By Chris Butler
With his identity revealed, the formerly anonymous author of “Truth At ULM” says that he has no regrets in taking his grievances against the Swearingen administration to the Internet.
“Though this is a little over dramatic, whenever the heart is diseased it needs to be replaced and you’ve got to make the incision. It’s a serious shock to the patient to do that, but it’s the right thing to do,” said Dr. John Scott, in an analogy to what he said are the university’s woes, financial and otherwise. Since 1989, Scott has been an associate professor of economics and finance at ULM. He will be departing his position next month.
Scott said that one of his reasons for creating the site two years ago originated from a meeting held between 40 of the school’s faculty and then-ULM President Lawson Swearingen. According to Scott, Swearingen informed them that budget cuts would be taking place in their salaries, but subsequently contradicted himself by telling the media that no such cuts would occur.
Scott said faculty in attendance, himself included, were “frustrated” not only at Swearingen’s remarks, but also that no one among them were willing to come forward with their side of the story. That unwillingness to come forward, he said, stemmed from fear of retribution by the former administration.
“You do it once, and then the administration starts leaking things about you. They find something to leak about you, about something some student says about you. And they make it not about whether the president said this or he didn’t, but say that this guy [coming forward] is a crank. So, if you present yourself as such a good target to people who are so politically skilled, they can neutralize the truth. Then you’re not going to be very effective,” he said.
Richard Baxter, vice-president for external affairs, said that he could not comment on Scott’s accusation due to legalities. Baxter’s libel and slander lawsuit against the author of “Truth At ULM” was recently amended to include Scott’s name along with six other John Doe’s. The legal action resulted in Scott’s admission of authorship, as well as Homestead Inc., the site’s Internet service provider, taking the site down June 1. Baxter said that his response to Scott’s assertions will be made clear to those who follow the progress of the suit.
“I never really knew John Scott and have had very little interaction with him. I’ve talked to him maybe two or three times in the 20 or so years that I’ve been here,” Baxter said.
Scott, who describes himself as usually being an “up-front person,” explained that he did have some initial reservations about going online anonymously. “It was uncomfortable, it was scary. At the same time, it was, in ways, exciting,” he said of the experience.
Scott said that he only entrusted his wife and young children with his secret. He said that he made no one else privy to what he was doing, not even his closest associates on campus. Baxter, in his suit, disputes the assertion that Scott was the site’s only author and says that Scott authored the site with others.
Scott, however, says that he merely verified and posted information sent to him anonymously from other faculty members. Scott said that he changed his writing style and falsely implied that other professors had co-authored the site. Despite the efforts to protect his identity, however, Scott said that his ex-dean jokingly considered him a suspect. “At the end of the day, maybe he wasn’t joking,” Scott said in retrospect.
Scott’s resignation from the university will be effective Aug. 15. He has accepted positions as both an associate professor of economics and as the director for The Center For Economic Education and Research at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia. Scott denies suspicions that he is being pressured from his job at ULM and said that his new position is one that he had applied for last year.
“It’s something that I’ve wanted to do. It’s a nice little job in a nice small school. I think that it will be a good environment for my family,” he said.
Leaving the university, Scott said that he is optimistic about its future and characterizes President Cofer as “a good leader.” Scott said he believes that Swearingen’s resignation was inevitable and that “Truth At ULM” only hastened it. He said that since being revealed as the site’s author, he has received a mixed reaction from fellow faculty members. Some have thanked Scott, while others are no longer speaking to him.
“I always felt like I was doing the right thing. I always felt like I was trying to work after the interests of the students who were going to a university that really needed fixing, the faculty and staff that worked at that university and the taxpayers whose money was being spent in very bad and inefficient ways. So, I never felt like I had anything to seriously apologize for.”