Fired St. Louis manager arrives at settlement with licensee
The former g.m. of KWMU-FM, dismissed by the licensee University of Missouri-St. Louis five months ago, has reached a settlement with the school.
Patty Wente received $50,000 from the school, along with official recognition of her departure as a resignation, not a firing, and a letter of recommendation describing the station’s gains in audience and revenue under her 19-year management. Of the sum, $15,000 goes directly to Wente’s attorney.
In exchange, Wente agreed to drop a grievance filed against the university and will pursue no further claims against it. She also will not apply for jobs at KWMU or the school.
Wente confirmed to Current that UMSL reversed her firing and gave her a severance payment, but she declined to offer further details.
The other details above come from a document, said to be the Nov. 11 settlement, posted last week on the website of the Riverfront Times, the St. Louis newspaper that brought to light numerous complaints by current and former employees about Wente’s management. The text of the settlement is posted on the newspaper's site.
University Chancellor Thomas George fired Wente June 2 based on preliminary findings from a review of the station’s finances and management under her tenure.
Neither a university spokesman nor station staffers could be reached for comment.
Since leaving KWMU, Wente has worked as a fundraising consultant (thewentegroup.com) to public broadcasters and other clients, focusing on major giving and capital campaigns. She said her clients include New York’s WNYC, KUVO in Denver, Chicago Public Radio and WAMU in Washington, D.C.
Web page posted Dec. 2, 2008
Copyright 2008 by Current LLC