McQueen Campbell resigns from NC State Board of Trustees (3:20pm Update)

NC State Administration54

Feces continue to hit the fan in Raleigh! Link! McQueen Campbell has resigned as chairman of the board at NC State University as Chancellor James statusquOblinger’s ship is sinking faster than the Titanic. We could be looking at a (long overdue) complete changing of the guard and washing out of a lot of perceived dead weight in the NC State administration.

In a letter addressed to Gov. Beverly Perdue, Campbell said: “I am not resigning because I have acted inappropriately. Both the chancellor and the provost have communicated publicly and independently that the hiring process of Mary Easley was free from any improper influence.”

Campbell was prominently featured in a two-part series last weekend in The N&O, which recounted his friendship and influence with Mike and Mary Easley. Campbell flew the governor often in his planes, sometimes for free, and bragged of his influence in getting key development permits. The governor twice appointed him to the N.C. State Board of Trustees, where he rose to chairman.

Also, the State Board of Elections will launch a criminal probe of the Mike Easley campaign, officially closing the file to public inspection.

…stay with us for more news and analysis.

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NC State Administration

54 Responses to McQueen Campbell resigns from NC State Board of Trustees (3:20pm Update)

  1. old13 05/15/2009 at 2:56 PM #

    (Ha! Ha! Beat ya to it!) Two or three more resignations from NCSU would be nice! 🙂

  2. Bubba 05/15/2009 at 2:59 PM #

    Somewhere between Raleigh and Lake Gaston, Lee Fowler is grinning like a possum eating shit. McQueen was the major push to oust ol Lee.

  3. Alpha Wolf 05/15/2009 at 3:00 PM #

    Oblinger is Captain of the ship.

    This is not an obscure hire, it is a high dollar, major political one.

    If he didn’t know, he is incompetent.

    If he DID know, he is as guilty as the rest.

    Either way, should be replaced and an outside (meaning outside the Good Ole Boy Network) chancellor should be brought in to restore order.

    This is bigger than sports, it is using our university as a platform for political favors and personal gain.

    It is wrong.

    It is time for Oblinger to go.

  4. old13 05/15/2009 at 3:04 PM #

    ^ His was the third resignation I mentioned above. (Can you guess the other two!)

  5. StateFans 05/15/2009 at 3:08 PM #

    statusquO, baby. Don’t ask. Don’t tell. Don’t do anything. Just sit there and try to avoid the world

  6. TheAliasTroll 05/15/2009 at 3:26 PM #

    I’m wondering if this is what the “smoke” was around the Lee Fowler situation in early April, or if this is completely separate.

    And what a pile of bullsh*t they’re spewing saying they didn’t act inappropriately in the hiring of Mary Easley. It’s actually insulting they think people are that naive.

  7. StateFans 05/15/2009 at 3:39 PM #

    ^ Completely separate stuff.

  8. PeeDub 05/15/2009 at 3:40 PM #

    ^ So is that smoke still hanging in the air?

  9. StewMan07 05/15/2009 at 3:49 PM #

    Hopefully it’s not over yet, and the heat will force Oblinger out. To say he knows nothing is a lie, and the fact that he knew what went on means he is guitly. And a decent Chancellor won’t tolerate a crappy AD so then we can get rid of Fowler, hope the heads keep rolling!

  10. LKNpackfan 05/15/2009 at 3:50 PM #

    Life at the top was nice when you had a fall guy (Neilson) and someone to be the butt of all the jokes (LF), but it seems that’ll be all over soon. A little shakeup is exactly what NC State needs, IMO.

    Let’s hope the Feds also turn up some dirt on Easley’s other political favors, like DOT money and his ol’ frat brother Rusty Carter who he appointed as trustee over in Chapel Hill.

  11. buttPACKer 05/15/2009 at 3:55 PM #

    . . . let the rain keep comin’.

    Actually, I kinda see this as a “high colonic” of the administration.. . The largest and toughest “clumps” take a little more time to free-up and wash out. But, eventually, the foul “return” water will run clear as a mountain spring. At that point, NCSU will be headed back to it’s proper place in the scheme of things.

