The Russ College of Engineering owes Maureen Young a big fat apology.
Young, who worked as an aviation administration coordinator, was transferred to a different position after circulating a petition asking the Department of Aviation to reconsider keeping instructional aircraft outside. The decision for outdoor storage was enforced last summer and ended in January, shortly after the audit was commissioned.
Young was the only university employee to be punished, although nine of her co-workers signed the petition.
An internal audit of the Aviation Department has since confirmed that many student and faculty complaints about the practice were well-founded. The storage cover policy made it difficult for students to complete the flight time required for graduation. Maintenance problems increased. The covers sometimes froze to the aircraft and damaged the paint.
Unfortunately, these were problems that could have been avoided. In all, administrators seemed to ignore the complaints because they came from individuals not considered important enough. This includes people like faculty, students and especially classified staff, like Young and Theresa Meyer. Dean Dennis Irwin seems to think so, writing in an e-mail that those two employeesARE NOT part of the decision-making process.
Ideally, because this is ostensibly a place of education, the powers that be will think of this situation as a teaching moment. They will reflect on their mistakes and resolve not to ignore warnings next time. And they will offer a sincere, heart-felt apology to the students, faculty and staff - especially Maureen Young - whom they wronged with poor decision-making. That would be a Vision Ohio we could all believe in.
In reality, though, none of these things will probably happen, and it will be business as usual at the college. Unfortunately, in some segments of this university, integrity is only a nine-letter word starting with 'I.'
Editorials represent the views of The Post's executive editors.
4 Opinion
University unfairly penalized Young for advocating positive changes
