Letters to the editor
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As a member of WDUQ, I was relieved by Adrian McCoy's story suggesting that the station would be fine after a sale by Duquesne University ("WDUQ's Sale: All Things Considered," Jan. 18). But, as a member of the Duquesne University community, I am not so sanguine. The proposed sale of this treasured asset is a sign of financial failure at the university.
WDUQ costs the university a relative pittance to run. In return, Duquesne receives constant free advertising and community good will. In admitting that we can no longer afford these benefits, the administration is admitting that we are in dire financial straits.
This proposed sale is not the only indicator of our financial woes. Duquesne is in the process of physically dividing the physics, chemistry and biology departments because we could not raise the necessary funds to modify our physical plant to keep them together. And every department at Duquesne is now pinched for resources that we used to take for granted, such as up-to-date computers.
The problem is simple. In his nine years in office, Duquesne University President Charles Dougherty has failed to conduct even one major fundraising campaign. Some money has come in, but only because some financial giving happens by itself. Instead of serious fundraising, we have had excuses, such as 9/11 and the recession. But during this same period, other universities have managed to build their endowments and support their programs.
It is time to admit that despite his other leadership talents, President Dougherty cannot raise money. Unfortunately, fundraising is a major responsibility of any university president. It is time for Duquesne University to stop shrinking and to begin again to build itself as a major regional university. My plea to the board of directors is that, if this cannot happen under President Dougherty, we should go forward under new leadership.
BRUCE LEDEWITZ
Professor
Duquesne University School of Law
Uptown
Help these workers
As a retired 30-year veteran of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire, a 28-year recovering alcoholic and a part-time counselor tech at a halfway house for men with alcohol and drug problems, I would like to comment on the latest reports of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire's problems ("Union Leader: Firefighters 'Stumbled,' " Jan. 15).
First Published January 22, 2010 12:00 am
