find athletics officials expected special benefits in the courses. "When you first saw this, you might have assumed that," Richardson said. "That's what popped up on my radar screen. One of the things that has been pleasing about this is that we have confirmed that no counselor, no athletic staff, no coaches were involved in steering students to these particular classes." Nor did the investigation find that players took the courses for the sole purpose of staying eligible to play. "There is nothing on any athlete in any sport that we see has been affected in regard to eligibility to participate in sports this year - none," Richardson said. The president said he has kept the NCAA abreast of the investigation and would forward the findings to the organization. Petee said Thursday he believes Auburn's final report will show athletes in his classes performed worse than non-athletes, indicating no preferential treatment. He did say he erred in the case of former standout running back Carnell Williams. One of two directed-reading courses Williams took with Petee in the spring of 2005 was a statistics class not readily available to regular students. Petee said he reluctantly agreed to independent study for Williams because the player was going to be away at the NFL Combine. Gundlach previously alleged that in reviewing transcripts of 14 of the 31 athletes who took Petee's classes, 12 were in academic danger and the two others were criminology majors under Petee. Gundlach said Thursday he would not complete his review of the 17 other athletes because of time constraints. "I think it's being addressed," Gundlach said. "If you've got academic integrity, athletic integrity will follow." News staff writer Jon Solomon contributed to this report. cgoldberg@bhamnews.com
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AU clears athletic program 08/11/2006 Montgomery Advertiser Jay G. Tate		Return to Top
AUBURN -- Auburn University's investigation into academic problems in its sociology and adult education programs revealed irregularities, though the school's athletic department was not implicated, the university's interim president said Thursday. Ed Richardson said that investigators found evidence of professors in the two departments offering excessive numbers of directed-reading courses. Also, Richardson indicated that some students passed those courses with minimal academic investment. "Poor judgment is the real thing going on," he said. "I want to emphasize to each of you that this is clearly an academic problem for Auburn University. I believe that athletics was infused into this discussion to provide a sufficient traction to make it newsworthy." Auburn officials have relayed their findings to their academic accrediting agency and the NCAA. In both cases, Richardson said, the university doesn't expect to face sanctions. Information about the problems first broke in The New York Times last month. In that story, sociology professor James Gundlach alleged that football players and other athletes managed to retain eligibility by taking easy directed-reading courses taught by sociology chair Thomas Petee. Gundlach claimed that Petee taught nearly 250 directed-reading courses during the 2004-05 academic year, and that football players received unusually high grades in those courses. Richardson said the investigating committee found no evidence of preferential treatment for athletes. The university has since implemented several policies to alter how directed-reading courses are handled in the future. Tommy Tuberville, head coach of the football team, has been an outspoken critic of Gundlach's allegations. At recent meetings with boosters, including the Montgomery Auburn Club's event on Aug. 1, Tuberville championed the program's academic performance. "I did before and still stand behind our academic support people because I think they do a thorough job in a very difficult situation," Tuberville said Thursday afternoon. "After being scrutinized for the last month nationally, hopefully now people will see we try to do the best we can on and off the field, that our players do their work, they do graduate and they do it the right way." Richardson said the committee carefully examined the role of academic advisers in the lives of Auburn's athletes. The athletic program has spent considerable resources in recent years building a new academic facility for its athletes and maintains a growing roster of tutors and advisers. As for whether or not those tutors and advisers systematically steered academically at-risk players into classes taught by Petee and James Witte, program coordinator for adult education, Richardson said the committee found nothing damning. "That is something in which I take considerable pleasure because we wanted to make sure that there was not undue pressure" to steer players to certain classes, Richardson said. "Consistently, we have found that athletics was not trying to pressure or communicate with faculty to encourage such taking of directed studies." Still, the investigation already has taken a toll on Auburn's academic system. Petee and Witte, heads of the two programs in question, have relinquished control. Petee resigned his position, but as a tenured professor is expected to continue his teaching career. Witte has been re-assigned to an administrative position. "I do not believe that the professors conducted themselves in a malicious or self-serving way, but clearly very poor judgment was evidence," Richardson said. The university has also adopted a series of new guidelines aimed at preventing further abuses of the directed-reading program. Professors now must gain approval before teaching more than three directed-reading courses per semester. All directed-reading courses must be individually approved by a senior academic official. Also, freshmen and sophomores now are banned from directed-reading courses. "The policy is effective immediately, and I would add that the process of implementation has already begun," university provost John Heilman said. Richardson was firm in his belief that the school's accrediting agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, would not sanction the university. In an interview with the Montgomery Advertiser last month, SACS chief of staff Tom Benberg said his agency was more concerned with Auburn's solution than its problem. Provided there wasn't a university-wide effort to abuse directed-reading courses, Benberg said, SACS' main concern was making sure new policies would prohibit future problems. Richardson painted Auburn's issue as the work of a few individuals -- and not misdirected institutional emphasis. "When I first heard about this, I had some concern," Richardson said. "I feel very comfortable in regards to SACS that we would have met the standards before, acknowledging we had a couple of examples where they didn't follow it, but with this new policy, which is in effect now, I think we can safely say we have fully met it." The NCAA's chief concern is the allegation that student-athletes were provided higher grades than average in Petee's classes. Richardson didn't directly address the issue, but said he'll quickly provide a full report to the NCAA.
