Reed's e-mails to Gilley: `I love you'

June 14, 2001

KNOXVILLE — Former University of Tennessee administrator Pamela Reed wrote e-mails to three of her bosses, including former president J. Wade Gilley, that professed her love for Gilley.

She wrote to Gilley on May 27: ``I love you. I really do and I will never make the statement to the press or anyone else that could harm you about our relationship. To me it was a dream come true and I was glad to give you part of your life back.''

The university released on Wednesday about 900 pages of e-mails primarily from Reed to Gilley and two other supervisors -- Dwayne McCay, vice president for research and information technology, and Hank Herrod, the dean of the UT College of Medicine in Memphis.

The e-mails were released as the university announced that Reed, 44, had resigned from the university. They said an internal investigation found that she falsified or embellished items on her resume and she chose to resign rather than face termination.

Her resignation comes 11 days after Gilley resigned as president, citing health reasons and stresses of the job.

`Personal' e-mails

The university had released hundreds of e-mails between Gilley and Reed last week, but not e-mail from Reed to two other administrators because they were ``too personal.''

The university released those e-mails Wednesday, but in one e-mail to Gilley from Reed, some words and phrases were blacked out, apparently by university officials.

``The university administration will not comment further on this correspondence,'' school officials said in a statement.

In that e-mail, written May 23, Reed alerted Gilley to a story planned by an are newspaper that questioned her credentials and detailed her past litigation, including a sexual harassment lawsuit against Delta Airlines, where she was a ticket agent.

The next day, she wrote to Gilley: ``I never thought I would say this, but I wish I had never met you. I think you are a good person, but you have brought terrible destruction to my life.''

She later said: ``Perhaps it is time you had a talk with Nan in case the truth surfaces.''

Nan is Gilley's wife of 40 years.

`Professional and social'

On May 26, the day after the newspaper published its story, Reed said the newspaper was trying to ``character assassinate me then to link me to you.''

She said that, if asked, she would describe her relationship with him as ``professional and social'' and if anyone inferred ``anything of a more personal nature,'' she would just say no.

Later in the e-mail she said: ``I love you. I hope this proves it to you.''

She forwarded the e-mail to Herrod, saying, ``you are the only person at the university I trust to protect the president.''

Gilley, who promoted Reed in March, resigned June 1, less than two years into a five-year contract.

In the e-mails released by the university, Gilley, 62, never addresses Reed in a way that implies a romantic relationship. He answers her succinctly and professionally.

The most personal e-mail was written on April 23 when he told Reed: ``I am sorry you are upset but I would hope that you would take into account my age and my health. I can get all the rest I can get on the weekends. I am encouraging staff to not call me on the weekends regardless unless it is an emergency.''

Reed answered: ``That is just it, I am not your staff, I am not `other people,' or at least I didn't think I was to you.''

In other e-mails, Reed is more despondent.

``I want to die. I wish I were out of town for a month. Please ask them to make me a reasonable offer. I want out. Really I do. I am so very tired and fear it will cost me my life,'' she wrote to Gilley. The date of that e-mail was unclear.

Gilley, in response to questions about the investigation into Reed's resume, wrote: ``If we all do the right thing, the university will be the better for it. The process must be correct and the results must be right and fair.''