President Scott Scarborough

Friday, 03 June 2016 11:34

New Home For The Olive Jar?

The $556 decorative olive jar that sits in the University of Akron-owned home of now-former President Dr. Scott Scarborough became a symbol of the challenges and criticism the university faced over the past year.

So - is it time for a next chapter for the infamous olive jar?

The public learned about the expensive olive jar when documents revealed how much was spent on renovations to the president's home. Nearly a million dollars was spent on the renovations, which included the $556 olive jar.

A poem read at one protest in August was an example as to what the olive jar represented to some.

It became the image of the budget cuts and layoffs at the university and the frustration over the lack of communication between the administration and students, alumni, faculty and staff. The olive jar was the center of attention during the controversy that was brewing on campus. The olive jar even attracted its own Facebook and Twitter pages.

After this week's announcement from the board of trustees that they reached a mutual agreement with Scarborough to step down, talk of what happens to the infamous olive jar is beginning to surface.

There's now a petition on Change.org to move the jar to a new home -- inside the Student Union on campus. The petition said it's a way for people to see it, touch it and "identify with its symbolic role."

Wow. Someone started this petition for me. I'm touched!... https://t.co/2DXAIeF6cN
— Olive Jar (@ssolivejar) June 3, 2016

As of late Friday morning, just a few dozen people had signed the petition.

Published in Local

Tuesday, 02 February 2016 21:12

UPDATE UA Faculty Senate Plans "No Confidence" Vote Over Scarborough

Some say that a pending "no confidence" vote against University of Akron President Dr. Scott Scarborough scheduled for Thursday could be seen as a call by the university's faculty senate for a new regime.

UA faculty senate chairman Bill Rich explains the process.

"The senators will have the opportunity to debate the motion, and ultimately to vote it up or down," Rich tells WAKR's Jasen Sokol, "unless perhaps for some reason the senate decides to postpone consideration. But I think it's likely that there will be an up or down vote on Thursday.

Rich says he has no vote in the process, unless the results are tied...he'd cast the tiebreaking vote.

Hans-Joerg Tiede is with the national office of the American Association of University Professors.

"I think that's how votes of no confidence usually are framed," Tiede tells WAKR.net, "that the body believes it would be in the best interest of the institution for the person to resign their position."

If the resolution is passed by the UA Faculty Senate Thursday, Rich says he'll transmit it to the board of trustees for any possible future action.

(Earlier coverage) The University of Akron's Faculty Senate is planning a "no confidence" vote Thursday over the administration of UA president Scott Scarborough.

The draft resolution lists a number of complaints familiar to those who have been following Scarborough's time at the university, including budget cuts, changes in UA institutions like EJ Thomas Hall, along with declining enrollment and donations....and cuts to "key services".

It also says Scarborough hasn't gotten input from faculty in a number of key changes.

The vote resolution is far from the first time that faculty members have expressed concerns about Scarborough's leadership.

The cuts and changes were designed to address what Scarborough eventually called a "$60 million" budget problem.

Public outcry was heard over a nearly $1 million dollar renovation of the university president's home, including much attention being paid to an over-$500 olive jar for that home.

Scarborough has repeatedly gotten support from the UA Board of Trustees.

Published in Local

Tuesday, 20 October 2015 16:16

VIDEO Scarborough: UA Expanding To National Reach

University of Akron president Scott Scarborough says the university needs to move towards being a national university.

That's what he said Tuesday in his "State of the University Address", where LeBron James' new commercial for the university was unveiled.

LeBron will join first lady Michelle Obama for an event at UA tomorrow.

In his address, Scarborough recognized the University's local strengths - but says its reach needs to expand.

"We have to become more of a university with a national reach, an international reach, and we're at that time," Scarborough said in his address. "That's the reason why it feels uncomfortable at the moment, because we are making a transition in character from merely a regional, state university to a national university with an international reach."

Scarborough says recruiting is expanding beyond the traditional focus in the Northeast Ohio area.

He says UA should also target potential students in places like Pittsburgh and Chicago.

Scarborough once again highlighted the University of Akron's polytechnic direction, and said again that it will not short circuit things like arts and the humanities.

Published in Local

Wednesday, 12 August 2015 13:32

UA Protesters: "Akron Is Scarred"

Ode to an Antique Olive Jar:

"O Olive Jar! You are empty while I am sad.

I cannot afford to fill thee with expensive imported olives."

The poem, written by University of Akron graduate and retired educator Wendy Duke, was intended to symbolize the feeling of disgust that many are attaching to an $556 decorative olive jar recently purchased for the university-owned presidential residence.

Duke and dozens of others waited nearly two hours outside the doors of room 339 inside the Student Union. UA Board of Trustees were scheduled to meet in a public session around 9 a.m. The nearly two-hour wait was plenty of time for protesters to voice their opinions and express their concerns surrounding UA's recent budget cuts, including the elimination of 213 jobs.

Protestors chanting outside the doors of the UA board of trustees meeting... pic.twitter.com/MzkaUB07XT
— Amani Abraham (@AmaniAbraham) August 12, 2015

28-year veteran English professor Antonia Forster made it very clear why she showed up.

"Generalized rage about the way the university is being destroyed by this attitude that money is the only thing that matters," said Forster.

People like Forster are mad about the elimination of staff and proposed reconfiguration of the UA Press, EJ Thomas Hall and the hiring of an inexperienced company to provide success coaches to students.

"The faculty is being treated like morons and lied to all the time and each time one lie gets pointed out, they come up with another one," said Forster. "There's a pattern of getting rid of all the people who know how to do things and replacing them with cheap people who don't know what they're doing."

Kristie Kern and her 10-year-old son, Kenton, were also in attendance outside the board of trustees meeting, using their violins as a way to express their concerns and present a symbolic message to represent the changes and job cuts at EJ Thomas Hall. Kern's husband, Kevin, is a UA history professor and also a member of the UA Press board.

Kenton, 10, & mom Kristie Kern play their violins - a symbolic message following layoffs at EJ Thomas Hall. #uakron pic.twitter.com/SgKv5YsDiM
— Amani Abraham (@AmaniAbraham) August 12, 2015

"We, most especially, are upset about the situation with EJ Thomas Hall," said Kern. "This is why we brought our violins, my son and I, to represent the loss of performance opportunities at EJ Thomas."

Olive Protest2 Amani

But much of the attention was placed on the support offered for president Scott Scarborough, drawing snickers from people who were hoping to hear the opposite.While it was business as usual inside room 339 as UA board of trustees.

"We believe Dr. Scott Scarborough has appropriately and effectively addressed the issues presented to him," said Pavloff, who was then interrupted by the crowd's laughter. reconvened following an executive session Wednesday morning, Scarborough and Board Chairman Jonathon Pavloff did admit to making mistakes -- saying the administration could have done a better job delivering the message.

The board of trustees did not hear or answer questions from the public.

Previous Coverage:

Olive Jar Discussion Continues

Scott Scarborough: Unplugged

Eliminate UA Football: Not So Simple

UA President's House Repairs Cost More Than It's Worth

UA Planning To Cut Jobs, Baseball Program

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