Former President Lu Hardin pled guilty this morning in an Arkansas court to two felony charges of wire fraud and money laundering from his time at the University of Central Arkansas. He is faced with the possibility of up to twenty years in federal prison.
Rumors and allegations of gambling debts are circling as possible explanations for why such a high-salaried official would seek this kind of illegal pay-out.
Court documents can be read here.
13 comments:
Called it.
Wow, crazy stuff.
I sure hope all the accounts balance at the end of the year at PBA...
He was a self serving pride filled dictator that filled the campus with fear. Check out his parking sign on campus! He threatened staff and faculty with firing for no reason. He allowed one person in his office to feed him lies about everyone. He didnt bother to check on this information. This was a toxic duo who damaged the university permanently, I fear. The interim president needs to get a new office staff immediately and bring some sanity back to the campus. The trustees actually acknowledge none of the on campus problems and even defend their decision in hiring him. They were drinking his cool aid weekly in a self serving memo. The old search committee should publicly apologize on campus then resign. The search firm who got him should refund their fee. His gambling problem was known and mention in the press before he was hired. He was a laughing stock in higher education circles and PBA have to rebuild their once outstanding reputation in Christian higher education. And yes, Huckaby played a part in his hiring I suspect. Sad alumnus, sad day for PBA.
Dear previous anonymous,
If you are in fact a PBA student/alumnus, than PBA does indeed have a long way to go in the realm of higher education. From what I've heard he was well liked by professors for his support of academic freedom, etc. Of course, that in no way excuses his past sins, but neither does it negate his good points. Don't demonize the man. . . and don't anglicize him either.
Later,
KW
"He was a self serving pride filled dictator that filled the campus with fear."
Just by reading that I can tell that you have no clue or point of reference as to what you're talking about. I'm not sure what sparked your rant, but it's clear that you're lying through your teeth.
Here's a perspective from someone who's currently (and actually) at PBA. The consensus on campus was that of approval. I only heard good things about him from both fellow students and faculty. Things were going quite well when he was here and everyone was excited about the future of our school. There was a genuine sense of surprise and disappointment when this news got out. Sure, we have a few cynics who fashion themselves to be more intelligent about the situation than they really are, but that's just due to childishness. Most of those gossiping (like the previous anonymous) are self-important fools who only want to appear as though they really know the scoop.
It's a shame that things turned out the way they did, but such is life. I'm not writing this with the intent of justifying Lu's past actions at UCA, I'm only interested in telling it as it truly was here at PBA during his stay from a more local perspective.
What does the "dictator's" parking sign say?
"Violators will be taken to the gulag?"
The comments on the ArkTimes blog article make an interesting read. It would do us some good to see this through the eyes of some of the Arkansans who are closer to this situation, and who are fed up with the UCA board for putting the wrong things first. PBA board, take note.
"From what I've heard he was well liked by professors for his support of academic freedom, etc."
What do you expect them to tell you? I suppose a few liked him, but I would be surprised if anyone would admit to trusting him or feeling supported by him.
"The consensus on campus was that of approval. I only heard good things about him from both fellow students and faculty."
This is just not true, and your name calling doesn't make it true. Don't mistake cautious nodding for approval. I understand why the board felt like they had to hire him, and I'm sure they knew just like everyone else that this shoe would drop at some point. I hope we're not naive enough to believe that the trustee leadership weren't watching the developments in Arkansas. They just wanted to get as much mileage out of his talents as they could. I'm grateful that he handled the exit cleanly and as gracefully as possible, but afraid of what we may find out - look at UCA. Fleming as president? It's called "damage control."
I love the school and my profs, and everyone needs to chill.
PBA is a good university. You get Michelangelo and the beach. Cheer up!
I'm going to go ahead and say that, even though Hardin's faults and the likelihood that they would catch up with him were known from the start, there was (at least in my circle of friends) a sense of approval. As mentioned by the other on-campus "anonymous", we have all been fairly excited about the advances that have taken place at PBA during Lu's regrettably short period as our President. He's been a great force in raising money, getting PBA's name out into the world through advertising campaigns, and promoting a good sense of both academic and community vitality on campus.
I'm personally sad to see him go.
On another note, the demands for having the search committee resign and all of that is just ludicrous. If anything is reminiscent of a totalitarian regime, the suggestions to just "off" an entire board of some of this University's most talented professors is it!
PBA was warned by many people in Arkansas. It was insane to hire a person that was headed for a grand jury investigation. And now it is equally insane to accuse critics of the search process of being the totalitarian ones. Talk about a philosophical lapse in logic!
"This is just not true, and your name calling doesn't make it true. Don't mistake cautious nodding for approval."
I think you need to understand the difference between a "for all" and "some" statement if you wish to speak about truth value. Each of your statements were made in the "for all" tone. I specifically emphasized mine as being from a more local perspective. It only takes 1 counter-example to destroy a "for all" statement; the "some/there exists" statements on the other hand imply already the existence of counter-examples. A consensus merely implies a majority, and the word "approval" does not necessarily imply passionate enthusiasm. You are also decieving yourself if you do not recognize the large group of faculty and staff who would agree with my previous statements.
As for the namecalling: are you aware of the irony in this statement? I appreciate that you have at least lowered your tone, but do yourself a favor and re-read your first post. You have no right to be complaining. In fact, I will stand firmly by the notion that any "name" I may have "called" you was merited and based on truth soley upon what you had demonstrated. Please do not misunderstand me. I am not being sarcastic, nor do I intend to insult anyone - my only interest is in seeking truth, and yes, most of the time, truth is something that hurts.
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