Who’s Sorry Now?

Apparently not our university president, who diverted thousands from students like me and never apologized.

By Melanie Roussell, American University

“I do feel I’ve done what I’ve done with intentional integrity,” he said, “within the context of the guidelines.”
-Former AU President Benjamin Ladner, Washington Post, October 17, 2005, B01

Seriously? Seriously?! “Intentional integrity”? That is a neat phrase that means nothing. Come on, Ben, give me something I can work with here. You’ve got to do better than that.

After combing through tons of articles, reviewing the chronology of the biggest university scandal since Ole Miss’ entire faculty and student body died in the Civil War, I found not one shred of regret, not one semblance of an apology, not one ounce of anything worth the seven figure payoff Benjamin Ladner is receiving to be dishonorably discharged from his service as President of American University.

I want to know if Mr. Ladner’s “intentional integrity” extended to using my student fees to pay for his son’s 13-course engagement dinner. (The menu included pan-seared foie gras, caviar, and white truffle risotto.) Was his integrity still intact when he treated his personal chef to “professional development” in Paris, Rome and London on my tab? And how on Earth can one operate under “intentional integrity” while spending $44,000 on alcohol while I’m missing out on happy hour to study for the classes I pay $1,000 an hour to attend?

I suppose these questions will remain rhetorical. I don’t expect the satisfaction of a response. If there was going to be one, certainly it would have already come in the weeks leading up to October 24th, when the fractured remains of the American University Board of Trustees voted to give Ladner a $3.75 million departure package. Mr. Ladner never honored his faculty and students with a real, honest response. And the board handed him a golden parachute without demanding one from him.

And therein lies another problem: who are these elusive board members tasked with representing my interests at American University? Where is the student voice to say, “We … are appalled at the compensation package that the Board of Trustees has given Dr. Ladner,” as the Graduate Student Leadership Council said in a released statement after the deal was announced? Where is the faculty voice on the Board to say, “Why would they give him any additional money beyond what he’s owed?... It seems topsy-turvy bizarro-world logic,” as Professor Lenny Steinhorn told The Washington Post?

Who are these people? Obviously, not students, faculty, or anyone remotely interested in reflecting the beliefs or interests of the University. They and Ladner are just as concerned about AU’s interests as former Enron CEO Kenneth Lay was about his employees’ retirement funds.

Unfortunately, this scandal is just another page in what’s become regular news fodder for all of us – corporate, political, and now, university scandal, all reeking of greed. We hear politicians discuss the “culture of corruption” and “abuse of power” in Congress and in the White House, but it is spreading like the bird flu to our backyards. These days, I would not be surprised if the local Girl Scout Troop Leader was stealing cookie money.

While Ladner is getting paid, I’m paying tens of thousands of dollars for an AU education (that could be skimmed off the top by the next AU President whose wallet the Board decides to fatten). As the Board rewards him for his “intentional integrity,” the lowest wage employees at AU barely make a living wage and professors remain underpaid and without a proper say in the future of the University to which they so generously dedicate themselves. While this University and this former University President refuse to accept responsibility for their actions, the students and the school’s reputation will continue to suffer.

We have to demand more accountability from our leaders – from the local PTA President to the President of the United States. A $3.75 million severance package is not holding Ladner accountable, but instead rewarding him for his clear misuse of university money.

And if I can’t have accountability, can I at least get an apology?
At the very least, I just want you to know that what you did does not even remotely resemble integrity, intentional or otherwise. It was wrong and you should accept that you used and abused American University, its faculty, staff and students; and the Board should accept that they allowed you to do it and rewarded you for it in the end.

I want to hear you say it, Mr. Ladner: “I’m sorry I spent your tuition money on my personal chef’s professional development, the 13-course engagement dinner for my son, and my excessive alcohol purchases.” Oh, and hand me one of those cashmere throws you bought on my dime, will you? Paying for heat is pretty expensive right now.

Melanie Roussell is an American University graduate student.

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