    SFN: Unless, of course, they end up just hiring the same kind of satusquo incompetents like they did with Monteith and Oblinger and the continued recycling of people from campus. Maybe NOW the good old boy network will be ready for a real outside leader and won’t screw it up like they did with Mary Anne Fox.

    Note I said outside if Dear Chancellor is replaced. –Alpha

  12. TheAliasTroll 05/15/2009 at 3:56 PM #

    StewMan07, I completely agree. I think Oblinger is flat out lying, or he is extremely stupid. A man in his position I would hope couldn’t be that dumb, but you never know.

    This situation that the “good ole boys” network has put our University in pisses me off more than the subpar state of our athletics. It’s horribly embarrassing, at least for me as an alumn of NC State.

  13. ushum 05/15/2009 at 4:19 PM #

    i’m sorry but bp’s post along with his handle is about to make me throw up…

  14. tobaccordshow 05/15/2009 at 4:29 PM #

    Very interesting and it looks like the sword may fall twice on Oblinger. If he claims that he didn’t know about the quid pro quo that has apparently taken place, then sheer ignorance of a very high profile hire would be grounds for removal. If he claims that he did, in fact know, then he was, at the very least, complicit and also ground for removal.

    Maybe the Good Ole Boy Network here can finally be shaken up.

  15. BJD95 05/15/2009 at 4:33 PM #

    I was just going to tell buttPACKer that I threw up in my mouth a little. Talk about your nightmare fuel…

    McQueen was anti-Fowler, but he is hardly the only one (on the BOT or otherwise), and was scheduled to rotate off the BOT on 6/30 anyway.

    Long-term, a shakeup of the inert leadership at the top WILL lead to more accountability for the athletic department. Will it take the bulls-eye off Fowler short-term? I don’t know. It’s critical that he be out before fall sports kick off.

    As I told a friend this morning, the N&O article (after all SQ’s statements the last several days) make him look like a complete liar or a doddering fool. Either way, he loses.

  16. LKNpackfan 05/15/2009 at 4:49 PM #

    A decent defense for O would’ve been pretty easy (“we wanted a prominent name leading the millenium speaker series”, plus the $15k/month raise after an initial modest wage is on the provost). But McQueen royally f’ed it up by actually admitting everything, including that O knew, when he talked to Bowles over the phone, who was more than happy to dish to the N&O when they called him. That definitely puts O in a tight spot. Which, again, is a good thing for NC State academics and athletics.

  17. FuquayWolf 05/15/2009 at 5:29 PM #

    This does not look good for the chancellor. It appears Bowles hung him out to dry by leaking the substance of Campbell’s conversation with him. Oblinger reports to Bowles. It’s never a good sign when your boss lets you flap in the wind. Oblinger may bite the dust when all is said and done.

    By the way, I’ve seen some people have a questionable opinion of Bowles and how he would handle a problem at State. I know he’s a UNC grad and a huge supporter of theirs, but I’m not sure that he would do something that would undermine NC State in anyway.

    Here’s my take: Bowles is a businessman at heart. I think he recognizes that it is in the state’s best interest to have 2 top flight Research I level institutions. Sure, UNC will always have priority in this state – that goes without saying. But Bowles is smart enough to know that 2 great universities are better than 1 great one and 1 good one. I’ve heard it said that he’d like to see our engineering program ranked higher and is willing to help that goal happen funding wise. Of course, that was prior to the economic crisis and the slashing of state funding across the board. Regardless, Bowles knows that raising the stature of NC State is a good thing for both the state of NC and for his own stature as President of the system.

  18. Redthrunthru 05/15/2009 at 5:39 PM #

    One crazy thing is – why is there even an uproar over the initial hiring?

    They brought her on in that initial three year contract right at what she had been making at NC Central, which was probably even too low of an amount. That seems like a slam dunk of a hire with the connections she brings (back in the 2005 world, not the May 2009 world where the Easley name has become toxic).

