Reed College chooses Oregon Attorney General John Kroger as new president

[ellisonz]

Published: Tuesday, April 24, 2012, 12:20 PM Updated: Tuesday, April 24, 2012, 12:27 PM
Bill Graves, The Oregonian By Bill Graves, The Oregonian

Oregon Attorney General John Kroger has been selected as the next president of Reed College, a prestigious, private liberal arts college in Southeast Portland.

Kroger will take command of the 1,400-student college in July, replacing Colin Diver, who has led Reed for the last decade.

A committee of about 80 faculty, staff, students and board members has searched for nearly a year to find a new president. The committee also interviewed dozens of Kroger's professional colleagues. When they got down to the last seven or eight finalists, said spokesman Kevin Myers, Kroger was the obvious choice.

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It appears Kroger will be stepping down as attorney general before his term ends in January. He announced in October that he was not seeking a second term because of a "significant but not life threatening medical condition."

More: http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2012/04/reed_college_chooses_oregon_at.html

#ReedCollegeAlumnus#despair

[grasswire]

1. "taking command" of the college?

That's odd language, considering the fact that Reed has a continual problem with hard drugs in its student body. Hiring an AG to clean it up? Very strange.

Reed is hard left -- has been for a long time. Just seems odd to hire an AG.

[ellisonz]

2. I think they're playing for appearances.

This also continues the streak of Reed never having an alumnus as President because I guess we're too incorrigible. We need to be commanded. Reed does not have a problem with "hard drugs" any more than Portland, and indeed the nation in general. In fact, I would argue that Reed has less of a problem because on average Reed students are very bright and determined. Marijuana is not a hard drug and we're not Evergreen. This is about the select group that picked going for what they think is the biggest fish they can catch. I would note that of course it would have been too much to select a woman or an individual from an ethnic minority group, neither of which has held the position either. What's happening is not clean up, it is systematic obliteration and sanitizing of the college culture in order to assimilate Reed into the mainstream of liberal arts colleges. The students and the alumni don't want this to happen, but the bureaucrats sure do. It's tragic.

[grasswire]

3. two student deaths from heroin OD in a short period of time?

I think most people think of Reed as having a hard drug problem. The feds last year told Reed to get it under control.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/education/27reed.html?_r=1

Don't get me wrong: I admire Reed as a fine, fine institution of higher learning and cultural resource.

But I think it's kind of creepy to hire an AG.

[ellisonz]

4. Both had heroin problems preceeding their attendance at Reed.

Sam Tepper was my friend...I never knew he had a problem (and yes I saw him wearing short sleeves plenty of times). I now kind of think hey I should have known, but really there were no signs of it and I would add to my knowledge both went off-campus to obtain their product. I never once knew of or heard of anyone related with Reed dealing heroin, that doesn't mean it didn't occur, but it also doesn't mean it was a "problem." Also, two incidences out of say roughly 8000 students if you consider the number who pass through Reed in 4 years is hardly a "problem." Those are facts that the local media in their pursuit of a sensational story ignored. I think we were being targeted because of the notoriety of Renn Fayre, but in reality, Reed has way less hard drug use that comparable institutions much less Portland State.

Dwight Holten is a personal friend of John Kroger. Holten, Schrunk and Diver have done and continue to do a spectacular job of misrepresenting the nature of the drug trade at Reed and in general. They are part of a system that is failing to win the War on Drugs, failing to mitigate it's ill-effects, and failing to serve the American public. Diver in particular has been massively hypocritical about the issue declaring that "drug gangs" are at work in this when nothing could be further from the truth.

[cheapdate]

5. Reed College is among my son's top choices

for college. It's one of the schools he'll be applying to. He's a high-school junior here in Murfreesboro, TN. His grades and test scores are all excellent. He's a busy kid and very smart. I'd love for him to go to Reed. Any advice that might help improve his chances of acceptance would be greatly appreciated!

[ellisonz]

6. I wish him luck.

It's really about nailing the "Why Reed" essay and by doing that being completely honest about knowing who he is and what he wants to do when he gets there. I think it really helps to show that he's done his homework about the school. Is he comfortable with the idea of spending 70-80 hours a week on class and homework? How does he feel about being so far from home and in a different social culture? I think what they are most interested in are writing skills and critical thinking ability. The admissions process is a joint student/admissions staff process and so they really look for students who they think are a good social fit for the school and can handle the academics.

I was admitted in 2004 and I think it's a somewhat different school from when I applied. Test scores and GPA are up on average and the drop-out rate is down. Reed is going places and doing it fast, it's just not quite clear in what direction. I'd also take a long hard look at the financial aspects of course. The cost of attendance went up every year I was there and I don't anticipate it going down. A Reed education is expensive, and when compared to other options it might be worth it (I didn't get any financial aid from the University of California System, I did from Reed), the key thing is a desire to drown in intellectual life and a stick-with-it-ness, otherwise it can be overwhelming.

The good news about the change that the college has taken over the last decade (and now with this coronation) is that as a parent, you can rest more assured that the decadence that characterized the college for much of it's history is on the decline. I am a 2009 graduate with a B.A. in History, feel free to send a P.M. if either you or son have any specific questions about Reed academics and student life. I don't regret going to Reed, but I do have some strong opinions about how it's run, however, I still think it's far ahead of most other institutions in basic things such as classroom environment and academic rigor.

[cheapdate]

8. Thank you for your reply.

My son is solid in his decision to leave the South for college. He wants to experience the culture in a different part of the country. My wife and I both completely understand. I went to a small, liberal arts college and I am very happy that my son wants to do the same. Thanks again. I'll share what you've said with the boy.

[ellisonz]

7. Now this just brings his integrity into question...

Oregon Attorney General deliberately withheld documents, judge rules
Published: Tuesday, April 24, 2012, 6:50 PM Updated: Tuesday, April 24, 2012, 7:11 PM
Jeff Manning, The Oregonian By Jeff Manning, The Oregonian

A Marion County Circuit Court judge has ruled that the Oregon Justice Department deliberately withheld pertinent documents from a state employee embroiled in the 2010 criminal investigation despite the employee's public records request.

The employee was Mark Long, former interim director of the Oregon Energy Department, who last year sued John Kroger and the state alleging they failed to comply with Oregon's Public Records Act.

"This court finds and believes there was a deliberate choice not to produce documents during the time period... at a time when it would have been useful to Mr. Long," Judge Thomas Hart ruled from the bench on Friday.

The judge said he would order the state to pay Long's six-figure legal fees. He also said he would order the state to produce certain additional documents related to the case.

More: http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/04/oregon_attorney_general_delibe.html

[classof56]

9. Speaking of public records...

As a PERS retiree (one of the agencies I worked for was Dept. of Energy), I highly resent Kroger's decision to release all our employment and income information to the public awhile back. Seems he thinks our right to privacy disappears once we go to work for a PERS employer. And he refused to comply with Mark Long's request for records, which pretty much torpedoed Long's career? I left ODOE long before the 2010 criminal investigation, so have no skin in that game, but I'm very disturbed by Kroger's decisions on that, the PERS retiree info being published, and I'm wondering what else he may have done that will come to light. Now he walks away, leaving the state to pay Long's six-figure legal fees, and he (Kroger) is going to "fix" Reed? The college where Steve Jobs learned calligraphy?? Needless to say, I'd never have voted for Kroger for anything, much less AG, and I'm hoping he'll immediately release his records as a public official. I am voting for Ellen Rosenblum--pretty sure she'll serve Oregonians much better than Kroger ever thought of.