tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post2812952972463221013..comments2024-03-12T14:31:50.264-07:00Comments on Bits and Pieces: They Aren't All AngelsHarry Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17088418333536732728noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-12378945254322121112018-10-31T06:01:44.219-07:002018-10-31T06:01:44.219-07:00Been a while, Harry. Any word on this, or how much...Been a while, Harry. Any word on this, or how much money Fletcher actually had to cough up to fund Skip Gate's professorship? The public record (see above) seems to show that Harvard got virtually nothing. Are University Professorships also selected "holistically"? Thanks.Avenging Angelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17666363071332842521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-47358622003606298262014-02-11T11:45:31.919-08:002014-02-11T11:45:31.919-08:00Hello Harry, I'm curious as to whether the fac...Hello Harry, I'm curious as to whether the fact that Buddy has apparently fleeced the MBTA pension fund and is now under investigation by the Mass Attorney General's Office has had any impact on Harvard's thinking? Fletcher's No-Money-Down Chair is looking even more offensive as the bombs fall closer to Harvard Square, but so far the University has seemed to avoid the growing scandal.Avenging Angelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17666363071332842521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-74871982452040756372014-02-11T11:44:31.428-08:002014-02-11T11:44:31.428-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Avenging Angelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17666363071332842521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-84888180584887446332013-12-05T10:40:26.032-08:002013-12-05T10:40:26.032-08:00Lot to absorb there, thanks. I took the liberty of...Lot to absorb there, thanks. I took the liberty of cross linking over on Bradley's blog. And thanks for reminding me of Michael Meade's name. Makes me feel pretty good about my memory!Harry Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17088418333536732728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-29875169759989801232013-12-05T10:29:00.868-08:002013-12-05T10:29:00.868-08:00Hello Henry,
Yes, trolls abound but sadly for me,...Hello Henry,<br /><br />Yes, trolls abound but sadly for me, I'm not one of them. I'd have been happy to have avoided my own Fletcher experience.<br /><br />Buddy and I shared a room in Adams House junior and senior years, and were members of the Phoenix-S.K. Club, together with Michael Meade, whom you mention. When Buddy was impeached from the Club on a financial issue, Michael and I resigned in support of Buddy. Indeed, I spoke in Buddy's defense. Michael and I later worked at Fletcher, first at 245 Park Ave then the GM Building, and left in sadly similar circumstances. <br /><br />Buddy and I lived in Randolph Court, Adams House, our senior year-- one of our neighbors being the late Seamus Heaney. Two years later when I was working on my D.Phil at Magdalen College, Oxford I walked down a staircase and bumped into, and shared a laugh with...Seamus Heaney. A very kind man, as well as a great poet. Harvard did well to get him.<br /><br />I believe I had the pleasure of meeting one of your predecessors, Fred Jewett. He did my admissions interview at Cate School, and I still have a handwritten letter from him somewhere thanking me for the occasion! Another very kind, decent man who gave a lot to Harvard.<br /><br />And then there's Buddy.<br /><br />You asked about the disputed Calgene contract. Here is the most relevant SEC filing I could quickly find online:<br /><br />http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/containers/fix043/1011134/97/000089161897002024/0000891618-97-002024.txt<br /><br />The document dated April 1997 outlines the fact that Fletcher Capital Markets owns a Calgene option to buy shares, that Fletcher is now wholly owned by Harvard University, and that Harvard/Fletcher is having to sue Calgene to get anything from the contract. <br /><br />This is the contract-- a lawsuit really-- that Buddy donated to Harvard, and got a University Professorship in return.<br /><br />There is further detail on this "gift" in Adam Lashinsky's extensive piece in Fortune from October last year. Finally, there's additional information here:<br /><br />"This week, the Dakota's lawyers told a judge that Fletcher failed to follow through on a $4.5 million pledge to Harvard University. Fletcher called the promise "non-binding" and said that the Dakota's allegation is the equivalent of defamation. But he failed to present any evidence that it was non-binding, and the Dakota's lawyer said that Harvard disputes Fletcher's claim."<br />http://www.finalternatives.com/node/23799<br /><br />"Lawyers for The Dakota pressed a Manhattan judge yesterday with their claim that Fletcher welshed on a $4.5 million gift to his alma mater, Harvard University — a donation that was to be used to endow a chair in African-American studies. The chair, named after Fletcher, is now held by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Fletcher, through his lawyers, argued the donation was “non-binding” — but failed to come up with any proof to back up the claim...Dakota lawyer Christine Chung indicated that Harvard didn’t see it Fletcher’s way, telling a judge that Fletcher had had negotiations with the president of Harvard about what he owed the university. The problem appears to be that Fletcher did not give cash, but pledged warrants in a company, called Calgene, that expired before Fletcher could cash them in and thus became worthless."