Comments on: Kent State in the headlines — again! What’s your advice?

By: When trust is absent, Part II: Why management needs PR people at the table — especially here! « ToughSledding

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 21:09:30 +0000

[...] times I heard colleagues mention Ed Mahon’s $88,000 doctoral degree, an unprecedented perk for an executive at any level of this or any other [...]

By: When trust is absent, suspicion rules « ToughSledding

When trust is absent, suspicion rules « ToughSledding — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:49:02 +0000

[...] a post about the president’s high-priced European tour last summer, and another about the high-priced benefits for a top executive. Our local media have noticed management’s spending habits, too, and said so in a year-end [...]

By: Michelle Spano

Michelle Spano — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 20:59:43 +0000

First of all, I would like to thank Bill for his courage to stand up for what is right.
This article of how KSU has mismanaged money is most likely the answer to an issue that has me very angry. I became very ill in April of 2005. After spending a week in the hospital I had to withdraw from Lakeland Community College.( Due to a medical reason they offered to refund the money. )I couldn’t wait to return to school. With over 35 credit hours I’m anxious to finish. One year later, the summer of 2006 I enrolled in a college math class at the local KSU in Ashtabula, Ohio. The class started on a Tuesday. When I began to do the homework I realized that the illness had unfortunately affected my cognitive skills. There was no way I could continue the class. Thursday, the second day of class, I realized I had to withdraw. It was a very emotional time for me to accept that six months earlier I had a 3.0 GPA. And now the secretary is explaining to me about a program for “slow learners.” But, HERE is the REAL PROBLEM! I’m NOT just ANGRY for myself but, for all the OTHERS that KSU has WRONGLY taking MONEY from. It was my second day of class for me and I was not able to have my money refunded. Classes started on Tuesday so, Wednesday was the deadline. I was told I would have to write to “the board” and give them a medical note. A little extreme I thought but, I did it. I received a letter back from KSU that they would not be refunding my money. “Because, I knew about my medical condition.” It doesn’t take to much thinking to discover I wouldn’t have paid $500.00 if I knew I wasn’t able to do the class. At the time I was so depressed about the learning problem that I didn’t have it in me to dispute KSU’s reason for denying my refund. I signed up again the next spring. I felt I was doing much better. I paid $225.08. Unfortunately, I was only able to go from Jan.13 – Feb.27, 2006. I didn’t expect a refund. I also did not expect to have to pay for a full semester $500.00 more! I have talked to others that have been in the same situation. One girl had to withdraw because she was diagnosed with CANCER! YES, she still had to pay. I understand guidelines are needed but, there are circumstantial reasons beyond one’s control. KSU has everything to GAIN with there strict guidelines. They have WRONGLY taking THOUSANDS of dollars from students. I apologize for my grammatical errors I’ve spent the entire day working on this serious situation. I will also add that I was hung up on by the main campus. I am determined to do everything I can do to STOP this.
Please email me @ shellm34@yahoo.com if you have been in the same situation

By: Public relations, the Akron Beacon Journal and Kent State « PR on the run

Public relations, the Akron Beacon Journal and Kent State « PR on the run — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 13:32:27 +0000

[...] Bill Sledzik wrote about in some detail and received a number of excellent comments about on his ToughSledding blog. Read Bill’s essay, if you haven’t already. Besides, Bill has tenure. I [...]

By: abster

abster — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 14:53:05 +0000

Bill, nice post. I feel like the university has been burning some bridges lately with local reporters. I read Rob’s post about the topic (note: I was very excited to see he started a blog– and i’m sure you had nothing to do with that-haha) and I think the university PR department needs to evaluate their communication efforts with reporters. It’s all about building relationships, and I think this time an e-mail response to such a controversial subject was not appropriate. KSU needs to meet problems head on– or find the best way to correct them without attracting such negative media attention. Who’s to say what would have happened with the article if some face-to-face communication occurred and the school was defended by a spokesperson??