    If all McQueen did was let Oblinger/Bowles/Nielson know that Easley was going to be available for hire, there doesn’t seem to me to be anything scandalous about that.

    In fact, if in 2005 he heard that Mary Easley might be available for hire at her current NC Central salary, I would think McQueen would have been doing a disservice to NC State by NOT mentioning it.

  19. john of sparta 05/15/2009 at 5:53 PM #

    John Edwards has to be the winner here, since the political front page is now about Easley and/or NCSU.

    Whipped cream on top of a cow-patty doesn’t make it good to eat for dessert. Li’l Johnny is still toast and is as dead politically as Gary Hart. –Alpha

  20. Sakaspack 05/15/2009 at 6:25 PM #

    Just my obsevation and I’m certainly not an insider, but … Campbell was in over his head, he’s a rank amateur in political wheelings and dealings and not very sophisticated, Easley is a pro at manipulation and throwing his weight around.

    What I’m disappointed in is how it got to this point. On the surface it appears our chancellor, provost and the “powers that be” (by this I mean the inner circle of folks who actually run the university and not necessarily the BOT) were too weak or too stupid to realize what a problem Campbell and Easley were creating.

    On the other hand, and at the risk of giving our admistration too much credit, maybe it was determined that this was the only way to rid the university of this festering problem…N&O, FBI, the works, I know that When Bill Friday wanted something done he went to the N&O.

    I’m looking forward to the new appointments to the BOT……..and I’m especially looking forward to Burley Mitchell taking a seat on the Board of Governors.

    We do deserve better than this.

  21. duggie 05/15/2009 at 7:36 PM #

    Now that we are investigating University hires, do I not recall that Traveling Hopsalot’s mother was hired by UNC, or their hospital, so she could be closer to her beloved for his senior season.

  22. choppack1 05/15/2009 at 9:59 PM #

    Here are my thoughts from the other resignation: I am worried too that this could hurt some momentum for dumping Fowler. OTOH, the events of the last couple years have convinced me that Fowler was not the biggest problem we have…

    However, I do have serious problems with Bowels weighing in here. Trusting him to protect NC State’s best interests is like running into the 7-11, leaving your new car running and having that random shady dude on the corner ‘watch it” until you get back.

  23. LifeScientist 05/15/2009 at 10:20 PM #

    Choppack, you are dead-on about Bowles. I detest the fact that his scrawl is on my diploma and the fact that he was ever associated with the Clintons speaks poorly of his character. No friend of State is he.

  24. LKNpackfan 05/15/2009 at 10:29 PM #

    why is there even an uproar over the initial hiring?
    Isolated, the Mary Easley hire was a smart one, I mean, she did to a fine job with the speaker series, bringing in several high-profile speakers. What made it suspect though, even ignoring the raise to $15k/month, is the sweetheart deal the Easleys got in Campbell’s Cannonsgate development, the favoritism in Cannonsgate’s permit processing, various unreported private flights and fishing trips, and the two dismissed investigations of Campbell’s inspection stations.

    I, personally, don’t trust Bowles as far as I can throw him. But, he is a bloodsucking politician with an office on Chapel Hill’s campus, so that may have something to do with it.

    Lastly, it should be coming into focus, for everyone both inside the State family and out, that Lee Fowler is an effect, not the cause, of a 9 to 5 (or 4:45) administration more concerned with cashing an easy check than any true commitment to excellence.

  25. Alpha Wolf 05/15/2009 at 10:52 PM #

    In this case, perhaps looking at Bowles as a “useful idiot” (link goes to the story behind the term) is not such a bad thing.

    I don’t think he is anything but a Carolina First guy, but he simply cannot allow the shenanigans that appear to have been uncovered at the largest university in his system to happen.

    That in mind, I predict that Bowles may well sacrifice Dear Chancellor’s head for the sake of his own skin.

    And in this case, I wouldn’t mind it a bit. My cat could do a better job for NC State than what is in there now.

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