<br />NY Post, 29 May 2013<br /><br />So if even Harvard is calling Buddy to account, why was he allowed to "endow" this chair in the first place? Can the rest of us donate a corporate shell whose major asset is a lawsuit and get a University Professorship in our name? I suspect not. Harvard and Skip Gates should come clean on this one.Avenging Angelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17666363071332842521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-14302663169203583612013-12-05T06:46:33.662-08:002013-12-05T06:46:33.662-08:00Dr. Cass,
Thanks for writing. I wonder if you coul...Dr. Cass,<br />Thanks for writing. I wonder if you could write or call so I know I am not dealing with a troll.<br />Yes, it would be interesting if something along the lines of what you suggest were to come out. Where have the questions you mention about the Harvard gift appeared? I don't remember seeing those speculations in print anywhere.<br />I remember visiting Buddy early on, in his offices on the top floor of the GM Tower. If I remember correctly, Buddy was at that point still with his original business partner, another Applied Math concentrator whose name I don't remember (Michael somebody? I don't think it was you). <br />Buddy kindly had his chauffeur-driven Bentley give me a lift back to Laguardia. Sign.Harry Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17088418333536732728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-18684525854907557742013-12-05T05:00:09.842-08:002013-12-05T05:00:09.842-08:00Thank you for speaking up on this subject, Harry. ...Thank you for speaking up on this subject, Harry. I was Buddy's roommate for several years at Harvard, and one of his colleagues early on at Fletcher. It was a very unpleasant place and there's a trail of broken Harvard friendships as a result of Buddy's, uh, personal style. <br /><br />More importantly now is that Harvard needs to come clean on the actual cash value realized on the gift which funded the Fletcher chair. I worked on the Calgene contract with their CEO Roger Salquist, which formed much of the basis of Buddy's gift. To call it disputed would be putting it mildly. <br /><br />It's one thing for Harvard, as you suggest, to cleanse dirty money and make it clean again through education; it's another thing entirely for a chair to be endowed "no money down" purely on the basis of race, as some reports seem to suggest. Harvard needs to provide answers given the questions that have been widely raised in the media and in the fraud report. By speaking up, it is hoped Harvard will avoid further shame. Avenging Angelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17666363071332842521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-52349585364215691482013-11-30T17:29:47.555-08:002013-11-30T17:29:47.555-08:00Not clear to me actually. Even if one came to the ...Not clear to me actually. Even if one came to the very arguable conclusions that Harvard is not making a contribution to society with the incremental professorship and that it is Harvard's responsibility to give back the Fletcher money (which is not known to have been fraudulently made), whoever is running the investments for those funds hasn't made a good case for giving them more to invest.Harry Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17088418333536732728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-28505288627173025522013-11-30T15:41:57.896-08:002013-11-30T15:41:57.896-08:00McKay was a cad but not apparently a thief. One w...McKay was a cad but not apparently a thief. One way for "society to come out better" would be for Harvard to use the donated money towards making up the losses of the defrauded pension funds. Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04635496839285401611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-44069820165360300422013-11-29T14:40:29.440-08:002013-11-29T14:40:29.440-08:00It all depends on how the deal was written. I imag...It all depends on how the deal was written. I imagine that the deal between the Astros and Enron was for a fixed period of time, or had an escape clause in case the company went under, or both. But people who give chairs generally think they are signing up for eternal recognition, better than a building name.<br /><br />I once had an address in William James Hall and got a letter that began "Dear Mr. Hall … ."Harry Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17088418333536732728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-48883931226655503392013-11-29T10:35:59.443-08:002013-11-29T10:35:59.443-08:00Can Harvard change the name of the chair? The Hous...Can Harvard change the name of the chair? The Houston Astros changed<br />Enron Field to Minute-maid-field, but they got another donor.<br /><br />Univ of MD has THE FRANCIS SCOTT KEY building. Ugrads ask me who he was and how much money did he give to the University. I ask how long will it be before we name it THE PEPSI BUILDING since we are a pepsi campusGASARCHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06134382469361359081noreply@blogger.com