Greed Is Good ?

From the Folks who Brought Us Jacko and Sainfort, we have...

McGuire!

"It's one thing if you're bringing in a criminal to speak. But if someone's under investigation, that's fair game," he [Parente] said.

Stephen Parente, director of the Medical Industry Leadership Institute in the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota

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Note: added 9/16

It's all a mistake, folks. Despite what you read below, latest word from the U is: "Word last week that he was being considered for "executive in residence" status at the Carlson School of Management was countered Monday by a denial from the university."

I wonder why the denial came from flack-catcher-in-chief, Dan Wolters, rather than OurLeader?

See: Hold that Thought - U Claims No Intent To Gown McGuire

So, I guess these events, described below, did not happen, Mr. Wolters?

Stephen Parente, director of the Medical Industry Leadership Institute in the Carlson School of Management, said the school had given him the go-ahead to explore the idea with McGuire, former chief executive of Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth Group.

There was some discussion within the school, Parente said, on whether it was appropriate to engage McGuire, given the lawsuits and investigations in which he was embroiled. The conclusion was that it was.

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From the Strib:

U considering McGuire as a business school expert

By CHEN MAY YEE, Star Tribune

September 11, 2008

The University of Minnesota is courting William McGuire, the health insurance executive who lost his job in a stock options scandal, as "executive in residence" at its business school.

Stephen Parente, director of the Medical Industry Leadership Institute in the Carlson School of Management, said the school had given him the go-ahead to explore the idea with McGuire, former chief executive of Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth Group.

McGuire stepped down as chief executive of UnitedHealth Group in late 2006 after an internal investigation found that stock options at the company had likely been backdated.

This week, he agreed to pay a record $30 million to settle a class-action lawsuit led by the California Public Employees' Retirement System without admitting wrongdoing. He earlier paid a record $7 million fine to the Securities and Exchange Commission and relinquished a total of $618 million in options and other benefits obtained while running UnitedHealth.

Parente said his approach to McGuire was along the lines of: "We don't really care about the stock options. You know stuff. Tell us what you think."

In June, when Parente presented a paper titled "Is Consumerism at Odds with Prevention?" at the American Society of Health Economics at Duke University, he listed McGuire as one of six co-authors.

It would be pretty much negligent on my part not to attempt to engage him."

Some comments from Strib readers:

My Wife And I Will No Longer Support The U

My wife and I had a good year so we were going to gift $50,000 to my wife's alma mater, the U's pharmacy school. After learning that the U was even entertaining hiring someone who I still do not understand why the government has not indicted, we decided not to make the $50,000 gift. We will likely never gift anything to the U. The U's compass is broken. Education should include ethics and morality. If the U wants to be the class institution that it holds it self out to be, it should avoid hiring cheaters and certainly potential indictees.

U of M

Why isn't this surprising. They recruited two professors who lied to their other school and double dipped until they got caught. What a laugh, we need new leadership at the U of M, perhaps someone with ethics.

Medical Industry Leadership Institute

McGuire should fit in just fine at the institute. In fact the institute's director goes on record saying "It's one thing if you're bringing in a criminal to speak. But if someone's under investigation that's fair game." What an incredibly low moral bar he has for deciding whom to hire for a "leadership" institute. Such a sad statement for someone to make on behalf of a publicly funded university.

The Regents Should Put a Stop to This Poor Judgment

I can't even remotely consider how the University would approve adding McGuire to their staff, but I can tell you if Parente worked for my company he'd be out the door today. If McGuire does get added to the U's staff, my substantial annual donation to the University will be stopped. Somehow, some way, our society needs to say no to these types of situations and not back down for the sake of a dollar. I'll be glad to be the first to take that stand on this issue!

U Students Get the Message

The U has made it clear- not only with the McGuire situation, but with the case of attempts by the double-dipping husband wife team out of Georgia- that they will employ people of questionable ethics as long as the U benefits. I've always believed that you don't do business with people you can't trust, no matter what the potential "profits". Believe me, the kids are getting the message.

I just can't even believe this is real.................

.......next thing the U of M will do is hire Michael Vick for their Veterinary school. And I'm an alumni---I'm truly embarrassed.

Hmmmm . . .

Maybe they can get him to teach the "Ethics in Business" Class. I understand the "How to Backdate your way to Wealth" module is especially popular.

GIVE A SCHOOL ENOUGH MONEY....

...AND THEY WILL FORGIVE ANY SIN

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There are more depressing comments, but I had to quit reading. I kept thinking of a recent comment by OurLeader:

"I think we need to put ourselves in the position of acting according to the highest ethical principles. I believe our people do that now and I believe our people will be doing that in the future as well."

President Bruininks (Daily: 6-18-08)

Please, Bob, this has to stop.