In our business, credibility is everything. That's surely true for everybody reading this.
One glaring error in a story, and you're out of the business for good. It's a standard we agree to when we assume our role as journalists.
So we have to wonder why this month, the university hired John A. Fallon III after he was fired five years ago from his post as a university president at Eastern Michigan University, because he failed to disclose the whole story about a rape and murder on campus during his watch.
He went on to be CEO of an Indianapolis-based company called NPower, which helps non-profit organizations with technology support. In his past, he was president at two liberal arts colleges in New York and Iowa, and he even worked at Ball State with what's now the Office of Extended Education.
He's built an impressive r+â-¬sum+â-¬, no doubt, and he was hired earlier this month as the associate vice president of economic development and community engagement.
University officials are welcoming him back to campus, lauding his experience with community building and other aspects that make him a good candidate for the job.
But we just ask, why?
Why would the university, after Fallon hid a rape and murder, hire him into a leadership position?
Many of the stories that fill our paper are the result of public records requests. We use the records provided by the university to find the deeper meaning in events and numbers.
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Does an associate vice president with a history of hiding information mean we won't have the access to records like we did before? Does this mean Ball State will be the subject of investigations and pay penalties for breaking the Clery Act?
We hope not. We take as much pride in the university as anyone else, and we would hate to see our tuition dollars disappear into the hands of law enforcement if we can avoid it. And we'll be honest, timely access to records is something we've grown to rely on.
These problems may not arise, but there's no doubt we're still leery of bringing in an administrator with a questionable background.
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