Any freshman in a V lrgima college convicted by

Any freshman in a V lrgima college convicted by an honor court of doing the same thing would be promptly kicked out of the school.

The University of Cincinnati, however, acknowledged its own sloppy work in accepting the dissertation. It took no action against Hamel, but ordered that his paper be flagged so that future scholars would be made aware of its "irregularities."

In Hamel’s defense it must be said that during the Community College system’s formative years, he performed a monumental service in its development and expansion. But the history of academia is not without stories of honor students who got the boot for cheating on a final exam, or for earlier missteps which later came to light.

So it is with Dr. Hamel. No one wishes him ill, but with the clouds of enrollment padding and possible plagerism hanging over him, it is unthinkable that the board would seriously consider his reappointment.

The governor, of course, has no statuatory responsibility with respect to the board's choice.

An official, however, remarked with evident bitterness. “If Hamel is appointed, it will undermine the credibility of this administration’s entire effort to strengthen and toughen academic standards in the state. We’re trying to send a message that it takes hard, honest work to get ahead. But if Hamel gets this job. the signal every kid in the state will get will be, ‘Cheat and don't worry about it. Even if you get caught, you could still end up a college president'."

If the Hamel-for chancellor move continues to gather strength, the governor himself should say something like that, and say it loud and clear.

There are many jobs in which a man of I)r. Hamel’s administrative ability could make significant contributions. But a position in which a scholarly example is so obviously basic is not among them.

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