Jim Oblinger, who resigned the chancellor's job at NC State in June, recently told The N&O's Eric Ferreri that he had learned from his mistakes. Among them, Oblinger said, was that he should have responded more quickly to reporters' questions in the months leading up to his resignation. 

I and others had urged Oblinger to give a full explanation of his role in the hiring of former first lady Mary Easley at NC State. Click here to read a column on the matter.

But Oblinger typically recoiled from talking with us this spring, even as new information emerged. I believe Oblinger received some bad advice from within NC State, urging him not to explain himself to The N&O; in the end, of course, a chancellor makes his own decisions about what he is and isn't going to do.

Oblinger now is one of five finalists for the presidency at New Mexico State University. Some faculty members there are unhappy that Oblinger, given the circumstances of his leaving the top job at NC State, is a finalist there. That's up to the New Mexico State board to decide. In many ways, Oblinger was a successful chancellor at NC State. We wish him the best of luck in his next endeavor, whether at New Mexico State, NC State or elsewhere. 

--John Drescher