Try this one on for size. From the Slipped Disc 9/17/17  - "A ‘flagship research university’ has been left looking like a college for dummies.
Here, on the basis of our local sources, is what we think happened. The festival has been losing money and shedding audiences. It renewed Mr Halls at a six-figure salary and then panicked. A hyped-up Provost, hired at vast cost from Michigan and unfamiliar with local loyalties, ordered Halls to be sacked. Then all hell broke loose.
What now? If the University comes clean, it can still redeem something of its reputation. If not, the festival is dead and the University is both culpable and foolish. Don’t even go there."

Given the administration's grotesque stonewalling, this interpretation seems as good as any - if not better. Check out the full article @  https://slippedisc.com/2017/09/editorial-oregons-stupid-university-is-seriously-damaged/.