By: Judy Gombita

Judy Gombita — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 13:55:56 +0000

Hey Bill, I said "the closest KSU and Mahon could come to a win-win resolution of this thorny issue." By that I meant the university's continuing commitment to funding Mahon's further studies, in significant part, if not entirely. Regarding KSU and its public reputation management, it would seem that staff education policies could bear a reexamination and (in particular) the results communicated to all concerned. No matter what the outcome of the exercise (changes or maintenance of the status quo), the rationale should be detailed. My long-time online pal Andrew Arnold and I recently had an e-discussion about the Ketchum/USC 2007 Media Usage Survey news release (that I also forwarded to you), Media Myths & Realities—A Public of One. Andy commented, "I especially like the bit about providing "content" and "context"—one of my hobby horses. Mind you, I think I'd argue with their definitions of Word of Mouth campaigns. That's always what I thought PR did through third parties." Ergo, going forward KSU could and should provide the context, in addition to the content, of policies to third parties, such as local media and the student and publics "of one."

By: Stacy Wessels

Stacy Wessels — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 02:30:44 +0000

Lefton isn’t the first KSU president to plant his head firmly in the sand. Carol Cartwright tried to re-brand the university as “Kent” because “Kent State” was too messy. The KSU administration, like so many others, needs to realize it is not immune to criticism or investigative media coverage.

By: Bill Sledzik

Bill Sledzik — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 02:12:15 +0000

It’s about time I jump in here, although I think you’ve all been carrying the conversation without me.

There’s some disagreement as to whether or not this qualifies as a “crisis.” Tim is correct in saying nothing tragic has occurred, and no one is in imminent danger. But the series of events at Kent State has generated enough negative publicity to create a disruption that poses a very real threat to the organization and its operations. By my definition, that’s a crisis — or soon will be if the pattern continues.

Whether the administration chooses to recognize it as a crisis is another matter. They may believe the damage to be slight, given that the story hasn’t gone beyond the Akron Beacon Journal — yet!

But I think we all agree on the need to for quick action to show that the organization recognizes the problem and is attempting to set things right. Judy offers an excellent suggestion — that Mr. Mahon accept only an amount of tuition support equivalent to the cost of a business PhD at Kent State. That would show good stewardship of taxpayer funds, and be a compromise that most could accept. Win-Win? I believe it’s too late for that, but we could save face a bit while setting a fresh tone for the future.

And thank you, Scott, for reminding us of the need for “one voice, one message,” and for the need to adjust behavior to make us a bit less newsworthy. They don’t report bad news if you don’t make it — one of the simple truths of media relations. We in PR don’t have a magic wand, and we can’t make it go away.

I should mention that the damage was amplified with Chip Bok’s cartoon on the Sunday editorial page. I can’t find it on the ABJ website. When I do, I’ll be sure to add a link.

By: Reporters and e-mail. Well, not always. « PR on the run

Reporters and e-mail. Well, not always. « PR on the run — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:25:07 +0000

[...] Sledzik has the details on his Tough Sledding blog. I won’t rehash it here. But it’s fair to say the story was not favorable to the [...]

By: Judy Gombita

Judy Gombita — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:27:32 +0000

Bill, what are estimated costs associated with studying for a doctorate at KSU’s school of business? Presumably Ed Mahon would automatically receive free or heavily subsidized education as a KSU staff member.

That being the case, if he chose to go elsewhere (no matter what the underlying rationale), as a journalist, student or member of the tax-paying public I’d be inclined towards saying that KSU’s “obligations” to him extend only as far as the costs associated with KSU’s own offerings. I’d want the president and other administrators of KSU to make such policy clear to all staff applicants for post-secondary degrees; namely, if you choose to study elsewhere, be prepared to make up the difference.

I’m with Rob Jewell in thinking that it behooves Mahon to accept at least some of the responsibility for the unanticipated furor/reputation management issue over his personal choice of schools, perceived slight to KSU’s academic reputation and seemingly cavalier attitude about spending tax dollars. If not a complete withdrawal of his request for funding, (as stated above) at a minimum he should offer to personally absorb the difference in costs between the two business schools.

To me that would be the closest KSU and Mahon could come to a win-win resolution of this thorny issue. But, then again, I’m not an Ohio journalist or resident.