The Capital Outlook has raised the question the of whether or not their was a prior relationship between the Hollins Group and Board Chair Challis "Corbin" Lowe. Considering how the group got the contract, it is a legitimate question.
We agree with Mr. Wilson that its way past time for FAMU to start answering some questions about the nature of this unusual relationship. Read more here: Cover-up needs explaining
Did Hollins Group get Favorable Treatment?
FAMU's cozy Affair w/ Hollins Group
Do we really believe that business occurs in a vacuum; that people are selected from the yellow pages with no prior knowledge or recommendation?
ReplyDeleteI for one think this is a non-issue. Would you hire a contractor to renovate your house without prior knowledge or recommendations from someone you trust? Would you have a wedding dress made by a seamstress that you had not used before or a trusted friend had not used?
I think we need to realize that people were put on our board because someone believed that they had a network of colleagues who could be beneficial to the university, or they had some expertise that could help the university. Boards are supposed to be people of influence in the world/community.
Challis Lowe is the VP of Human Resources for her company. Therefore she is probably responsible for several searches for executives and employees on behalf of her company. I am sure she has interactions and relationships with several search firms as a result of this. Should she not use her prior knowledge and make recommendations for a company that she may of had good experiences with or do you think she and the BOT should choose someone out of the yellow pages who may not be able to deliver?
I guess if we went with some white search firm some of you all would have been ecstatic. Others would have asked about the cultural sensitivity to select an hbcu president pool. It has also been mentioned that Morehouse is using the same firm, so I guess they must be reputable.
In my eyes this is not a story. This is how business is conducted. People use their network and leverage their relationships. Some of us need to grow up and live in the real world.
Furthermore, it was stated in an earlier article on this site that Challis Lowe participated in the Search Committee Meeting. Again those of us that understand organizational structure understand that Presidents and Chairmans of organizations are a member of all committees. They can pop into any meeting of their organization and give their opinion. So if the Board Chair wants to come to the meeting and participate, she is well within her rights based on her position.
As for her trying to cajole the members to vote for her recommendations, I would hope that the others would debate their short list. I think the reason for the meeting was to narrow the list down to six and the group should be debating the merits of all of them and making arguments for who should stay and leave the list.
I would appreciate Rattler Nation focusing on real stories and news and not feeling the need to make up stuff just to keep people looking at the blog. I realize you are entitled to an opinion and when you are expressing an opinion state that. Stop taking your opinions and trying to make them facts.
And also, the reason was for Challis to insure that her candidates made it to the short list. After deliberation, she inveigled until her last two picks were a part of the final six and then had the audacity to argue that the two FAMUans should be removed, when one of the FAMU candidates was just as qualified as that Palmer guy she wanted on the short list.
ReplyDeleteNeedless to say, she's Castell and Jim Corbin and vice-a-versa. No one stands up to them and they run roughshod over everyone else.
BTW, there is this thing called a Code of Ethics and a Commission on Ethics in the state of Florida for a reason. No one is denying her relationships with several search firms, only this one that was instrumental in getting her hired at Dollar General.
The other search firms would not touch her with a ten-foot pole after the incident at Ryder.
I guess if we went with some white search firm some of you all would have been ecstatic.
ReplyDeleteThis is a classic Jim Corbin tactic. Use connections with powerful white officials to get into a position of power, and then use the race card to try and remain in power.
Roosevelt Wilson is a black man and a FAMUan. He's not blasting the Hollins Group contract because he's upset that a black search firm received the contract. He's raising hell because it appears that the Hollins Group has been receiving payoffs from Challis Lowe.
As mentioned earlier, Lowe was terminated from Ryder and had to exit under very disgraceful circumstances. The Hollins Group helped her land a new job when no other search firm would.
Trying to attack critics of the Lowe-Hollins Group connection as "anti-black" is race-baiting hypocrisy. It's every bit as illogical as those who call any and every critic of Castell Bryant's administration a misogynist.
It has also been mentioned that Morehouse is using the same firm, so I guess they must be reputable.
The Hollins Group is not reputable by a long shot. The Hollins Group is a laughing-stock.
Morehouse already knew who it wanted long before the search process even began. Walter Massey had applied for the job in 1987, but came up short to Leroy Keith. When Keith was fired seven years later, Morehouse alums across the country said "told you so" and demanded Massey's hiring.
There was no question that Massey would get the job. The Hollins Group did not help Morehouse find its candidate.
And, if you look at the search a Tennessee State University, the Hollins Group only referred candidates who were already on the job circuit. It did not recruit anyone who wasn't already sending out applications. The top referal from the Hollins Group was Charlie Nelms, who had already applied for several presidencies before (e.g.: FAMU, Dillard).
People use their network and leverage their relationships.
That's correct. And it is unfair and unethical for a company to receive prefential treatment in the bidding contract because it has a personal relationship with someone on the selection committee.
The whole response @ 12/13/2006 11:00 AM sounds like on Liz McBride's half-baked, nonsensical legal arguments. Why don't you get on some of the remaining 122 lawsuits filed against your boss, Liz? Or even better, why don't you study some law books so you can actually be a competent attorney and not have to settle every case (or hire outside counsel)? If you spent half as much time doing your job, rather than trying to insult the public's intelligence, then FAMU wouldn't have just suffered the huge legal embarrassment it just witnessed in the Billy Joe case.
Liz McBride is an embarassment to FAMU and the Florida Bar. She's cost the university millions with her inept performance.
ReplyDeleteAs the person who wrote her opinion regarding professional relationships, I appreciate your detailed and knowledgable response.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I fail to see the connection with my statements and Liz McBride. I guess you somehow wanted to discuss her and interjected her name into a discussion that was not about her.
Why did Challis Lowe leave Ryder for Dollar General?
ReplyDelete