WEST Virginia University President Mike Garrison has said he accepts responsibility for the strange process by which his top aides concocted an unearned master's degree for Gov. Manchin's daughter. But in a Monday meeting with Gazette editors, Garrison absolved himself of any direct blame.

An investigative report found there was "palpable pressure" from "representatives of the president's office" to approve the disputed degree. It said the "prevailing sentiment" at a brief decisive meeting "was that a way should be found to justify the granting of the degree, if at all possible." But Garrison indicated Monday that he never asked anyone to favor the governor's daughter and doesn't know why his chief aides felt compelled to do so.

Is it really believable that the president has no idea why his inner circle bent the rules for a privileged person with strong political and financial connections?

The report said that fake grades were "simply pulled from thin air" and inserted in the governor's daughter's long-dormant WVU transcript. Garrison said Steve Sears, the now-resigned Mylan Puskar dean of the business school, was named as responsible for that action, but Garrison said he doesn't know who actually wrote in the false grades.

The WVU president also expressed ignorance on other topics.

For example, Garrison said he doesn't know why Gov. Manchin asked a special 2007 summer session of the Legislature to change State Code 18B-2A-1, which enabled political insider Stephen Goodwin to remain chairman of the WVU Board of Governors for four years instead of two. Garrison noted that the law change applies to all colleges and universities.

For example, after Provost Gerald Lang and business dean Sears resigned, their ironclad tenure contracts guaranteed that they could assume professor posts at salaries of $200,000 and $140,000. When asked if that is typical professor pay, Garrison indicated that it's higher than average, but he doesn't know how much most professors earn.

Despite the overwhelming Faculty Senate vote calling for his removal, it's clear that President Garrison intends to keep smiling and wait for this scandal to fade. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette commented Wednesday:

"In an affront to academic integrity, common sense and the good of his institution, WVU's president has dug in his heels and pretended that this debacle doesn't involve him. Yet an investigative panel put Mr. Garrison's office at the heart of the deception to invent credits.... Garrison would rather see his university, his alma mater, suffer the indignity of academic derision than step down himself. Yet his attempts to keep a distance from the scandal just won't wash....

"Evidence is mounting publicly that alumni and donors have no confidence in the university. The people of West Virginia, who fund this institution, deserve better. The only remaining act that will purge the stain of the [Heather] Bresch case is the departure of Mike Garrison. If he can't find the door, the board of governors must show him."

What's ahead for WVU? How can this nightmare be resolved? Mathematics professor Harry Gingold is calling for a criminal investigation, but that hardly seems likely.

Next week, the University Assembly - the entire faculty except for part-time instructors - will hold a rare special meeting on the dilemma. We hope it finds a path to cure WVU's dismal problem.

An investigative report found there was "palpable pressure" from "representatives of the president's office" to approve the disputed degree. It said the "prevailing sentiment" at a brief decisive meeting "was that a way should be found to justify the granting of the degree, if at all possible." But Garrison indicated Monday that he never asked anyone to favor the governor's daughter and doesn't know why his chief aides felt compelled to do so.

Is it really believable that the president has no idea why his inner circle bent the rules for a privileged person with strong political and financial connections?

The report said that fake grades were "simply pulled from thin air" and inserted in the governor's daughter's long-dormant WVU transcript. Garrison said Steve Sears, the now-resigned Mylan Puskar dean of the business school, was named as responsible for that action, but Garrison said he doesn't know who actually wrote in the false grades.

The WVU president also expressed ignorance on other topics.

For example, Garrison said he doesn't know why Gov. Manchin asked a special 2007 summer session of the Legislature to change State Code 18B-2A-1, which enabled political insider Stephen Goodwin to remain chairman of the WVU Board of Governors for four years instead of two. Garrison noted that the law change applies to all colleges and universities.

For example, after Provost Gerald Lang and business dean Sears resigned, their ironclad tenure contracts guaranteed that they could assume professor posts at salaries of $200,000 and $140,000. When asked if that is typical professor pay, Garrison indicated that it's higher than average, but he doesn't know how much most professors earn.

Despite the overwhelming Faculty Senate vote calling for his removal, it's clear that President Garrison intends to keep smiling and wait for this scandal to fade. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette commented Wednesday:

"In an affront to academic integrity, common sense and the good of his institution, WVU's president has dug in his heels and pretended that this debacle doesn't involve him. Yet an investigative panel put Mr. Garrison's office at the heart of the deception to invent credits.... Garrison would rather see his university, his alma mater, suffer the indignity of academic derision than step down himself. Yet his attempts to keep a distance from the scandal just won't wash....

"Evidence is mounting publicly that alumni and donors have no confidence in the university. The people of West Virginia, who fund this institution, deserve better. The only remaining act that will purge the stain of the [Heather] Bresch case is the departure of Mike Garrison. If he can't find the door, the board of governors must show him."

What's ahead for WVU? How can this nightmare be resolved? Mathematics professor Harry Gingold is calling for a criminal investigation, but that hardly seems likely.

Next week, the University Assembly - the entire faculty except for part-time instructors - will hold a rare special meeting on the dilemma. We hope it finds a path to cure WVU's dismal problem.