Tag: Peter Galuszka
-
Helen Dragas Has a Lot of Explaining to Do
The Virginia press is actually doing its job for once, surfacing pertinent information about the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Teresa Sullivan from the presidency of the University of Virginia. It looks like the Board of Visitors needs to come clean with the full story. First, this from the Washington Post: After consulting with board…
-
What Would T.J. Do? He’d Make the Tough Choices.
by James A. Bacon Finally, hints of clarity out of Charlottesville. Digging into the departure of University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan, Karin Kapsidelis with the Times-Dispatch has uncovered at least one concrete instance of the “difference in philosophy” that drove the Board of Visitors to seek Sullivan’s resignation. Money quote from David Leblang, chair…
-
UVa: Where’s the Vision?
by James A. Bacon There has been a lot of coverage of Teresa Sullivan’s resignation as president of the University of Virginia but precious little analysis of why the Board of Visitors lost confidence in her ability to lead the states’ flagship university. Rector Helen E. Dragas made some cryptic remarks to the effect that…
-
“An Existential Threat”
James A. Bacon University of Virginia Rector Helen E. Dragas gets it. Explaining the Board of Visitors’ differences with departing President Teresa Sullivan, she told university deans and vice presidents that Virginia’s flagship educational institution can not continue to conduct business as usual. “The pace of change in higher education and in health care has…
-
Sullivan Steps Down as UVa President.
Hmmm. I wonder what this is all about. The University of Virginia board of visitors announced this morning that Teresa Sullivan is stepping down as university president after a tenure of only two years. The board will hold an emergency closed-door meeting at 2 p.m. to “consider amending the contract of a University employee,”according to…
-
“It’s for you!”
By Peter Galuszka The coincidences are revealing. How many times have you read this blog and you find that much of the comment seems scripted from afar. The American Legislative Exchange Council, the cabal of right wing business and propagandists who draft laws for harried state legislators, pushes a template for private school tuition tax…
-
The “Agenda 21” Nutbars
By Peter Galuszka A half a century ago in rural places like the tobacco and corn fields of Eastern North Carolina, there used to be billboards with strong and aggressive messages. One said: “This Is Klan Country.” Another advocated: “U.S. Out of the United Nations.” Both represented frightening, hard-right elements. The source of the first…
-
Oilfield Reality Check
By Peter Galuszka One has to laugh at just how fantastic the debate over energy has become. Conservatives are trying to make President Barack Obama a goat for not bowing to the propaganda about the Keystone XL pipeline which would take unusually dirty oil from Canadian tar sands all the way to the U.S. Gulf…
-
Good and Bad Capitalism
By Peter Galuszka The Republican presidential primary season has taken on a peculiar wackiness, particularly when free market advocate Next Gingrich takes on front-runner Mitt Romney for his days as a private equity capitalist at Bain Capital. The conservatives amongst us shudder at the very idea that something as precious as finance can be spotlighted (as…
-
Thumbsucking, Richmond-style
By Peter Galuszka The incredible, shrinking Richmond Times-Dispatch offers a lot less to read these days. Under the leadership of Publisher Thomas A. Silvestri, many staffers have been fired to boost parent firm Media General’s top line. The effort hasn’t been entirely successful since its stock, once around $65 a share, is now a little better…
-
McDonnell’s Campaign Against Public Schools
By Peter Galuszka As much as I hold James A. Bacon Jr., my esteemed fellow blogger, in the deepest of respect, whenever he says that he regards a package of legislation as the best, it’s time to start to switch on the Google. In this case, Jim is patting Gov. Robert F. McDonnell on the…
-
Lots on the Virginia Defense Chopping Block
By Peter Galuszka Barack Obama’s nearly $500 billion in budget cuts are certain to impact Virginia. It’s only fair, of course, that if Obama is going to join the chorus of (largely Republican and often hysterical) budget cutters, then the military should be included. After all, we haven’t even begun paying yet for the wars…
-
More Hypocrisy from Philip Morris USA
By Peter Galuszka Tobacco has always been a powerful industry in Virginia since the days of the Jamestown colony. It is no less influential today as Henrico County-based Philip Morris USA and its parent firm, Altria, constantly play shell games about the hazards of their products. Just before Christmas, and right in time for the 2012 election year,…
-
Virginia: Mother of Bad Ideas
By Peter Galuszka The Mother of Presidents is back at it again. Through some legal quirk — typical for the Old Dominion — only Mitt Romney and Ron Paul will be on the ballot for the March 6 Republican primary. Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry did not meet the state’s onerous requirement for 10,000 petition signatures…
-
The Dangers of Creeping College Privatization
By Peter Galuszka Virginia residents have long enjoyed a special advantage with higher education. Tuition at some of the country’s best-rated public universities — the University of Virginia, the College of William and Mary and Virginia Tech — is relatively modest. The schools offer a great deal for parents and students compared with nationally ranked…