BostonGlobe.com article: "A group of Boston University faculty members filed a formal request with [Massachusetts] Attorney General Tom Reilly Thursday, asking his office to investigate whether BU trustees have violated state laws governing nonprofit institutions. The professors, who call themselves the Faculty Committee for the Future of Boston University, said the recent $1.8 million settlement BU paid Daniel S. Goldin to give up the presidency highlighted a variety of potential problems, including alleged financial conflicts- of-interest on the board of trustees. They also raised questions about other forms of mismanagement such as excessive compensation and nepotism." Previously... NewYorkTimes.com article: "Though trustees serve without pay, one [Boston University board] member appointed this year is Gerald Cassidy, a Washington lobbyist who has won millions of research dollars for the university and whose firm was paid $806,218 by B.U. in the 2001 tax year. "Lobbyists for universities in Washington are almost never trustees," Richard T. Ingram, president of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, said of Mr. Cassidy, who is considered close to Dr. Silber. Mr. Cassidy also happens to be a friend of Mr. Goldin, and escorted him to his first interview with the search committee, last May." (NASAWatch.COM: "My exposing this aspect of the scandal would hit a little too close to home for me. Would you erase it please? This sort of conflict-of-interest probing sets an unpleasant tone.") Previously... BostonGlobe.com article: "A group of [Boston U.] professors have launched a website called "BUWatch" to pressure the administration for reform. Bernard founded an alternative alumni association. And one informal group of alumni is even mulling a class-action suit against the trustees for devaluing their degrees. "If this is not the time to stand up, when is?" asked Neidle, a professor of French and linguistics....Now, [Professor James Iffland's] group is calling on [Massachusetts] Attorney General Tom Reilly's office to investigate the board of trustees and the financial transactions between BU and companies or charities with which trustees are involved. Their criticisms are also being echoed in the student press. Karlo Silbiger, a fourth-year student, wrote an opinion piece in the student newspaper, the Daily Free Press, calling on the entire board of trustees to resign, and for officials to detail [Dan] Goldin's settlement." Previously... BostonGlobe.com article: "[In 1978] the [Boston University] board came under investigation by former Massachusetts attorney general Scott Harshbarger, whose office looked into whether Silber and a few trustees were hoarding power and using it to their own financial advantage. The investigation led to a written agreement under which BU promised to reform its conflict-of-interest procedures...Harshbarger, who now focuses on corporate governance in his private law practice, questioned how much the board had reformed its practices...Trustees at BU are unpaid and do not receive reimbursement for travel to board meetings, which are scheduled three times a year." New York Times article: "$1.8 Million Check for a Job Not Done Jolts Boston University..."
NASAWatch.INFO: B.U.
trustees were unpaid? Does anyone doubt that
aerospace lobbyist
Gerald Cassidy did not come out financially ahead after helping
Dan Goldin land the lucrative B.U. presidency job offer and secure the
subsequent lucrative settlement? For more on that scandal, please click
here. Meanwhile, what will current
Previously...
Last summer, recent NASA Administrator
Dan Goldin became one of the only university presidents
possessing merely a bachelor's degree. More recently he became apparently
the first, ever,
BostonGlobe.com article: "Silber came to embrace Goldin at the behest of a BU trustee, Gerald S.J. Cassidy, whose role in the search process suggested a conflict of interest to several committee members. Cassidy is head of a Washington consulting firm that has earned millions of dollars in lobbying fees from BU over the years; he is a close friend of Silber and Goldin; and, by helping negotiate a multimillion-dollar contract for Goldin to succeed Silber, Cassidy probably stood to gain continued business and support from BU in future years, the BU sources say. In hindsight, Silber's presence on the search committee was a major error, several committee members and BU sources said yesterday. He established Goldin as the front-runner, seeing him as a strong leader who could help land big donations and lucrative federal grants." "Some trustees considered Goldin too arrogant from his first appearance before the committee, which one source said went so badly that Cassidy suddenly announced that Goldin had to make a flight, and whisked him away."
NASA Watch.INFO: WHY
else would Cassidy want to repay Goldin
with this "Goldin parachute"? Perhaps
to keep him quiet about
Shuttle-related
improprieties? Or to show others in power how loyal he is after
they've lost favor with big corporations and their political sycophants,
and can no longer enrich them like Goldin
monopolistically
did during his decade of tyranny? According to this Cassidy.com
page: Previously... BostonHerald.com article: "The account of the ugly saga, as confirmed by the source, begins in July with Silber's helping usher Goldin through the nomination process, leapfrogging him over other candidates culled by an outside search firm... Another trustee who openly advocated for Goldin, powerhouse D.C. lobbyist Gerald S.J. Cassidy, declined comment this week." NewYorkTimes.com article: "Several people close to the university said the search panel's members were aware of an interview, posted on the Internet, that Mr. Goldin gave in 1998 with the Academy of Achievement. Asked about dealing with adversity and criticism, Mr. Goldin said: "Basically, I'm a volatile person. Every minute, I've got to manage my emotional control. Some people are born to be level. I fight every day of my life to be level, and I'm not allowed the luxury of blowing up. But occasionally I do." "
BostonHerald.com
OpEd:
"It seems about time for that guardian of the public trust,
Boston Globe
article:
"Goldin came to BU's attention not through the official
search but by a personal friend and new BU trustee,
Gerald S.J. Cassidy, a Washington lobbyist and
close ally of Silber." DailyFreePress.com (B.U.'s campus newspaper) article: "More than 100 Boston University faculty members assembled Wednesday afternoon at a two-hour faculty forum to discuss the controversy surrounding the Board of Trustees and President-elect Daniel S. Goldin... faculty members at the forum spoke out both for and against Goldin. “Some of those who spoke said they questioned Goldin’s authoritative leadership reputation at NASA,” he said. “Others said he has already had an influence on Boston University in our [billion dollar] contract for the new bio [laboratory].” Previously... Boston Globe article: "A committee of influential Boston University trustees voted yesterday to recommend that the university's governing board reconsider its decision to name former NASA chief Daniel S. Goldin as president...If Goldin were removed, it would be a turnaround virtually unheard of in higher education...[Former B.U. President] Silber was impressed with Goldin's credentials as the longest-serving administrator at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and he was influenced by Goldin's chief patron among the [board's] trustees, Washington lobbyist Gerald Cassidy, who is close to Silber." Previously... NASAWatch.INFO: In 1999, NASA "awarded" over $4 million to Boston University while Dan was still running the show and feathering his nest at taxpayers' expense... Source: http://ec.msfc.nasa.gov/hq/library/procreport/Annual99_A.html How much did Cassidy's clients make, though? Why isn't that documented transparently? And why is there so much silence at Cassidy's firm about this Goldin self-enrichment? (NASAWatch.COM: "What in the heck is wrong with feathering one's nest at taxpayers' expense?")
BostonHerald.com
OpEd:
"It seems about time for that guardian of the public trust,
NASAWatch.INFO:
Does
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