Murray Blackwelder, vice president for External Affairs, was recently appointed an ISU Foundation Governor. That position is a lifetime appointment and includes voting privileges.

What’s the problem with appointing the former ISU Foundation president to the Board of Governors?

The problem is Blackwelder is days away from starting his new job, as senior vice president for advancement at Purdue University, a fund-raising duty.

So while Blackwelder retains his voting and fund-raising power here with the Foundation, he will be a leading fund raiser at Purdue. That, we think, is a conflict of interest.

Blackwelder was the only non-ISU alum among the 16 governors nominated this year.

We understand he has dedicated ten years of service to Iowa State through his fund raising, and we understand that makes him a reasonable selection for the governor position – if he weren’t about to go do the same thing for another university.

During the debate over the Foundation’s records being opened, the Foundation argued one reason the records should remain closed is they wanted to protect the strategies they used from becoming public knowledge. They were worried other schools would find out how they work their magic.

Then why, pray tell, does the Foundation allow Blackwelder a governor position while he will be a fund raiser at another university?

The mere fact that there is a possibility any corruption CAN take place is cause for concern.

It may not be illegal, but it’s not ethical, either.

We think Blackwelder should have done the responsible and ethical thing, and declined the governor position from the Foundation, as three others did.

Blackwelder is off to Purdue, and while he may be missed in the fund-raising community, he is leaving, and needs to distance himself from the Foundation.

It’s the right thing to do.

editorialboard: Michelle Kann, Tim Paluch, Jocelyn Marcus, Zach Calef, Ruth Hitchcock, Cavan Reagan