Paul Davis: Your letters, good or bad, are welcome here

I often learn much more from reading the comments sent in from readers than I do from columnists themselves. I especially enjoy reading letters to the editor. They give much insight into what the general population is thinking.

And I love the e-mails I receive each week after my columns appear, whether they contain words of condemnation or praise. I also receive a lot of feedback when I share with you some of those letters. The traffic has been heavy in recent weeks, primarily with regard to the failure of Colonial Bank and many of the personal failures of its chairman, Bobby Lowder. My column about the bank drew some 80 e-mails and letters. Here, I share a few of them, along with some observations about current conditions at Auburn University.

Read ’em and weep or rejoice:

“Is this what we need at Auburn, another dean with no regard or concern for academic integrity? If Drs. Gogue and Mazey wish to maintain the standards of Auburn University, Dean Evans must be replaced immediately. (And Dr. Mazey, is this very different from West Virginia, granting a bogus MBA degree a few years ago?)

“Dean Evans has done immeasurable harm to the College of Pharmacy, not only by this episode, but also by his continued subpar performance during his 15 years as dean. He has destroyed the faculty base and the research program, and has ruined faculty morale. His administrator evaluations are consistently the lowest on campus. Faculty who perform at his level would be denied tenure or never promoted. Why must we endure this man any longer? Please, please remove him from our university immediately.

“Two new sheriffs in town? I, for one, certainly hope so!”

* * *

This is from a not-infrequent correspondent.

“I enjoyed your narrative about (Roger) Graben’s dissertation; your meeting with the powers-that-be. I share your view about Gogue and Mazey; their styles are particularly refreshing after the acts that they followed, both of those acts, but particularly the act followed by Gogue.

“I met him (Dr. Evans) a few times and knew before he arrived that he would be a very poor fit. He is a ‘my-way-or-the-highway’ personality type (egotistical, bombastic) who doesn’t belong in a leadership role anywhere in the academy; and particularly in the South.

“More to the point here, I am going to access and read Graben’s dissertation. I will proceed in a standard way and will take notes concerning any difficulties I encounter getting the document. Then I will study it. (Certain regularities of method and writing transcend disciplinary boundaries so I should not be hamstrung significantly by my ignorance of the special field of the research.)

“I think I will also contact Dr. Duncan-Hewitt and ask about the details of having been told to ‘back off.’

“Think of me as a self-appointed deputy (sheriff who, despite being tenured) has not yet learned to mind his own business when academic standards are at issue.

“I hope you will keep shining the light on the dark shadows of Auburn University; none else seems willing to do it and, obviously, it needs to be done.”

* * *

“Now that you have taken all the shots you possibly can at Bobby Lowder, will you please stop dragging him through the mud? Why are you so against him? Could you be that jealous of all that he has (had)?

“I’m not a fan of Lowder, but he has done more for Auburn University than most alumni. Yes, he has that much power with the Board, only because he is one of the few trustees that takes his position seriously.

“If you have ever been to a trustee meeting you would know that. He gives to Auburn University when no one else will. Maybe he abuses that power, maybe not. What have you done for Auburn? I sincerely hope that if you ever have a fall from grace, no one will treat you as you have treated Bobby Lowder. Maybe someone will treat you with more kindness, maybe not. Do you deserve it?”

* * *

“You have written some great columns in the past about how Auburn alums feel about Bobby Lowder’s dictatorship at AU. I think, though, the column published Aug. 17 is your crowning achievement. Thank you for continuing to speak out against the tyranny and dictatorship of this one man and his cronies.

“But now what? I look forward to many more interesting, provocative and thought-provoking columns.”

* * *

“A piece of journalism and a follow-up post that seems to have hidden agendas all through them. I am a retired faculty member from the School of Pharmacy and I have known Dean Evans since he first stepped onto the grounds of my beloved university.

“I have not met anyone who works harder than this man does and his integrity has always been exhibited at the highest professional level.

“He has had to make hard decisions concerning his faculty that were not well received, but I am anxious to learn what really happened here, not how much innuendo can be thrown around in the absence of solid reporting.”

* * *

“Keep waiting for you to weigh in on the sweet no-bid contract a couple of local boys got for the tailgate service on campus. I’ve been waiting for an explanation from AU for three weeks. As can guess, no one has an answer for me.”

Paul Davis writes a Sunday column for the Opelika-Auburn News. You may contact him at .