Kent State J-faculty joins protest over ‘secret search’

I’m pleased to join my colleagues in a high-profile protest against the secret presidential search conducted at Kent State over the past year. This full page ad will run in tomorrow’s Daily Kent Stater. My original post on the topic appeared April 1.

There’s a simple PR lesson in this case: The business of public institutions is public. Next to the ad I’ve posted links to some local news coverage from earlier today.

(Click to enlarge the visual.)

StaterAd2Akron Beacon Journal April 21

Daily Kent Stater Editorial

Poynter Institute story

2 thoughts on “Kent State J-faculty joins protest over ‘secret search’

  1. Very well written (your posts and the ad). Having spent over a decade working for state agencies I wholeheartedly agree that KSU should have made the documents available. I’d be interested to see what happens as this case moves forward. Is the state’s Inspector General involved yet to look into the issue? I am not sure if that is the right way to proceed but think it might. Also I wonder what will happen to anyone (if anything) who works on compliance issues for KSU, or in the legal department. Thanks for keeping us up-to-date on what is going on.

    • I’m not sure the case will move forward, Erin. As I understand it (and I’m no lawyer), the Beacon Journal — or some other organization — must file suit to gain access to the records. And given the financial state of news media these days, it’s unlikely anyone covering the story will pony up the necessary legal fees.

      I don’t think most folks care about this story, and that’s understandable. It doesn’t affect them. But the principles involved do. When public institutions keep secrets, we should all be concerned.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *