What does Bob Coury have to fear? Maybe nothing. But the drugmaker’s ceo refuses to say why the annual shareholder meeting, which has been held near its Pittsburgh headquarters for years, is suddenly scheduled to take place on April 25 several hours away at a hotel in Summit, New Jersey.

The move comes after a protracted period in which Mylan shares are depressed, and speculation on the Yahoo! message board suggests Coury is trying avoid shareholders. “Why has this meeting been changed to N.J.? I live in Pittsburgh and it has always been so convenient to drive south a few miles for the meeting,” one poster commented this week. “Is Coury afraid we are going to lynch him here? (He should be!!)”

The drugmaker declined comment when asked repeatedly by The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which first brought this to our attention, and we are also awaiting a reply. UPDATE: A Mylan spokesman says the shift in venues is designed to reflect Mylan’s new-found global ‘footprint’ in the wake of its expansion and Summit, he adds, is a suburb of New York. It’s also cheaper than Manhattan, but a schlep for busy Wall Streeters. Maybe Bob is househunting?

Shareholders have been vocal on the message board and at last year’s annual meeting in July at the Hilton Garden Inn in Cecil, Pennsvylvania, about the sharp decline in Mylan’s stock price. Recently, shares have been trading at near six-year lows, in the $11 to $12 range. A year ago, the stock was trading at around $21, the Gazette notes.

Generally, but not always, companies hold annual meetings in their headquarters town or at the site of a major operation, to make it convenient for the largest number of shareholders, employees and retirees. It is not known how many Mylan directors, executives and other employees will be making the trip to New Jersey at the company’s expense, according to the Gazette.

In recent years, Mylan’s meetings have been well-attended, drawing several hundred shareholders or more from around the region. A spokesperson for the Grand Summit Hotel said yesterday it has been told to set up a meeting room for roughly 100 people. Pharmalot is located just minutes from the hotel, so perhaps we can speak with Bob at that time. Although given current events, Bob doesn’t appear to be very responsive these days.

“Companies are supposed to be beholden to shareholders but a lot of times shareholders have a small voice and it’s hard to get companies to pay attention to them,” Jean Helwege, associate professor of finance at Penn State’s Smeal College of Business, tells the Gazette. Annual meetings “are the only way for minority voices to be heard.”

Relocating the Mylan meeting to New Jersey “doesn’t make me too happy,” Mylan shareholder Harry Marks tells the paper. The 82-year-old has attended most Mylan shareholder meetings in the 20 or so years he has owned the stock, and he addressed Coury at last year’s meeting, asking when he could expect Mylan’s stock price to recover. At the time, shares were trading at around $16.

The choice of venue for this year’s meeting, 30 minutes outside of New York City, could have broader significance. Sources close to Coury tell the Gazette that he had wanted to move Mylan’s headquarters to New York, but it remains unclear if such a move is currently under consideration.

Mylan officials have not responded to any Post-Gazette inquiries since the newspaper published a story Dec. 21 concerning Chief Operating Officer Heather Bresch’s academic credentials. The story questioned how West Virginia University officials went about awarding an M.B.A. degree to Ms. Bresch retroactively in October, even though official university records showed she did not earn it.

Ms. Bresch, daughter of West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin and a friend, former classmate and business associate of WVU President Michael Garrison, has said she received the degree in December 1998, but has declined to provide a transcript or other documentation.

An investigative panel made up of two WVU professors and three professors from other universities has been looking into the matter since January. They are expected to report their findings to WVU Provost Gerald Lang by the middle of this month.