As a 30-year donor and supporter of countless West Virginia University scholarships and programs, I believe it is my responsibility to express my thoughts and opinion as an individual who has a deep interest and personal commitment to the university.

As the CEO of 84 Lumber, I, as well as other employers in this country, depend on universities such as West Virginia University to provide an educated, well-rounded work force.

When Mike Garrison took the WVU reins in 2007, I believed then, as I do today, that WVU will continue to prosper and thrive under the leadership and direction of a man with a profound vision and high expectations for the university. His credentials and qualifications are impeccable. He has demonstrated a deep professional and personal commitment to the university in all that he has been able to accomplish in a short period.

I have visited the WVU campus on many occasions and have spent time with Mike Garrison. I have participated in and enjoyed all that the university has to offer.

I would like to repeat, and I am extremely confident and would assure anyone who asks, that Mike Garrison was the right man for the job in 2007, is the right man for the job in 2008 and, without a doubt, is the right man to move West Virginia University forward in the future.

JOE HARDY
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
84 Lumber Co.
Eighty Four

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The comedy of errors that played out before our eyes on the pages the Post-Gazette exposed a failure of leadership at the highest levels of West Virginia University ("The Story of a Cover-up: An Inside Look at How Far WVU Officials Were Willing to Go for the Governor's Daughter and Her Unearned M.B.A.," May 4).

Like a Greek tragedy, the protagonists exhibited the hubris or arrogance that would inevitably bring about their downfall. This arrogance "that rules do not apply" begins at the governor's office. The appointment of WVU President Mike Garrison was an attempt from Charleston to control the university. The quid-pro-quo system of favoritism did not occur without the knowledge and direction from those at the top.

The most disturbing part of this whole fiasco is that the faculty members at the university were not speaking up in fear of losing their jobs. Fortunately because of the relentless and thorough investigation by the writers of the Post-Gazette, the university ultimately appointed an outside panel to look into the matter. Integrity and freedom of speech are essential in both higher education and government. It is time that the state of West Virginia and the university take the necessary steps to correct the problems.

WVU as an academic institution needs to be independent from the politicians in Charleston.

TED W. SOFIS
Mt. Lebanon

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What wide-eyed, naive high schooler wrote the May 4 editorial on Somalia ("Attack on Somalia: The Struggling Country Needs Food, Not Missiles")? According to The Associated Press, the man killed by the U.S. missile strike had not only terrorized the Somali people but had also been linked to the murder of four foreign aid workers and a British journalist. What good is sending aid to a country if its aid workers there have been murdered?

Furthermore, I would note that the United States is the leading donor of foreign aid to Somalia ($156 million for fiscal years 2006-2007) and has already donated more than $70 million to the country in 2008. How such a grossly misleading and uninformed editorial makes it into "One of America's Great Newspapers" at all, let alone on a Sunday, should give you pause. It helps to explain why Sunday circulation is down.

PATRICK SHERIDAN
Harmar

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Oops, the Post-Gazette has done it again by giving undeserved legitimacy to the American Lung Association's ranking of Pittsburgh as the "sootiest" U.S. city ("Lung Group Says Pittsburgh Is Tops for Sooty Air," May 1). In what has become an annual event, the ALA uses junk science to rank the air quality of cities. ALA's apparent purpose is to publicize itself and grab headlines. The PG has taken the bait and provided a front-page headline.

The ALA's ranking process is scientifically dishonest because it uses the highest readings from (in our region's case) a single air quality monitor to characterize an entire region. Choosing other monitors (still in the same Pittsburgh region) would give an entirely different -- and much better -- picture.

The PG should know better than to publicize the ALA results as if they had any credibility. The bias and flaws of the ALA rankings have been pointed out to the PG several times in the past. If another organization had ranked the Pittsburgh region as the wealthiest in the United States based solely on household incomes in Sewickley Heights, would the PG use that headline as uncritically as it has the ALA ranking?

The ALA report is so flawed that it would be laughable if it didn't do so much damage to the Pittsburgh region, which has made such remarkable clean air progress. The PG should not be complicit in the ALA's environmental fraud.

JOE DUCKETT
West View

The writer is an environmental engineer.

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The American Lung Association issued a report saying that the five-county Pittsburgh area has "the worst 24-hour soot levels" in America ("Lung Group Says Pittsburgh Is Tops for Sooty Air," May 1). The Post-Gazette accurately reported that this conclusion "hangs on soot readings in the Monongahela River Valley."

I recently went on a paid tour of the Clairton Coke Works. It was conducted by an environmental engineer who worked for the government for more than 30 years. He detailed the remarkable success of improving the cleanliness of our rivers and air. We were shocked to see that a single measuring device, which sits above the Clairton plant, was what the lung association used to represent the air quality in all of Western Pennsylvania.

As someone who earned a bachelor's degree in rhetoric, where I studied the source of hundreds of claims that made their way to the public, I believe that using this one piece of data for this claim may be the most "twisted" use of information I have ever seen.

The technique of exaggerating dangers allows organizations to make themselves into the hero needed to save us from a devil that they created in the first place. The falsehood is often not in the intrinsic data, but in ignoring other facts that disprove their conclusion. Careers are then supported and millions in taxpayer funding is justified.

I encourage local politicians and citizens to confront the American Lung Association. What it did is an insult to all the individuals whose hard work, sacrifice and efforts during the past 40 years have made massive improvements on the environment here and our quality of life.

VINCE ORNATO
North Side

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I wanted to thank Mike White for the incredible article about John Challis ("A Tale of Courage: Teen Running Out of Innings, But Game Still Isn't Over," May 4) -- and thanks for putting it on the front page! It seems that all we hear about are negative stories about our teens.

I sat at my kitchen table sobbing as I read the article. I was trying to explain to my 8-year-old daughter that I was crying "happy tears" as I relayed the story to her.

I was amazed at the wisdom and maturity of John Challis and was filled with so much pride at the way the Aliquippa baseball team responded to John's situation. They demonstrated the very best in sportsmanship, empathy and compassion and should be commended. It seems that the entire Beaver Valley community has really "stepped up to the plate"!

I wish John and his family the very best in the coming months. It wouldn't surprise me to read an article in a year saying that John was beating his cancer. His spirit is just unbelievable!

Thanks again, and please continue to feed us the positive stories.

PATTI McCLOUD
Mars

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I read the article in last Sunday's paper about John Challis, a young man fighting cancer.

I would like to commend Mike White for sharing this heart-touching story about a very brave young man. I cried while reading the article -- not because of feeling sad, but because of his courage, strength and love of life whatever his situation.

I pray that God continues to hold John in the palm of His hand.

PAMELA WATSON
North Side

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We welcome your letters. Please include your name, address and phone number, and send to Letters to the Editor, 34 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh 15222. E-mail letters to letters@post-gazette.com or fax to 412-263-2014. Letters should be 250 words or less, original and exclusive to the Post-Gazette. All letters are subject to editing for length, clarity and accuracy and will be verified before being published.