On April 27th of this year, Marilee Jones, the Dean of Admissions at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was dismissed from her prestigious position on the basis of an anonymous tip. Early last year, David J. Edmonson, CEO of Radio Shack, resigned when it was discovered that he was guilty of the same transgression as Jones. A third identical case involved George O’Leary, newly hired head football coach at Notre Dame who had held the post for only 5 days, when a newspaper story put him in the same docket as the dean and the CEO. He also was summarily dismissed.
All three were guilty of the same betrayal of trust. They lied about their educational background. The CEO of Radio Shack had been with the company for 11 years when it was discovered that he had falsely claimed to have degrees from two colleges that he had attended. Dean Jones had been with MIT since 1979, and she also lied about graduating college—she had credits but no completed degrees. The same was true for the coach.
What all three of these disgraced
executives have in common with Ramapo Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence
can be seen in this public resume that had been on the Town website prior to a
Journal News story.
In the first paragraph there’s the claim that St. Lawrence "graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Government." Not so according to Harvard University. The Journal News contacted the University after they received information from Preserve Ramapo, and their reporter was told:
"‘He definitely did not get a degree from the college,’ said Rachel Lund of Harvard College's Registrar's Office. The files of Harvard's Alumni Records Office show that St. Lawrence attended the school — from 1969 to 1973, and from 1977 to 1979, but with no mention of a degree."
But that’s where the similarities end. The schools and the corporation all cited a breech of public trust as the primary reason for dismissing the dean, CEO, and coach. The Supervisor still sits in his office, untouched by the truth. The only change was the removal of the bio from the Town of Ramapo website—to be later laundered and returned online with no mention of a degree from anywhere.
"One of the most important things we have as a corporation is integrity and trust and we know we have to restore that back to the public," That was what Executive Chairman Leonard Roberts said when he accepted David Edmondson’s resignation. MIT Chancellor Phillip Clay told the press, "We take integrity very seriously, and it was on that basis that as soon as we determined these facts were not true, we dismissed her even though she has done a great job."
Coach O’Leary had this to say about his actions, "It now seems, therefore, that in keeping with my philosophy of personal accountability for these errors, I resign my position and deeply apologize for any disappointment I have caused the University, my family, and my friends."
And what did the Supervisor say about his situation?-- "It must be some kind of glitch," St. Lawrence said of the absence of his degree documentation. "To my knowledge, I fulfilled all the requirements. They obviously have some kind of glitch there."
And where is the diploma that he says he earned?-- "I thought they mailed that to my parents," he said. "I never did anything about it. I just took the course, and I have never seen the diploma."
To this day, the Supervisor would like people to believe it’s all about a "glitch," some kind of glitch, with no question of a breech of public trust on his part. And the missing diploma? Well, it has not turned up, and the matter has not been straightened out.
And where is the Town Board in all of this? Is this a matter to be investigated? Is public censure called for? A comment for the paper maybe?
Those of us who spend a lot of time attending Ramapo Town Board meetings have learned that you shouldn’t expect much more from sock puppets than patient staring. The Town Board, which is usually dismissed as a rubber stamp for the Supervisor, has been, as you might have predicted from their past behavior, absolutely silent on the issue. If this sounds harsh and/or unrealistic, I suggest that you attend a Town Board Meeting. At a recent meeting during which the Supervisor and Board doubled the density of building in parts of the Town there was zero discussion and zero debate on the part of Friedman, Hunter, and Stein (the Board members)—all voted in favor of the increase in density.
So, I guess we can expect integrity and a concern for the public trust from corporate boards, from academic executives, and even from football coaches who understand personal accountability. But from the Supervisor who is entrusted with the maintenance of the public welfare? Guess it’s not seen as a job requirement by the incumbent in Ramapo or by his Board.
Michael Castelluccio
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