Stetson no longer admissions dean--makes sudden departure NOW instead of next year

Colleges & Universities University of Pennsylvania
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<p>Penn wouldn’t be “curt” and “tight-lipped” about a twenty-nine year veteran official who was retiring for health reasons. You folks need to learn to think if you are “ivy hopefuls.”</p>

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<p>Sometimes certain people would like to keep severe illnesses private.</p>

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<p>I believe Willy got into some serious trouble for not accepting me. Maybe now I can appeal my decision. But, I won’t go to Penn now because CORNELL ROCKS!
Or maybe he has some embarassing illness</p>

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<p><a href=“http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/media/storage/paper882/news/2007/09/06/News/Stetsons.Sudden.Departure.Raises.Eyebrows-2953441.shtml[/url]”>http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/media/storage/paper882/news/2007/09/06/News/Stetsons.Sudden.Departure.Raises.Eyebrows-2953441.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>lots of rumors so far, but no confirmed story and nothing from the folks in close</p>

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<p>It’s not health - if he were sick there would have been much more official praise - Newzbugg is 100% right - wise up, people and read between the lines. Here is the official release - not one nice word:</p>

<p>“President Amy Gutmann and Provost Ron Daniels have accepted the resignation of Lee Stetson as Dean of Admissions, effective immediately.” </p>

<p>Period, full stop.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/between/2007/0830-stetson.html[/url]”>http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/between/2007/0830-stetson.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>compare the earlier release when it was announced he was leaving at the end of the school year:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/volumes/v54/n02/stetson.html[/url]”>http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/volumes/v54/n02/stetson.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>brilliant 40 year career, blah, blah blah - this is what you say when someone is leaving voluntarily. If they are sick/dying, you increase the praise even more.</p>

<p>There are rumors floating around as to the nature of the improper conduct that got him canned. One is favoritism shown to some relative in admissions but that sounds unlikely - admissions is a committee decision and anyway they would handle that quietly if they could - just let the guy leave as scheduled. The one that is coming up most often is an affair w/ an undergrad and that the undergrad is suing Penn. This is the one that is most believable. Penn would need to cut Stetson loose in order to show that legally whatever he did was something that they do not condone and are therefore not responsible for. No words of praise that can be read to the jury. Keep this in mind people for your own future reference - here is a man who put 30 years of his life into Penn but may have made a mistake at the end. Does Penn have his back? No, they drop him like a hot potato in order to save themselves a few bucks in a lawsuit. Look what happened to the Duke LX players - the cowardice of the modern U. administration is absolutely stunning when it comes to some issue that violates PC norms.</p>

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<p>“Penn would need to cut Stetson loose in order to show that legally whatever he did was something that they do not condone and are therefore not responsible for. No words of praise that can be read to the jury. Keep this in mind people for your own future reference - here is a man who put 30 years of his life into Penn but may have made a mistake at the end. Does Penn have his back? No, they drop him like a hot potato in order to save themselves a few bucks in a lawsuit. Look what happened to the Duke LX players - the cowardice of the modern U. administration is absolutely stunning when it comes to some issue that violates PC norms.”</p>

<p>Wow, you’re making a pretty big leap on the basis of an unsubstantiated rumor.</p>

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<p>Today’s DP editorial:</p>

<p>

</p>

<p><a href=“http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/media/storage/paper882/news/2007/09/07/Opinion/Opinion.Board.Honesty.Is.The.Best.Policy-2955779.shtml[/url]”>http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/media/storage/paper882/news/2007/09/07/Opinion/Opinion.Board.Honesty.Is.The.Best.Policy-2955779.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>More questions, but no answers</p>

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<p>“Wow, you’re making a pretty big leap on the basis of an unsubstantiated rumor.”</p>

<p>I don’t know if the exact rumor is true but it’s definitely a fact that they have dropped Stetson without so much as a kind word - I’d bet money that this is related to misconduct and not health. </p>

<p>I might be wrong about whether the misconduct relates to some PC sore spot but I’d be surprised if it doesn’t - if Stetson had left his wife to marry another man they’d probably give him a promotion, not fire him.</p>

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<p>Here’s a comment posted under the DP article.</p>

<p>

</p>

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<p>What Stetson did has to be worse than what happened at MIT. If Stetson only falsified his degrees, given that he had already announced his departure anyway he would have been allowed to leave quietly. Whatever he did has to be worse than what Marilee did.</p>

33

<p>guys, remember all the scandals about admissions official taking kick-backs and gifts from all these student loans companies? I would venture to say this could be the reason. I think I read somewhere that Penn was under investigation.</p>

34

<p>Your information is out of date. Penn is no longer under investigation for the student loan scandal. Besides, if that were the reason, Cuomo would have released some statement.</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>If there is a scandal, a sexual affair (of the routine, straight, consenting adult variety) would be the BEST possible situation for the school(s), as it is the one that least impugns the integrity of the admission process. Given the MIT case, if at UPenn it turns out to be phony credentials or misusing the office to favor particular applicants, one would start seeing editorials in national newspapers questioning the general practice of subjective admissions at the top schools.</p>

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<p><a href=“http://chronicle.com/free/v54/i03/03a00702.htm[/url]”>http://chronicle.com/free/v54/i03/03a00702.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>nothing new or revealing there either.</p>

38

<p>man, this really is taking forever to break. wow, must be something on the scale of aliens or something.</p>

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<p>I guess he’s not gonna get the letter that I mailed out last week…-_-;</p>

<p>It’s possible that he left because of internal conflict - maybe he clashed with some of the people he worked with and decided he was fed up. That would justify both the sudden departure and the lack of elaboration/kindness in the official statements.</p>

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<p>Just “fed up” - not bloody likely. There really has to be more to it than that. A lot more.</p>