"It's the report that doesn't exist but won't go away - $17,250 worth of research that was delivered orally to the UO but doesn't exist on paper for the public to see....
It's a potentially important review because it offers a snapshot of the department at a key juncture and is part of a series of events that includes last week's surprise appointment of UO booster Pat Kilkenny as the new UO athletic director.
That could make Leland's assessment of the department and the performance of Bill Moos, then athletic director, a valuable commodity. That Moos announced his resignation shortly after Leland delivered the report and that Moos was given a $2 million golden parachute financed largely by Kilkenny only ups the interest factor....
Frohnmayer says Leland delivered his findings orally to himself and Moos. And Frohnmayer wasn't planning on having Leland put the findings in writing until The Register-Guard pressed him for details and he agreed to have Leland create a written version.
But more than a month later, that version has yet to arrive.
Even when it does, the situation raises several issues. One is whether it would have been appropriate for a public university to spend $17,250 for a report and then have no way to show whether it got what it paid for. Another is that without a written report, the UO would have no formal way of sharing the findings with other staff members, including the athletic department's new and inexperienced director.
Also, the absence of a written report has left the university open to speculation that there was something in the analysis that it didn't want the public to see - an issue that might not go away with the release of a belatedly written version. The fact that Leland's contract specifically called for a written report - plus the series of events that came later - only adds weight to that idea.....
Frohnmayer defends the decision, saying he saw the review as a management checkup meant to tell him and Moos whether the department was on course and what it needs to do to succeed over the next five to 10 years.
When asked by The Register-Guard if he was trying to avoid having a record that would have to be disclosed under Oregon's public records law, he answered that he had assumed from the beginning that Leland would deliver only an oral report and did not know the contract called for a written one.
Frohnmayer said he called Leland in January and asked him to prepare written findings in response to a request from The Register-Guard. Frohnmayer has apologized publicly and privately for the long delay in producing the written report, which he said is due to Leland's workload and an illness.....
But a question that may not be answered is whether Moos' rocky relationship with Phil Knight, the Nike co-founder and the expected lead donor for a new basketball arena, was seen as an impediment in the arena project.
Frohnmayer has said the review was not connected to Moos' resignation. The conducting of the review was never announced outside the athletic department and only became known to the public after its existence was leaked to a Register-Guard reporter after Moos made his resignation public....
Frohnmayer said the Leland report was not meant to provide ammunition for a possible dismissal or a settlement package for Moos.
The UO later agreed to pay Moos almost $2 million over 10 years to buy out the remaining 18 months of his contract. The buyout money was provided by a small group of private donors led by Kilkenny. Frohnmayer has said that at that time no one had even imagined Kilkenny as a replacement for Moos.
Not asking for a written report would have run contrary to standard practice in the consulting industry....."
To read the entire news article click on the title above for a link. You may need to register to be able to get the on-line story. The Register-Guard takes an unusually aggressive approach to their story. It almost reads like an editorial. I believe this aggressive approach is based upon their belief they weren't told the entire truth when Frohnmayer and Moos had their joint press conference to announce the Moos resignation and did not mention the almost 2 million dollar "golden parachute" to be paid to Bill Moos. This was really dumb because it had to come out and it is better to get this information out on your terms than to let someone leak it to the newspaper and then have to respond to the report. Ever since that November press conference the Register Guard has been very aggressive on the story. Prior to that time some people felt the Register Guard was sort of a "lap dog" to the Athletic Department. If that was ever true it is no longer the case.
