Saturday, January 24, 2015

Triad City Beat; "Jason Cannon’s resume questioned"

Eric Ginsburg

"Eric Robert, a downtown property owner who was not invited to rejoin Downtown Greensboro Inc.’s board with a slate of new candidates last week, is claiming the organization’s president lied on his résumé.

Robert said that Cannon wrote on his résumé that he had a master’s in public administration from NC State University but had not actually finished the degree.

“Jason told me that he was only missing one class,” Robert said. “It seems that the search committee was well aware of that and still they pushed him through. ...so the fact that he felt the need to lie about it is a little puzzling to me. The fact that the organization felt the need to cover it up is a little disturbing to me.”

...Councilman Zack Matheny, whose district includes much of downtown and who has butted heads with Cannon several times, said he would like an answer to the allegations that are also circulating online.

“I sent an email to Jason asking for information and he hasn’t responded,” Matheny said, adding that he has sent the question several times to no avail...

Matheny added that, since the city funds DGI, he would like an answer.

...Cannon declined to comment on the record to Triad City Beat about the issue.

...Downtown Greensboro Inc. sent out a press release at the time of Cannon’s hiring on September 16, 2013 that claims Cannon obtained the master’s degree. In the release, the information is attributed to then board chair Dawn Chaney, who was not part of the search committee. News reports in multiple outlets at the time quoted from the press release and wrote that Cannon completed the master’s program.

...Chaney could not immediately be reached for comment.

In 2013, Cannon was selected for Triad Business Journal’s “40 Leaders Under Forty” while still at the Greensboro Partnership. The profile on him, which is still online but predates his hiring at DGI, claims Cannon already had the master’s degree from NC State.

Triad Business Journal Editor Mark Sutter said it is possible that the person who nominated someone for the list would have provided the information on the questionnaire, but said that generally isn’t how the process works.

...“For the most part it is submitted information,” he said. “Typically it’s supplied by the person who is being honored.”

http://triad-city-beat.com/jason-cannons-resume-questioned/