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Sports cleared in grade probe 08/10/2006 Birmingham News, The Charles Goldberg		Return to Top
AUBURN - Auburn University is prepared to clear its athletic department of any wrongdoing in connection with an independent study program that was accused of giving good grades for little work. The university has found no evidence that its coaches or athletic academic advisers funneled athletes into the program, according to sources familiar with the two-month investigation. It has also concluded the athletes were not given special treatment in the program that was used largely by non-athletes, the sources said. Auburn Interim President Ed Richardson is expected to announce those and other findings, and discuss safeguards to protect the integrity of the independent study program, at a news conference this afternoon. The investigation has centered on independent study, which includes directed reading courses, offered by the sociology department as well as the adult education program in the College of Education. Only a small fraction of Auburn's student body took the courses. Only a small percentage of those were athletes. The investigation is not over, but is in its final stages and will deal exclusively with academic issues, barring a last-minute development.
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Two resign administrative posts at Auburn in coursework probe 08/10/2006 Gadsden Times Desiree Hunter, Associated Press		Return to Top
This AP story also appeared in other outlets including The Lakeland Ledger (FL), Times daily (AL), the Macon Telegraph, The Miami Herald and the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. AUBURN, Ala._Two professors have resigned their administrative posts but no improper conduct by athletics officials was found in a probe of claims that Auburn University athletes boosted their grades in an independent study course, Auburn's interim president said Thursday. Ed Richardson, at a news conference, said an internal investigation determined that athletes were not steered to the courses of sociology professor Thomas Petee, who was accused by a colleague of helping football players stay eligible through easy, directed-reading work. Richardson said the probe, launched after sociology professor James Gundlach made the allegations about Petee's courses, found it was purely an academic matter. He said 82 percent taking the courses were non-athletes, 18 percent played a sport of some kind and 7.5 percent were football players. He said the school is now limiting the number of such directed-reading, or independent study courses a professor can offer. In the 2004-2005 academic year, Petee had allowed some 250 students to take the courses, which don't require classroom attendance but one-on-one work with the professor. Richardson said the investigation centered on the sociology department initially but also found problems in the adult education department. He said Petee was resigning as interim director of the sociology department and James Witte was stepping down as program chair of adult education. Witte also had been allowing students to take independent study courses, but the numbers involved weren't immediately available. Gundlach alleged that athletes who were at risk of losing eligibility were steered by university athletic officials to easy courses taught by Petee and others. Richardson said 63 people were interviewed in the investigation and the panel handling the probe had access to more information than Gundlach. He said he is confident athletes were not being steered toward the courses as alleged, but those findings did not make the matter any less serious. Our academic reputation is far more important than all the athletic programs put together, he said. Richardson said Petee and Witte had tenure at Auburn and will continue to be members of the faculty. Petee said Thursday he had no problems with the new policies and had anticipated having to give up his administrative duties. He had presented a study earlier this year showing that the number of faculty members in the sociology department had declined over the past 15 years while the number of majors had tripled. I did go overboard in trying to deal with having too many students, he said Thursday. Richardson said he believed Petee and Witte had good intentions but exercised poor judgment. I think he's got a right to say that given the situation at hand, Petee said. My error was taking it upon myself to address those issues. Witte did not immediately return a message left with his office. Richardson said the investigation is expected to last about two more weeks. Some students who have graduated still need to be contacted. He said he has been in contact with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which is Auburn's accrediting agency, and the NCAA, which governs college athletics. He said the completed report will be made public after it is reviewed by SACS. Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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AU Professors Step Down, New Course Policy In Place 08/10/2006 WTVM-TV		Return to Top
