Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Heather Bresch’s WVU MBA Was BS


The Pittsburgh Post Gazette is reporting from a source that a five member panel has unanimously concluded that Mylan Inc chief operating officer Heather Bresch, daughter of West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin, did not earn an M.B.A degree from West Virginia University and that administrators acted improperly in granting her the degree retroactively in October. Ms. Bresch is a family friend and former business associate of WVU President Michael Garrison.

The panel was formed after a Dec. 21 Post Gazette article that questioned how university officials granted the degree in October, almost 10 years after Ms. Bresch left the program, even though official records showed she was 22 credits short. University records show that 22 credits were added to Ms. Bresch’s transcript, almost half of the 48 credits required for the degree. Changes including adding six courses with grades that previously were not on her record and changing two incomplete courses to letter grades.

Ms. Bresch stated to several media outlets that she made arrangements in September 1998 with WVU finance professor Paul Speaker, the head of the M.B.A program at the time, to substitute work experience for 10 credits she needed to graduate.

I do not know Ms. Bresch or have a grudge against Mylan Inc or WVU. I am a proud Pitt M.B.A. graduate who earned my degree the honest way, with hard work. I grew up in a two bedroom apartment with my two brothers and my parents. My parents combined income was so low in high school that I qualified for free school lunches. I lived off campus at home to save money when I attended Pitt for my B.S. degree. I went back to Pitt for my M.B.A. degree because I could not find a job after earning my B.S. degree. My family did not have any business or political connections to help me. I worked hard to earn both of my degrees. Shame on Ms. Bresch and WVU.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

and your point is? She is a very hard worker and regardless of what has transpired, she's proven to be very capable in her profession. I'm sure all of you have cheated in one form or another. Sounds like sour grapes.

PittCheMBA said...

You are entitled to your opinion, and so am I. Having 22 credits added to a transcript for a 48 credit degree program is not a simple case of cheating.