[2006alum]

Unlike some speculation here, it did not come out on a Friday afternoon in July and it was not a whitewash.

That was my speculation. And no, it didn't come out on a Friday, and it wasn't a whitewash. But it was terse, and there was no contact person (which discourages further interaction by the press). I doubt Ms. Lam will be made available for interviews or e-mailed questions. And given her background, one wouldn't expect it.

One other thing I didn't mention...when more than one less-than-positive news items are imminent, it's not a bad idea to put them on top of each other. The recently-disclosed news from the SLS (which doesn't need to be repeated here) can have the effect of blunting the earlier less-than-positive news.

True, though I almost wonder if it's the other way around - whatever the outcome at SLS was going to be, it brings that back into the news cycle when I know the Dean would love to never think about it again. MTL is probably suckling up the oxygen left to focus on some assistant dean of one of the grad schools...

[2006alum]

Unlike some speculation here, it did not come out on a Friday afternoon in July and it was not a whitewash.

That was my speculation. And no, it didn't come out on a Friday, and it wasn't a whitewash. But it was terse, and there was no contact person (which discourages further interaction by the press). I doubt Ms. Lam will be made available for interviews or e-mailed questions. And given her background, one wouldn't expect it.

One other thing I didn't mention...when more than one less-than-positive news items are imminent, it's not a bad idea to put them on top of each other. The recently-disclosed news from the SLS (which doesn't need to be repeated here) can have the effect of blunting the earlier less-than-positive news.

True, though I almost wonder if it's the other way around - whatever the outcome at SLS was going to be, it brings that back into the news cycle when I know the Dean would love to never think about it again. MTL is probably suckling up the oxygen left to focus on some assistant dean of one of the grad schools...