I read in the Thursday, July 27th Oshkosh Northwestern that Governor Doyle will attend the Friday "Mayor's Breakfast" in Oshkosh. At that event, CESSNA CEO Jack Pelton will receive the "Key to the City." For reasons that will be explained below, Mr. Pelton does not deserve the award. I urge the governor to boycott the event.
In November of 2004, CBS' Sixty Minutes did a feature on "Diplomas for Sale." Reporter Vicki Mabrey reported on online diploma mills, focusing specifically on "Hamilton University." According to the story:
"How do you get a degree from Hamilton? You start by filling out a form on a site that claims to be an independent referral service. But it really was set up to funnel business to Hamilton. You’ll then be offered dozens of degrees. If you’re accepted, and chances are good you will be, it can take as little as a week or two to get a diploma. Your main assignments are to write a short paper and a big check."
When Pelton became CESSNA CEO, his official bio stated:
"Pelton holds BS and MS degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Hamilton University. He is a resident of Wichita and currently serves on the board of directors for the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and Wichita’s Habitat for Humanity. A commercial, instrument-rated pilot, he is Citation rated and flies regularly as pilot in command."
The Hamilton "degrees" have since been removed from Pelton's bio on the website of Textron, CESSNA's parent company. When hiring Pelton as CESSNA CEO in December of 2003, Textron's news release included the Hamiton "degree" credentials. After the Sixty Minutes story, CESSNA issued a statement sweeping Pelton's deception under the rug. To my knowledge Pelton has never offered a compelling explanation for why he obtained the Hamilton "degrees."
Pelton hails from Kansas. Students from that area attending Independence Community College and working hard for their diplomas said that Pelton's appointment as CEO should produce anger because: "Some of us actually work to obtain a degree. People like Pelton, who have not earned their credentials, should make us feel cheated. Some of us study hard to get through school; all he did was write a big check."
Oshkosh is a university town. Allowing Pelton to receive the Key to the City will represent a slap in the face to all the hard working students in the community. UW Oshkosh professors, myself included, teach our students that there are real consequences to be paid for lying or misleading on one's resume.' To give Pelton the Key to the City sends all the wrong messages to our students and undermines the ethical principles we attempt to teach.
Radio Shack's David Edmondson was forced to resign as CEO earlier this year when it was revealed that he lied on his resume about earning college degrees. What Pelton did is even worse: he PAID for fraudulent degrees and waited until a network television show exposed the fraud before removing them from his resume.
In the fall I plan to reveal to the UW Oshkosh student press that city leaders and UW Oshkosh administrators stood by silently while a major award was given to a man who declared himself to have credentials that he did not work for. I hope I do not have to include in my letter to them that even governor Doyle refused to stand up for academic integrity.
Thank you.
Tony Palmeri, Ph.D
UW Oshkosh Department of Communication
Here's the immediate response I received back from Doyle's office:
Thank you for your e-mail message. I welcome you expressing your views and concerns to me, and I commend you for participating in your state government.
I take into account the views of all of the citizens of Wisconsin, and will keep your specific comments in mind during my service as your Governor.
If you would like more information about my positions on issues, or would like to read my public statements on issues, I encourage you to explore my home page at http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/
I like to respond individually to every letter and telephone call I receive, however, I cannot respond to each e-mail individually due to the volume.
If your request is time sensitive, please call my office at (608) 266-1212. You may also write to me via conventional mail at Governor Jim Doyle, 115 East, State Capitol, Madison, WI 53702.
Once again, thank you for contacting me. Please feel free to contact me again if I can ever be of assistance to you.
Sincerely,
Jim Doyle
Governor
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