Some Coal Tattoo readers had questions following my post last week about West Virginia University (my alma mater) naming a chair in its mining engineering department for controversial coal operator Bob Murray in exchange for a $1 million donation to the school.
Does WVU want students to learn the kinds of mine safety practices by Murray’s company that led to the deaths of six miners and three rescuers — and prompted more than $1 million in safety fines and calls for a criminal investigation — at the Crandall Canyon disaster in August 2007?
Or maybe WVU thinks Murray set a good example for students when he tried to use his friendship with Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky to get federal mine safety inspectors to back off enforcing the law at one of Murray’s mines?
Perhaps WVU especially thinks that students could learn from watching Murray’s nationally televised tirades against labor unions, government inspectors and the media while families of his workers waited for word on whether those Crandall Canyon miners were dead or alive?
We won’t know … because WVU’s new president, James P. Clements, isn’t granting interviews on the subject. I asked earlier this week for a few minutes of Clements’ time to ask him these kinds of questions, and all I got back was this prepared statement from university spokesman Dan Kim:
Mr. Murray has a history of support to WVU and its research endeavors. His most recent gift will help the University to continue and expand research that focuses on safer, more efficient and more ecologically sound methods of recovering and processing fossil fuels.
Back in the day, while writing for WVU’s Daily Athenaeum and then covering higher education for the Gazette, I wrote a lot of stories that then-WVU President Neil Bucklew wasn’t very happy about. But you know what? Bucklew always returned my phone calls, answered my questions and, for the most part, was pretty polite about it.
I guess things change …
Anyway, if anyone has forgotten, here’s what then-MSHA chief Richard Stickler said his agency’s investigators found at Crandall Canyon:
MSHA’s investigation found that Genwal Resources recklessly failed to immediately report three previous coal outbursts that had occurred, two in March 2007 and one just three days before the August 6th accident. These reporting failures were critical, because they deprived MSHA of the information it needed to properly assess the operator’s mining plans. MSHA also found that the operator was taking more coal than allowed from the barrier pillars and the floor. This dangerously weakened the strength of the roof support.
I did get a call back from Wayne King, president of the university’s fundraising arm, the WVU Foundation. King said he might have seen some news coverage of Crandall Canyon, but hadn’t really put that together with Murray and the donation to WVU:
I think it’s probably read or seen something about it. I have a vague memory of seeing or hearing something about it. I’ve been made aware of it in recent days by some of the articles [about the donation].
King said he’s not aware of any written guidelines about whether something negative about a person or company will prohibit WVU found taking their money or naming something after them:
That would be discussed on a case-by-case basis.
Was there ever any discussion by WVU and the WVU Foundation about not accepting the Murray’s money, or at least not naming a chair after him?
I can only say that I was not involved in any discussions about that. The decision to solicit and receive the gift was made by the university.
Stay tuned, I’m hoping to talk to College of Engineering Dean Gene Cilento about this subject, and I’ve got some other irons in the fire that might be interesting follow-up posts …
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Ken, this Wayne King said that he had only “vague” memory of the Crandall mine disaster when Murray was on the tv screen constantly during that horrible time? That doesn’t speak well of the people who are in high positions at WVU does it? It makes me wish that our daughter’s tuition fees would have gone to a different school.
is he trying to buy that seat or was it given for his donation?you keep throwing the bad into most everything you post but you’ve never posted anything to the good unless you can slap around someone ,somewhere, inside that article.what about donations given out in other areas?given the fact that most places on route 3 wouldn’t have little league teams and in most places,the police personelle that they have.you wouldn’t want to mention these or any other things that are for the good.good news just doesn’t sell does it?
All the donations in the world doesn’t make up for the bad. Donations will not make anyone an honorable person. What a person does in their daily lives is what makes the difference.
Do some research on him. I think you will realize what I am talking about.
What does this article have to do with little league teams on Rt3 or police personnel?
nanette ,are you falling into step with jason robinson or what?i made a point out about donations,whether it’s to wvu or the ones handed out by massey,which are the ones i have mentioned.i don’t hear anyone complaining on those.exactly what does this man do on a daily basis,since you want to make it a point?his name isn’t in the headlines as massey and blankenships are,so what is the point in slamming his name around.he donated money to wvu,or was solicited by wvu .in return, he asked that a chair be put in his name,and something good will come out of it.it doesn’t mean that this man is trying to “buy his way into heaven”,but that’s what the article wants you to believe.what is the point?
I agree with Nanette. What does Murray’s donation have to do with Little League baseball on Route 3 or police personnel? I think that rwc is just blowing smoke in the air. By the way what did Mr. Murray do for the widows of miners that were killed in his unsafe mine in Utah? Maybe he should have donated that money for the children’s education.
rwc, I’m afraid that you got one on me, I don’t know who Jason Robinson is. May I ask who he is?
I don’t believe that you can give credit to Massey for little league baseball in the coalfields. There have always been little league teams around here, and years ago we even had women’s ball teams. That was long before Massey came to town.
I went back through the articles that Ken has posted and saw where the fellow you mentioned posted. I don’t know who he is.
when i drove tanker trucks onto massey sites,i had to deal with persons in the main offices to sign the paperwork for the deliveries.on the desk was a paper describing the donations that i talk about.now if you are going to tell me without those donations that the little leagues would survive,then i’d have to see it to believe it,especially in this day and time.also on that same document,there were sizeable donations to certain police departments at that time.now if i’m to believe these police would survive federal funding by itself,then i’d have to see that ,too.i’m not supporting either wvu on who donates to them,and will never support massey or who they donate to,just because of where they stand and who their ceo is,but dragging a persons name through the” mud” doesn’t make out who they actually are.and this isn’t the only time that this person ,who writes this blog has done this.proof is when a man was killed on a mine site,and the issuing article just had to point out the previous deaths reported on the same site,instead of just reporting how he died,and also pointed out that the site was an mtr site.so my question is if this man was asked to donate,and in return he asked that a chair be put in his name,and also for the good the money should do if used properly,what was the need to slam him around?my answer to that is there was no need for that.that was my point in general.
pardon me on the word issuing i meant insuing
I think RWC actually makes one good point, which is that WVU’s abysmal judgment seems to be the principal problem here. Wayne King clearly stated “The decision to solicit and receive the gift was made by the university.” Shame on our state’s flagship academic institution.
The university should admit it made a bad judgment, and should reverse the decision. WVU has had to do that before, and it can and should do it now. Accepting and learning from error is part and parcel of the academic process. Do the right thing. Withdraw the offer to Bob Murray (maybe Murray will let them name it something else).