That didn’t take long.
Hours after the disclosure that he had lied about the circumstances surrounding and the size of the severance package given NCSU Provost Larry Nielsen, NCSU Chancellor Jim Oblinger has resigned. But in doing so, Oblinger is still not shooting straight.
Oblinger maintains his departure is prompted by the discovery of emails relating that, contrary to his previous statements, former NCSU Trustee McQueen Campbell did tell Oblinger about Mary Easley’s job search. Oblinger says he simply forgot about this info. No mention is made of the weekend’s Nielsen revelations, ones which show that Oblinger modified Nielsen’s future payout in ways that violated University guidelines and which he then attempted to hide. In fact, Oblinger does not even mention Nielsen — at all.
The upshot is that UNC system chief Erskine Bowles has turned to former UNCC Chancellor Jim Woodward to helm State until a permanent replacement can be found. To say that Woodward is stepping into a mess is an understatement. Here’s hoping Bowles can find honest, permanent leadership for NC State as soon as possible.
Bonus Observation: Did former Gov. Mike Easley go all Blagojevich and sell his endorsement to Hillary Clinton? Certainly interesting that Bill Clinton gave Mary Easley a cut-rate deal on his speaking engagement. What did the Clintons get in return?
Update: J. Andrew Curliss now reports that — ta-dut ta-duh — Mike Easley was up to his eyeballs in creating a fake job for his wife at NCSU. Once the polygraphs start churning — 3..2.1 — I guarantee it will show that the Easleys figured that if John Edwards deserved a fake job at UNC, they deserved a fake one at NCSU.
Update II: The deed is done. Queen Mary has been removed. It took a vote of the Trustees to do it.
