http://www.cu.edu/news/stories/hoffman-resigns.html
Dear Betsy,
Today I heard that you have resigned as President of our prestigious University of Colorado, ending your 4 1/2 year tenure that was marred by scandal after scandal. I do not blame you completely for these scandals. I largely blame the culture of sex, alcohol and general apathy that you inherited. However, I do not absolve you completely of the things that occured under your watch. There were things that you didn't do particularly well as President-and it seems to me that it all started when you reinstated Gary Barnett after his 3 month suspension.
Allegations of recruiting violations are serious. I believe that the steps you took with Mr. Barnett did not seem to match the seriousness that these allegations held not only for our football team, but for the University as a whole. And this is where the slippery slope to your resignation started. You knew how bad things were over in the football program. Yet, you still reinstated Mr. Barnett. This boggles my mind-obviously you had access to every document, every conversation had by email between Mr. Barnett and others. Yet you still chose to stay quiet and hope that the storm could be weathered. I hope you realize now that you should have stood up, removed him when you had the chance, and saved your job in exchange for his. But instead, you seemed to care more about how football boosters would view you than the value of the degrees of hundreds of thousands of CU graduates.
And this is what really upsets me, Betsy. I wish beyond wish that none of this would have never happened. I wish we could have kept on going through the motions, being one of the best kept secrets in the United States.
But instead, we have (or are obtaining) seriously devalued degrees. We have nothing to show for it besides the resignations of Dick Tharp, former Athletic Director, Richard Bynny, former Chancellor, and now you, former President.
Oh, yeah. And Enterprise Status. Which is sure to be the gift that keeps on giving, long after I send my students to school at CU and pay 25,000 dollars a year for resident tution.
You were not a horrible President. You fought tooth and nail for continued support for higher education. You genuinely seemed to care about the plight of women and minority students at CU. Among all, you were the highest authority of the CU system, and for a woman to be in that position is a very important thing. For these things, I am grateful. But I am not grateful that you didn't fight harder to keep your position. You caved to pressure, but you did it in the wrong place and the wrong time. Instead of firing Mr. Barnett and doing it while the university was still floating, you jump ship while we are sinking by resigning yourself. And the person that is responsible for this whole debacle is still sitting pretty at his desk in Del Ward, dodging missle after missle like the dirty rat he is.
I wish you nothing but the best of luck. You are a smart, capable woman and deserve more good luck than you recieved here.
Sincerely,
Kevin Villegas
Senior, ENVS