Auburn University's investigation into the directed reading grade scandal continues. However, Thomas Petee, the man accused of giving easy grades to athletes by not making them come to class, Is no longer the chairman of his department. 'The department head of Sociology, Anthropology, Criminology and Social Work has submitted his resignation and will no longer serve in that capacity,' said Dr. Ed Richardson, AU interim president. Dr. James Witte has also stepped down as the adult education program coordinator, but both men will stay on as tenured professors. The university has also put a new policy in place to limit the number of students in directed reading programs. 'Any faculty member wishing to teach more than three students through directed reading in a given semester will need approval to do so,' said Dr. John Heilman, AU provost. Students must also get approval to take more than nine hours of directed reading and must be at least a junior. Richardson said the number of students taking these courses has been relatively low, only one percent since 2003. Out of the sociology and adult education directed reading courses, only 18 percent have been athletes, putting to rest concerns that they were getting special treatment. 'If you had asked me that a couple of weeks ago, yes, I was concerned that might have occurred. We did not find that to be the case,' Richardson said. Auburn University has been in contact with SACS and the NCAA, and they will provide any and all information to both agencies. Sixty-three people have been interviewed so far, but they are about two weeks from being finished with the investigation.
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Auburn absolves athletic department, School sees problem as academic, not sports 08/10/2006 Atlanta Journal Constitution Bill Sanders		Return to Top
Auburn, Ala. Two Auburn department heads have been forced to resign their administrative positions in the wake of allegations that students, including members of the football team, didn't earn the good grades they were given. But interim school president Ed Richardson said four times during a 35-minute news conference Thursday that the athletic department was blameless, maintaining it was dragged through the mud as a way to provide traction for professor James Gundlach's claims that athletes got easy As in directed reading courses. Richardson said the investigation was near completion and that results would be given to the NCAA, probably within a couple of weeks. As a result of the investigation, sociology chairman Thomas Petee has resigned as the head of his department, but as a tenured teacher he will be allowed to stay as an instructor, Richardson said. Also, the adult education program chairman, James Witte, resigned as chairman of the School of Education. He'll also remain part of the faculty. "This is clearly an academic problem for Auburn University," Richardson said. "Athletics was infused into this to provide sufficient traction." This is not an athletic problem. Richardson said he was confident that no athlete's eligibility would become an issue. He said the internal investigation found no reason to believe athletes were steered into easy courses to keep them, or the team, eligible. When this first came up, one could assume that might have been a problem, Richardson said. It was on my radar screen. But it is not the case. While Richardson was clearing the athletic department, he indicated he'd rather be exonerating Auburn academics, something he couldn't do. Academics is far more important to me than all the athletics put together, he said. I'm most pleased with the academic support of the coaches in our athletic programs. This is an academic problem. Gundlach first raised concerns to administrators a year ago that Petee was teaching too many directed reading or independent study classes and giving out easy grades. When Gundlach concluded the university wasn't paying attention to his claims, he went public with them. Richardson said Thursday that Gundlach should have gone to the dean of liberal arts to make his complaint. Instead, it floundered in the administration's office during a change of leadership. But had Gundlach not used the athletics department to gain traction for his claims, Richardson admitted things might have gotten further out of hand. I really don't care who called it to our attention, and it's better that Gundlach dealt with the problem sooner rather than later, Richardson said. He brought it to our attention and we're addressing it. I'm pleased it got to our attention or it could have gotten worse. As a result, Auburn has come up with new policies regarding directed reading courses. They include: -Students must be juniors or above and the course must be taken for credit toward the student's major or minor. -Students must have approval of the dean and provost to take more than nine hours of directed reading course work. -Instructors can't offer directed reading course work to more than three students per semester without written approval from the department head (or dean, if the instructor serves as department head, as Petee did). Richardson said he was confident neither Petee nor Witte conducted themselves in malicious or self-serving ways, but that they clearly used poor judgment. Richardson said the university's findings, as far as numbers went, weren't entirely dissimilar to what Gundlach's data showed. In our review of the two academic programs in question, we found only 18 percent of those students enrolled in directed studies were student-athletes. Of those, 7.5 percent were football players, he said. In addition, the investigation has not produced any evidence that the athletic program coaches, counselors, athletic staffers had improper communications with or pressured our faculty in any way.
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