Save Tulane Engineering

[perturbed1]

I am starting this thread to keep track of Scott Cowen facts. It is intended as a follow the connections and see if they paint any kind of picture. Specifically interested in business, social, political, and financial connections. Anyone should feel free to add any facts they know. Please try to document them. We can start with the official biography on the Tulane University website.

http://www2.tulane.edu/president_bio.cfm

Came to Tulane 1998
Dean of Business School of Case Western Reserve in Cleveland

Board member of the American Council on Education

Board member of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities

Member of the NCAA's Executive Committee

Past president of the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business

Board of Directors of Newell Rubbermaid Inc

Board of Directors of American Greetings

Board of Directors of Jo-Ann Stores

Board of Directors of Forest City Enterprises Inc

Member of:
New Orleans Business Council
Committee For A Better New Orleans
New Orleans Building Corporation
MetroVision
New Orleans Business Council

[perturbed1]

Now lets play round one of connect the dots.

Scott Cowen is one of five outside directors of Forest City Enterprises a closely held real estate development company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio but with business interests across the country. It is heavily involved in public/private urban renewal projects of various kinds. The Cleveland Plain Dealer recently ran a long series of articles on the firm.

http://www.cleveland.com/forestcity/

Scott Cowen is also on the Bring Back New Orleans Commission.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bring_Back_New_Orleans_Commission

And who might be advising this commission? Well Forest City Enterprises for one.

On November 18, 2005, the Commission received a report from over 50 urban development experts from the Urban Land Institute (ULI). The theme of their recommendations was that New Orleans must be made a liveable and equitable city attractive to current and new residents. Some specific recommendations included forming a "Crescent City Rebuilding Corporation", creating a financial oversight board, involving citizens in creating criteria for renovation and redevelopment, and creating tax incentives. The study was funded by Albert B. Ratner, co-chairman of Forest City Enterprises, a large development company. Included in the funding was the $100,000 Ratner received as recipient of the ULI's 2005 J. C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development.

[Dr. Ash]

From:

http://www.forbes.com/finance/mktguideapps/personinfo/FromPersonIdPersonTearsheet.jhtml?passedPersonId=221280



Director at
Newell Rubbermaid Inc.
Atlanta, Georgia
CONSUMER GOODS / HOUSEWARES & ACCESSORIES
Director since 1999
58 years old

Scott S. Cowen, age 58, has been the President of Tulane University and Seymour S. Goodman Memorial Professor of Business since July 1998. From 1984 through July 1998, Dr. Cowen served as Dean and Albert J. Weatherhead, III Professor of Management, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University. Prior to his departure in 1998, Dr. Cowen had been associated with Case Western Reserve University in various capacities since 1976. Dr. Cowen is also a director of American Greetings Corp. (a manufacturer of greeting cards and related merchandise), Forest City Enterprises (a real estate developer) and Jo-Ann Stores (an operator of retail fabric shops).

[perturbed1]

Now one of the interesting things about being a director of a publicly traded company is that you have to file disclosure statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission diclosing what you own in the company, what you paid for it, when you sold, and even when you intend to sell it.

Being a director of Forest City Enterprises has been surprisingly lucrative for the Tulane president and member of the Bring Back New Orleans Commission. In fact just this past July Scott Cowen filed a form 144 with the SEC indicating his intention to sell 18,300 shares. He filed that form on July 11, 2005. Normally the intention to sell Form 144 has to be filed in advance of the actual sale. This is to prevent the corporate insiders from dumping their stock and then announcing bad news. In this case though Scoot exercise options for 18,300 shares and then sold them on the same day he filed the form 144. The shares had a market value of of $1.3 million or roughly $72 a share. A 2 for 1 stock split and dividend increase had been announced on 6/21/2005 for holders of record on 6/27/2005. Cowen did not acwuire his shares until after the record date for the split so the timing of the exercise and sale may have been tied to that.

[perturbed1]

Rumors to the contrary Scott Cowen and the Michelin Man are not related

[tulanelink]

In fiscal 2002-03, Cowen earned $486,000 in compensation and other benefits. See: Administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund, IRS Form 990 for 2002, p. 4 (www.guidestar.org/...).

In addition to the mansion that Tulane provides and maintains, Cowen owns a home in the Hamptons. "My wife goes up for the summer, and I get up there when I can." See: "Great Getaways: Scott Cowen - Locals' notable trips," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, January 19, 2003 [Travel, p. 3].

[gwlaw88]

These connections might also explain Cowan's sudden interest in all these new programs related to urban planning he "suddenly" developed or thought up in his spare time after Katrina hit. Is the student body, locals, etc. questioning his motivations? Since the meeting held in re Newcomb's demise made it clear that at least so far as Newcomb goes, it was not a financial drain on the school, has anyone demanded an accounting of how much this "renewal" plan is costing the school? If its necessary to abolish ESTABLISHED programs, where is the money coming from for new programs? How much is the complete overhaul of the school costing? Where is it actually saving money? If Tulane is in such dire financial straits that it has to dump viable and vital engineering programs, where is the money coming from for these new programs - and I might add, at least the descriptions re these new programs in the recent Tulanian where nothing but "the program might do this, and might do that."
Also, I just looked up his profile on the Forest City website - it of course brags about him being responsible for overhauling Tulane so that it can become a great research university [research in what I would like to know] but NOTHING about the need to cut back on programs due to finanial problems related to Katrina.

[wwalkeri]

I think we are starting to stretch ourselves here. We need to focus on Engineering because no matter how much we talk about this supposed agenda, the board will not change. The board would only consider reversing the decision if we continue to provide evidence of why the renewal plan is bad. Bad mouthing Cowen will not accomplish that. Remember that the board hired him; and in general, boards do not like to publicly admit error or bad judgement.

[perturbed1]

The problem is the board cannot reverse Cowen on this without firing him. He basically presented to them as take it or leave it all or nothing. Put that way nobody wanted to vote no-confidence inhis "leadership". Cowen sensed his opportunity and his powere and realizinf a similar moment would never come again he seized the moment to consolidate institutional power in his own hands by removing and independent fiefdoms within the school. Count the bloodbath among the deans.

Killing newcomb and Tulane College had nothing at all to do with finances and kiling engineering had very little to do with finances. Getting rid of the Dean of the Graduate School and the Dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences were all internal power grabs. The Dean of the School of Medicine is gone too while the dean of the School of Business and the Dean of the School of Architecture are both new hires too and so reliably Cowen guys. In any even being new they don't know where any of the institutional power levers are and so are in no position to offer any resistance to Gibson Hall.

What we have seen here is effectively a coup d'etat. Scott has effectively overthrown the Republic and crowned himself Caesar.