New jail warden claims diploma, but school has no record

Posted 7:00PM on Saturday 4th May 2002 ( 23 years ago )

MOBILE, ALABAMA - The new Mobile County jail warden's claim of a degree from a Georgia college could not be confirmed by the school's registrar and his graduate degrees came from an online diploma business, the Mobile Register reported Saturday. Kenneth W. Cooper, 48, of Valdosta, Ga., hired by Sheriff Jack Tillman, began work Monday on a $54,000 annual salary. Shannon C. Weekley, director of the Mobile County Personnel Board, said that when applying for the warden's job, Cooper checked ``yes'' on a questionnaire asking if he had a college degree. But no one investigated further. Cooper stated on a resume that he received a bachelor of science in physical education from Valdosta State College, now Valdosta State University. He also has said he has master's and doctorate degrees from Americus University in Wilmington, Del. Americus offers degress online for a price ``within 20 days'' based on ``life experiences.'' Valdosta State's registrar said Kenneth W. Cooper who would now be 48 attended the school from September 1973 to May 1978, but there was no record of him receiving a degree. Cooper on his resume indicated he began at the college in 1973 and finished with a degree in 1976. Cooper told the Register on Friday that he has a diploma from the college and could provide a transcript of his grades. He had not done so as of late Friday. Tillman said he had interviewed ``four or five'' candidates and chose Cooper because he considered him the best person for the job. He said he had never met Cooper before the interview. Tillman also said members of the Sheriff's Department's internal affairs unit had conducted a thorough investigation of Cooper's background. ``I don't care if he's got one degree or five. He was the best candidate for the job,'' Tillman said. ``He was hired on his work experience.'' Assistant District Attorney George Hardesty said that lying on an application for a job through a county agency, such as the Sher iff's Department, could be a criminal offense. It would be a misdemeanor punishable by up to three months in jail or a $500 fine. Cooper would not discuss what courses he studied at Americus University to obtain the advanced degrees. Cooper's resume also indicated that he attended Troy State University in 1971-72. He also told the Register that he had played football for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa from 1971 to 1972. Neither the university's sports information department nor the Bear Bryant Museum in Tuscaloosa could find any record of him playing or being a member of the team at any point. On Friday, Cooper said he never actually played for the Crimson Tide. He said he had gone out for spring practice for a ``few weeks'' in 1971 but was injured and never got to play. He said he ``put on a uniform for spring practice but got injured in 1971.'' Larry White, associate athletic director for media relations at Alabama, said, a person can't try out for the team or participate in spring practice without being enrolled at the university. Cathy Andreen, spokeswoman for the university, said, ``We have no record of him enrolling. He never enrolled.'' Cooper, who grew up near Valdosta, in south Georgia, said that he never did enroll and was never a student at Alabama. But, he said, the school's famed coach Bear Bryant had called him and wanted him to try out for the team.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/5/195085