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Mr. Morley's assurances

     As you know, IVC’s Scholarship Program has been under fire in recent years. I won’t go into all the details again.

     One unfortunate incident concerned a student, PT, who, way back in 2012, was selected to receive a Humanities and Languages scholarship, entitling him to $250. Soon thereafter, his name even appeared in the printed scholarship program (May, 2012) as a recipient.
     The problem seemed to concern subsequent stages of the process, for PT never received the money.
     Some of us complained, pointing to the Scholarship Program and the Foundation.
     The Foundation Director, Richard Morley, took exception to this. In June of 2013, he declared that it was the first he had heard about it. That was surprising to many of us. Several in the School of H&L had been plenty noisy about it for over a year.
     Morley claimed that he would take care of the problem (i.e., send the money) right away.
     Well, maybe he did and maybe he didn’t.
     Let’s review the facts, as suggested by a series of emails that I have.

1. Way back in January of 2012 (January 12, 2012; i.e., more than 20 months ago), PT emailed Rebel Girl, asking for a letter of recommendation to the USC Undergraduate Film Program (and one other institution). It was a polite letter from a deserving student. Naturally, the Reb agreed to do write the letter.
     Someone (Rebel Girl?) then suggested that PT apply for scholarships at the college. He did. At some point, PT was selected (by H&L faculty) to receive the Humanities and Languages Emeritus Endowment Scholarship. Apparently, as she would later explain, Rebel Girl sent “several emails over the course of many, many days to ensure the correct scholarship went to the right person” (May 21, 2012). Why would she do that? Because of past screw-ups and irregularities that she did not want to see repeated.
     Nevertheless, somehow, the Scholarship people didn’t get the word. Sheesh!

2. On April 30, 2012, H&L’s Kurt M sent the Financial Aid Director, Darryl Cox, an email belatedly informing him that “the 2012 Humanities and Languages Emeritus Endowment Scholarship Recipient” was PT.

3. Then, less than a month later (May 21, 2012), Rebel Girl emailed Cox, alerting him to some “irregularities.” She explained that, on May 18 (?), assuming that PT had won the aforementioned scholarship—for his name appeared in the printed scholarship program—she sent him a congratulatory email.

     On May 19, PT wrote back, explaining

     “I do not believe I received a scholarship…. My name was in the scholarship program though you say? That is strange because I applied to several scholarships under the IVC site. Was the program just a ceremony because I definitely did not receive any indication that I was in the program.”

     Continuing, she explained that

     This development comes on the heels of the distressing news that one of the two candidates chosen for the English Excellence in Learning scholarship (Moore) did not receive the $1,000 award. Instead that award went to another student who was not even ranked by our committee.

     Rebel Girl ended her letter with this:

     I would like to know who did receive the H & L scholarship–and I would like to know why [P]'s name was listed in the program and why he was not contacted after I selected him. ¶ I would also like to know what if anything can be done to address the wrong that has been done to him and Moore – two very deserving students who have very poorly served by this program. ¶ One wonders what other scholarships these two candidates would have been eligible for or even won in a fair and functioning process.

4. Then, on May 22, 2012, Cox sent Rebel Girl an email explaining that he was “looking into the issue.” He wrote:

     It appears that there was some confusion between the ASIVC Humanities and Languages Scholarships, the English and Humanities Endowed Scholarships and the Humanities and Languages Emeritus Endowment Scholarship. [PT] was mailed the scholarship certificate, however, his name never made it onto the scholarship check list. I will place the $250.00 scholarship check request with the Foundation [my emphasis] as soon as possible. ¶ All of this is my responsibility and I apologize for the breakdown.

     Evidently, during the subsequent year (Fall 2012, Spring 2013), PT never received the money.

     This brings us to a new round of complaints about the Scholarship Program and money provided by the Foundation that arose at the end of the Spring, 2013, semester.
     The complaints yielded a special “debriefing” meeting, held by VP of Student Services Linda Fontanilla in early June (June 6) of 2013, to review the program and the many complaints.

5. I covered the event. In Today's scholarship program debriefing: "It's the first I've heard about it!" (DtB, June 6, 2013), I reported the discussion that occurred. According to my report (which, I assure you, is accurate), late in the meeting,

     [H&L’s] Kurt [M] referred to incidents that don’t help maintain an appearance of fairness and transparency. Last year, he said, a student was informed that he had won a significant Humanities and Languages scholarship, but, to date, he has never received the scholarship.
     Richard [Morley, Foundation Director] then reared up, said it’s the first he’s heard about it. (That’s odd. I’ve been experiencing piercing caterwauling about it for a solid year. Richard really needs to get around, or turn up his hearing aid.)

6. Four days later (June 10), Morley emailed KM, Rebel Girl, and me. He wrote:

     As you can see, the Foundation was never copied on [PT]'s scholarship for 2012. It's not just about turning up one's hearing aid [this, of course, is an allusion to my comment on DtB], it's just not possible to solve problems when one is not aware there is a problem. Nowhere was the Foundation copied on this mistake, until now, or it would have been fixed immediately. ¶ I believe it's clear now that this information did not reach the Foundation. ¶ I am committed to finding [PT], at USC, I understand. However, I can't find a [PT] with any USC connections on Facebook, and there are 17 [PT]'s listed in the IVC student directory. I just don't have a way to contact him right now. ¶ Might anyone have a contact for P? A middle name? student number? Address? Phone? ¶ Thanks. I will contact him immediately and issue the check he deserves. I'm committed to serving our students...and the wishes of our faculty.

     Morley’s assertion that “it's clear now that this information did not reach the Foundation” mystifies me. I don’t know what he meant.

7. About twenty minutes later, Morley emailed again, writing

     I was able to find [PT]'s phone number. I just spoke with him and confirmed with him that he is at USC in film studies. He is sending me his address and we will request a $250 check and get it out to him immediately. ¶ So, not counting the weekend, I believe we solved this problem in less than 24 hours after I was made aware of it. ¶ I hope you all see this as indicative and exemplary of the way the Foundation works, and the commitment I have in serving both our faculty and our students.

     So, at long last, it appeared that the PT saga was over.
     But no.

8. Yesterday morning (i.e., two months later), Rebel Girl emailed PT. She wrote:

…[I] wanted to check in and see how things are going – well, I hope. ¶ I do hope you were finally awarded our modest scholarship offering.

9. A few hours later, PT responded. He wrote:

Interestingly enough, I have yet to receive the scholarship check…. Thank you for your efforts in trying to get the check to me though; I really appreciate it….

10. Rebel Girl has emailed PT again, asking for further particulars.
     Amazing.