The Strange Hiring Practices of David Boren at the University of Oklahoma

Michael P. Wright – Norman, Oklahoma, USA – mpwright8@aol.com

The mentor and sponsor of former CIA director George Tenet has been David Boren, a U.S. Senator from Oklahoma. He was elected to three terms. Boren resigned from the Senate in 1994, with two years remaining on the third term. The year earlier he was being outed as queer in the gay press and also accused of sexually harassing his male staff members. For examples of gay publications with this information, see this youtube video and its link to excerpts in the accompanying text box:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6FW...

Boren’s resignation from the Senate followed his success in manipulating the University of Oklahoma regents int o making him president of that school, where he still is. He was also able to keep the news of the accusations of sexual harassment from reaching the mainstream press.

Tuition at OU today is almost four times as high as it was when Boren arrived in 1994. Enrollment has been declining for several years. It is now 6% less than its 2004 peak, and is expected to decline in the future, due to both demographic realities and affordability barriers.
Boren has been the most influential voice in Oklahoma higher education. According to an expert evaluation group, higher education in the state has become unaffordable for families with average income.

http://oudaily.com/news/2008/dec/04...

Due to Boren’s incessant tuition hikes, students from working-class and middle-income Oklahoma families either have to work long hours, borrow heavily, or both, in order to attend OU. In the meantime, Boren has made OU a very comfortable place for his numerous friends and political loyalists. Many have been young men, sexually appealing to Boren, and not qualified for the titles and salaries he has given them.

FORMER DISNEYLAND EMPLOYEE WITH NO ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE IS NOW AN OU "DEAN"

Some of those enjoying Boren’s favor have been older. A recent example is found in Rich Taylor, who recently was named as Interim Dean of the College of Fine Arts. He is Boren’s pick for the permanent position as Dean. Having neither a graduate degree nor any experience teaching in a college or university, Taylor arrived at OU in 2007 and in his first year became a tenured professor and department chairman.

Taylor’s only degree is a Bachelor of Fine Arts from OU. Earlier, he accumulated 27 years of experience working for Disneyland. The OU website about Taylor claims that he was a “distinguished 1972 graduate.” This is a lie. Taylor actually graduated in 1980.

Go here for verification:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?a...

OU "VICE PRESIDENT" CLARKE STROUD WAS A DISCIPLINARY PROBLEM AS A STUDENT

There are more cases of high-salaried jobs with prestigious titles being given to OU graduates lacking the appropriate credentials. A good example is provided by Clarke Stroud, who was given the title “vice president for student affairs” when he was 32. He was an OU undergraduate in the 80s. Some interesting facts about Stroud are provided by Sooner magazine, the alumni publication:

http://www.oufoundation.org/sm/wint...

The article reports that Stroud was a member of the Ruf-Neks, the OU male pep squad known for blasting loud amplified shotguns at football games. Observe the vulgar slogan on one of the shotguns:

http://web.archive.org/web/20060112...

Describing Stroud as an “undergraduate scalawag,” Sooner discloses that as an OU student he “was a self-described rabble-rouser, who participated in what might generously be described as coming-of-age antics,” which sometimes “brought him face-to-face with the University’s disciplinary system.” The writer for Sooner believed that his misconduct “would give him valuable insight into the struggles of the students he counsels today.”

According to Stoud, “President [David] Boren is fond of saying that no student could do anything worse than I did as a student.”

After graduating from OU in 1990, Stroud was waiting tables in Chicago. With no other job prospects in sight, he called a friend in the OU housing department and was given a job as an apartment coordinator. He later was appointed to be director of the OU student union.

Stroud obtained an easy OU master’s degree from a non-thesis program in education. After he arrived on campus as president in 1994, David Boren took a liking to young Stroud, and gave him the vice-president title in 2000.

STROUD INDULGED FRATERNITY BINGE DRINKING PARTIES

In December 2002, two underage fraternity boys were arrested on their way to a party with 2100 cans of beer in their car. Quoted in The Oklahoma Daily, Stroud said, “But I would hate to take an isolated incident like this and make a broad stereotype from it.” Less than two years later, in another “isolated incident,” OU fraternity pledge Blake Hammontree drank himself to death during a binge drinking initiation ritual. See the top row of scans:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?a...

Clarke Stroud is an exquisite jackass. See this youtube video of Stroud in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS7b...

CONVICTED WIFE-BEATER IS ALSO AN OU "VICE PRESIDENT"

Jean-Paul Audas is another unqualified young fellow named by Boren to be a "vice-president." Audas’ highest educational certificate is also a master’s from an OU program requiring no thesis. It is in "human relations," which is an academic joke and a guaranteed path to an easy master’s degree.

Audas is a convicted wife-beater. He was arrested for assaulting his wife in June of 2007. Boren’s response was to praise him and grant him a "medical leave of absence." In the fall he was welcomed back to the campus with his pay cut to $184,000 annually and his title amended to "associate vice president." See this Norman Transcript news article:

http://www.normantranscript.com/arc...

As reported by The Transcript, his wife’s affidavit says that Audas punched her in the face several times and also repeatedly kicked her. The reporting officer described her as having red marks on her face and sustaining a possible broken left arm.

The Transcript did not report the fact that, after pleading "no contest" in December 2007, Audas was penalized by having to pay a $100 fine and court costs while receiving a deferred sentence.

None of those around the OU campus or in the Norman community who consider themselves to be "women’s advocates" expressed any public protest about this outrage.

YOUNG FELLOW WITH NO BACKGROUND IN JOURNALISM BECAME "PRESS SECRETARY"

This information was in the Tulsa World of January 22, 2006, in an article by Randy Krehbiel. The headline was "David Boren: an Oklahoma Legend." It was about various people who have enjoyed career opportunity because of favorable influence from Boren. Here is an excerpt:

[quote]

Tulsa state Rep. Jabar Shumate, Boren’s press secretary at OU for two years, said he had applied for a job as a recruiter for the university.

"He called me in and asked if I would consider being his press secretary. I was shocked. I had no journalism background, but he said, ’You can do this.’ He always believed I had qualities I couldn’t see."

[end of quote]

The article can be found in the LexisNexis archive. It reports that as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Boren plucked George Tenet from a low-level position and made him chief of the committee staff.

Boren, the writer adds, “is always on the scout.”

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT DAVID BOREN:

Boren’s Similarities to Hitler:

http://bellaciao.org/en/spip.php?ar...

Boren’s Attempt to Obstruct a Federal Investigation:

http://bellaciao.org/en/spip.php?ar...

Photos of Strange Sculptures on the OU Campus

http://bellaciao.org/en/spip.php?ar...

Boren and Skull and Bones:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7XQ...