Auburn Ousts 2, but Doesn't Fault Athletics

What a crock!  Anyone who believes this, call me -- I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale: "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."  That being said, this professor -- the one who blew the whistle -- is probably right:

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.

---------------------

Auburn Ousts 2, but Doesn’t Fault Athletics

By RAY GLIER and PETE THAMEL

Published: August 11, 2006

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/11/sports/ncaafootball/11auburn.html?th&emc=th

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.