Two Resign, but Athletics Is Cleared at Auburn

[DKW 86 7,431]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/11/sports/n...artner=homepage

Two Resign, but Athletics Is Cleared at Auburn

By RAY GLIER and PETE THAMEL

Published: August 11, 2006

AUBURN, Ala., Aug. 10 —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 (tool) , 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.”

Hope this finally puts an end to this for the AU Family. Two guys were disciplined strongly, as in AU Tradition. At least we know they will not get "a trip to Baskin-Robbins" as they would have gotten at other schools...

[GoAU 1,600]

I still wouldn't mind seeing Gundlach and that Flynt character getting run over by a garbage truck or some other fun event - what a couple of idiots!

[Wishbone 0]

I had a run-in with Wayne Flynt at Auburn. I have nothing good to say about him as a person or as a professor. He came across to me as a incredibly pompous hypocrite with an agenda. There was also something else that I witnessed which I will not mention on this forum but let's just say that Wayne Flynt is casting stones while he lives in a glass house.

[WeagleDMS 0]

“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.”

If this doesn't show you how delusional Gundlach is, nothing will.

[WAR-MATT 2]

Halftime of the WSU game Gundach vs. Petee in the octagon.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

I still wouldn't mind seeing Gundlach and that Flynt character getting run over by a garbage truck or some other fun event - what a couple of idiots!

Amen to that!!!

[penguin149 391]

I guess some of the things that still bother me about this are:

1) NYT says "many atheletes" took the direct reading courses. I counter with "many reporters" knowingly produce articles with false information. I could provide examples, if needed. "Many reporters" meet in city parks for homosexual activities. I could provide examples, if needed. "Many reporters" illegally pay college football players. I could provide examples, if needed. My point is: "many" is a relative term.

2)Gundlach shows his bias by saying that he expected the atheletics dept. to be cleared all along. I though academics was his primary concern. Why so concerned about what effects this has on atheletics? He had stated in earlier interviews that he had investigated student's records and had examples of unethical behaviors. He has no right to randomly review student files and should be careful about the athelete he inferred was on drugs because his grades had slipped.

This whole thing is like being accussed of a crime. Regardless of the facts, there are those who have indicted the atheletic department and university. If found "not guilty", those same people will say "it's a cover-up".

As for Flynt and Gundlach, karma is a mysterious thing.

[TigerOne 1,148]

Think Mr.Flynt will be doing a future article with the NYT? Better yet how about one of his

books showing up on the NYT best sellers list?

[DKW 86 7,431]

Face it guys, this is as close as anything we will ever get from the NYT for an even keel article. The parts where we "out did" Gundlach's expectations is probably as good as we can expect.

TBL-The story did some damage, but it did nowhere near as much damage as it was expected.

I declare a modest victory and we need to move on.

[aucanucktiger 1,794]

When I was @ AU, both these prof.s made snide remarks in class about athletes on more than one occasion. Their apparent cynicism toward athletics, their stated assumptions about how this would probably be handled, and their inferences that the football program is dragging AU down are intellectually dishonest. It seems both have a double standard for athletes vs. the average student, neither is interested in the facts and neither realizes solid students that are also solid ATHLETES tower after graduation over specialists in one or the other. It wouldn't surprise me if these guys were chronically chosen last in dodgeball. Their apparent attitude despising and stereotyping athlete's as "jocks" shows although they might have a lot of formal knowledge, they have sophomoric levels of common knowledge and judgement.

(See the bottom of TexasTiger's posts for the quote from Brandeis in the 1928 Olmstead case, it fits here for Flynt and Gundlach).

[WarEagle71 0]

I say the students should boycott their classes--Do not sign up for any classes taught by them.