… of Tom Courtway, the interim UCA president. In his blog, he defends Courtway for refusing to release the names of students who received discretionary scholarships in the era of Lu Hardin.
It’s not personal, but I disagree. Debra Hale-Shelton’s thorough reporting from the Democrat-Gazette has cited ample authority that Courtway is stretching federal privacy law for students beyond its intended scope to shield this information.
Brummett also blames Board of Trustee pressure for Courtway’s going along with continuation of the unconscionable practice of giving children of trustees a break on tuition. For past pattern and practice going back four decades, Courtway carries no responsibility, it’s true.
But after the recent illustration of the unacceptability of the practice — it is not allowed by explicit rule for a non-employee of UCA to receive such a benefit (and trustees are not employees) — Courtway should simply insist that the remaining trustee child (Scott Roussel’s) henceforth receive no further tuition breaks. To do so would violate the board’s own rule.
Roussel’s continued belief of his entitlement, after all that has gone down at UCA, does tend to support the view that the UCA Golf and Good Ol’ Boys Club Board was indeed part, maybe the biggest part, of the problem.
UPDATE: Speaking of UCA, on the jump are names of the 18 people still under consideration for the presidency after an initial winnowing of some three dozen applications. The nomination process has not closed, however, and names are still coming in.