According to Middletown Democrat for Township Committee Jim Grenafege, Middletown Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger used his Monmouth University E-mail account to campaign for Middletown Republican candidates for the governing body.
“It is disgraceful to use a university’s name to debase someone in a political campaign,” Middletown Democrat for Township Committee Patricia A. Walsh said. “Mr. Scharfenberger has done nothing than attempt to lower the dignity of a great academic institution in the name of partisan politics. Of course his nonsense fails, but he should be reprimanded for the attempt.”
Mr. Scharfenberger is an instructor at the university.
Walsh, a graduate of Carnegie-Mellon, in Pennsylvania, and Grenafege, a graduate of Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, both believe that Monmouth University is an institution that is on the rise academically where it involves its prestige and brand.
“I have full confidence in the ability of the university to address this matter externally, because university officials have already assured me that they have addressed it internally,” Grenafege said. Walsh echoed his sentiments.
Grenafege said that actions, such as Mr. Scharfenberger’s, open up the university for sharp criticism and even questions where it involves its not-for-profit status, not to mention the overall objectivity of an institution that is attempting to emerge as one that polls various public questions. “I believe that Mr. Scharfenberger’s actions were quite unfortunate,” Grenafege said.
Note: I made a few phone calls over to Monmouth University yesterday to inquire about Mr. Scharfenberger's use of it's email system for political purposes but so far I have not received any response. I'll keep trying in order to see how the University feels about it.
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