Kentucky: Loserville 2008

LEO Weekly: Loserville 2008

Remembering the year that should’ve been better

A STAFF REPORT

Welcome to our first Loserville Awards. Here you’ll find 50 ruminations on the past year of screw-ups, hack-jobs, short-fallers and people who’ve generally blown their public trust — and, incidentally, entered our lives in a sort of sideways, wholly unpleasant way. We criticize because we care, so if you find yourself on this list, the message to take away is simple: Do better.

Robert Felner and Thomas Schroeder

We weren’t sure how far the year’s most cartoonish villains could go; at the very least, former U of L Education Dean Robert Felner’s alleged embezzlement/homoerotic/tirades at students and co-workers/creepily beardless perp-walk fiasco certainly upped the ante for scandals in the ’Ville. Felner was indicted in October on 10 counts of mail fraud, money-laundering conspiracy and income-tax evasion. Schroeder — Felner’s colleague and friend — was also charged in the conspiracy that included more than $2 million in grants fraudulently obtained though U of L. Thanks for the memories, Bob. Enjoy federal prison.

Penance: Reimbursement to students of all funds spent on classes featuring this dude.

U of L administration and public relations office

1. Robert Felner and how not to address a scandal with a public that is capable of reading/writing/speaking.

2. Patrick Henry Hughes and how not to treat a national icon bitter about an overzealous athletic department trying to control the pep band without making accommodations for Hughes and his father, who directs his wheelchair in band formations.

3. Mandatory Meal Plan and how not to treat students who’ve endured a decade of substantial tuition increases.

Penance: Go Cats?

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