LETTER: Time for UM's Engstrom to depart the scene

So Jordy Johnson accepted $245,000 as a settlement from the University of Montana. As a victim of President Engstrom’s inquisition style rush to judgment and as a recipient of the totally unjust penalties the university meted out (not to mention what happened to Coach Pflugrad and Athletic Director Jim O’Day), I felt Johnson deserved much more.

How a man in Engstrom’s position of authority could have allowed such a debacle is indicative of his lack of principle and the failure of his leadership which is leading the University of Montana downward. This president should be relieved of his duties.

Engstrom must be easily led as he fell into the clutches of the strident, emotional, irrational, and anti-male philosophy of the resident feminist cabal at the university. Rejecting the notion of “innocent until proven guilty,” this group wanted a “public hanging” where they were the judge, jury and executioner and Engstrom gave it to them. They protected their own by not allowing the name of the girl involved into the public sphere while crucifying their hated male quarry — all condoned by Engstrom. For shame!

But, as well, Engstrom has failed and continues to fail as president as the falling numbers of students indicates. His leadership continues to mold the university into a far-left indoctrination center instead of a bastion of education with classes relevant to today’s world. How often have I heard people say they would never send their child to the University of Montana or the wonderment of “why are you going there?” or “I won’t contribute another dime to the University of Montana until Engstrom is gone!”

Complicit in this downward spiral is the Board of Regents, whose only job appears to be the extortion of money from our political system which they, in turn, shovel into the feed troughs for the professors and administrators who are protected in a bubble and completely detached from the world of reality.

When the evidence was weighed, Jordy Johnson was found not guilty. However, unlike Jordan, the evidence of the failure of leadership by Engstrom is clear and overwhelming. He should suffer the penalty for those failures and either resign or be fired. But, more than likely, I think it will take much more failure before he and our regents finally grasp reality. —Mark Agather, Kalispell