University of Illinois: "Hookers are Praised as Soldiers" –Marathon Pundit's Third Investigative Report

Monday is Memorial Day, and during the picnics and parades, and yes, 5K runs, please take time to think of the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country--as well as those in the military now. Sadly, it was around this time last year that some of our War on Terror veterans, got their rescind letters from the University of Illinois College of Business.

Note: I apologize in advance to my readers for language you are about to read, they are not-safe-for work. Minimize your screen if your boss walks by. A couple of words may offend you, but they are not mine. In order to accurately report this story, it is necessary to quote others without censure.)

Earlier posts on this topic:

Broken promises: How "jarheads" got shunted aside at the University of Illinois: A Marathon Pundit series

Marathon Pundit Exclusive: What happened behind the scenes of the University of Illinois veteran scholarship scandal

And now we turn to part three.

Too many jarheads will bias the class demographic.

That alleged statement has bothered me from day one of this story. Either it was said or not said. There is no middle ground. On one hand, Robert van der Hooning, the former Assistant Dean for the University of Illinois College of Business in Chicago, charges the term "jarheads" was used often and in a disparaging way.

On the other hand, and on multiple occasions, the U of I has denied that College of Business Dean Avijit Ghosh, Associate Dean Larry DeBrock and Department of Finance Chair David Ikenberry ever called veterans "jarheads."

Ironically, while nobody at the U of I has come up with a plausible explanation about why some "quick-admit" veterans were quickly "un-admitted," then quickly "re-admitted," during the time the B-school was actively recruiting non-veteran students, university public relations officials have vehemently and repeatedly denied the "jarhead" slur:

I know they do not speak that way" (Associated Press)
"...allegations are ridiculous to the point of absurdity. Especially egregious are the alleged quotes from College administrators” (College of Business website)
"I can't believe anybody who works for this university in responsible roles like the ones he described would make such a comment." (ABC 7 Chicago)

Evidently, U of I officials feel such insensitive and ugly language would never be uttered by senior college administrators. Only a cheap-shot artist, such as the now unemployed Imus, would say something like that. Senior college officials--deans, associate deans and department chairmen wouldn’t speak that way. It's ridiculous to think otherwise. Nobody at the University in such a responsible role would ever use language like that. Right? University public relations officials even lashed out against the university's de facto newspaper, the Daily Illini, for running a 2-part story on the scandal and reporting administrator’s use of the slur, "jarhead."

As Shakespeare wrote hundreds of years ago, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks." - Hamlet (III, ii, 239)

A shocking and highly disturbing email uncovered by Marathon Pundit paints a starkly different picture of the real environment and Imus language used by senior administrators at the College. Just after the veteran scholarship program was launched, Associate Dean Larry DeBrock, who was responsible for academic affairs and faculty staffing, referred to his own colleagues in email as "hookers" and "high-priced hookers" while personally agreeing to teach additional classes in Chicago if he was paid well enough.

DeBrock writes:

So, if you are telling folks they need to drive 3.5 hours… teach 3 hours, and drive back 3.5 hours, they need (to be) compensated. And your 37.5 is nice compensation. But, high priced hookers are still hookers. But, BUT, B U T , if you bring in 70 students and the college nets 3.5 million, the hookers are praised as soldiers. They are cheered by smiling faculty waving UIUC flags lining the roadside while they ride back into town.

Perhaps Imus has a brother in Champaign--Larry DeBrock.

If the asociate dean for academic affairs – the one who authored the letter to rescind veterans' admission to the MBA program and forged van der Hooning’s signature last Memorial Day – writes about his own colleagues as "high priced hookers," how much of a stretch is it to imagine he would refer to veterans as "jarheads?"

I have one question for Professor DeBrock: How about lining the streets and waving US flags for our soldiers and veterans instead on Memorial Day.

I have another question for the university: How do you feel about having Dean Imus on your faculty?

The University of Illinois football teams play at Memorial Stadium, it's dedicated to the memory of the Illini soldiers who paid the ultimate price while fighting for their country in World War I. While attending games there, and walking past the stately building--I lived in a dorm nearby my first two years there, I thought about the real "Fighting Illini" and why the field was named Memorial Stadium.

Man, how things have changed in Urbana. Instead of waving American flags for real soldiers, now we have "hookers praised as soldiers cheered by smiling faculty waving UIUC flags." But only if the price is right.

Early last year, the University of Illinois promised 110 full-ride MBA scholarships to members of the military. Fewer were delivered.

The picture? That's the University of Illinois quadrangle in Urbana. Over 1,000 people wore red, white, or blue shirts to create the flag.

Related post: Congress puts new focus on veterans' education

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