Category Archives: Administration

UC Davis chancellor faces questions about scandal

Mercury News: UC Davis chancellor faces questions about scandal

SACRAMENTO—An admissions scandal at the University of Illinois has reached California, where an incoming campus chancellor is facing questions about a secretive process that benefited the children of politicians and the politically connected.

Linda Katehi, a provost and head of academic affairs at the university’s main campus in Champaign, denies wrongdoing and has not been called to testify in a state investigation.

Nevada Chancellor Urges Board to Fire UNLV Chief

Inside Higher Ed: Nevada Chancellor Urges Board to Fire UNLV Chief

The chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education, whose own term is due to end this month, recommended to the system’s regents Tuesday that they fire David Ashley, president of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. The letter from Chancellor James E. Rogers to the members of the Board of Regents, recommended that “Dr. Ashley’s contract not be renewed and that you consider immediate termination of the contract as president…. [T]he problems that have become the subject of much media attention recently are the problems that I long ago asked him and expected him to correct.” Ashley’s performance has been the subject of significant news coverage and he returned from a trip to Singapore last week amid rumors that he would resign.

N.C. State’s New Leader Revokes Added Pay for Provost Who Resigned

AP: Woodward: Former provost salary package ‘invalid’

RALEIGH (AP) — The interim chancellor of N.C. State has eliminated the lucrative resignation package given to the former campus provost, saying in a letter released Tuesday that the deal was “invalid.”

Interim chancellor Jim Woodward said in the letter that former Chancellor James Oblinger did not have the authority to “fundamentally alter” the 2005 employment agreement of former provost Larry Nielsen. Woodward said Oblinger should have sought the approval of the board of trustees.

Texas A&M Regents Name an Interim Leader for Flagship

The Chronicle: Texas A&M Regents Name an Interim Leader for Flagship

One day after Elsa A. Murano announced her resignation as president of Texas A&M University’s main campus here, the university system’s Board of Regents on Monday appointed R. Bowen Loftin, leader of the system’s Galveston branch campus, as the flagship’s interim president.

Long-Serving President of U. of Virginia Will Retire Next Year

The Chronicle: Long-Serving President of U. of Virginia Will Retire Next Year

John T. Casteen III, the longtime president of the University of Virginia, announced today that he would step down at the end of the 2009-10 academic year.

Mr. Casteen, who is 65 and has been president of the university since 1990, is known as a forceful advocate for increasing the ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of the university’s Charlottesville campus, which for much of its history has been mostly white, male, and privileged.

President of Texas A&M’s Flagship Resigns Under Pressure

The Chronicle: President of Texas A&M’s Flagship Resigns Under Pressure

The embattled president of Texas A&M University at College Station, Elsa A. Murano, has resigned, effective today. Her announcement on Sunday came one day before a special meeting of the system’s Board of Regents during which she was expected to be fired or forced to resign.

Inside Higher Ed: Texas Showdown

An unusually public battle between the president of Texas A&M University’s flagship campus and her boss, Chancellor Mike McKinney, ended Sunday as the president announced her resignation, effective today. Elsa Murano’s job had been in limbo since McKinney, the system head, gave her a particularly stinging evaluation.

Greenwood chosen as new UHawaii president

Honolulu Star Bulletin: Greenwood chosen as new UH president

The University of Hawaii Board of Regents unanimously selected M.R.C. Greenwood today to become the next UH president after current UH President David McClain steps down on July 31.

Greenwood, 66, will be the first woman to lead the 10 campus UH system.

Greenwood will be paid $475,008 a year, board chairman Allan Landon said. But if UH administrators, as expected, are asked to take a salary cut because of the state’s budget crisis, Greenwood’s salary would be reduced by the same percentage.

McClain makes $414,096. Landon said the regents raised the salary for the position because a salary survey showed that was the amount needed to attract top candidates.

In a written statement, Greenwood said: “I am honored to be selected as the next president of the University of Hawaii. I know, and appreciate, how vitally important the university is to the state of Hawaii.”

“I am proud and very pleased to be joining such a fine institution, one that is and will continue to be, a vital resource to the state of Hawaii, the Asia-Pacific region and the worldwide community.

“I know that I have much to learn about Hawaii and its rich cultural and linguistic heritage. I believe that to succeed in the future one must appreciate the lessons and values of the past.”

Greenwood will start no later than Aug. 24, Landon said. She will have a three-year contract with options for renewal for each of the next two years. The position also comes with the use of College Hill, the UH president’s residence, a car allowance and expense account.

Landon said Greenwood was “the best fit” as president, citing her research background and experience in higher education.

He said he was confident she would be able to learn and adjust to the local culture here.

Greenwood has extensive experience as a university administrator and is a noted researcher in nutrition and obesity, but she also comes with some ethical baggage.

She resigned as provost, the second highest position in the UC system, in the midst of a investigation into her participation in the hiring of a friend and business partner for a high-paying position in the UC system office. The investigation found that she had violated the university’s conflict of interest policy by not reporting her shared ownership of a rental property and that she should not have participated in hiring her friend. Greenwood has since admitted her mistake and apologized.

The UH president search committee said it vetted Greenwood and concluded that what happened was an inadvertent mistake.

Landon said the search committee and the regents were confident that Greenwood’s participation in the hiring of a friend and business partner were an uncharacteristic mistake and that she had learned from it.

“If anyone has ever gone through this, it is a painful, painful experience,” Landon said. “Dr. Greenwood brings the silver lining of that dark cloud with her.”

Greenwood is currently director of the Foods For Health Initiative at the University of California at Davis. She also served as chancellor at UC Santa Cruz for eight years and worked in the White House Office of Science and Technology during the Clinton administration.

McClain pledged his full support to Greenwood, who will become the 14th UH president and said he would work with her during the transition.

Public testimony before the regents went into executive session was split on Greenwood.

UH Professor David Ross, speaking for the Faculty Senate, said they trusted the faculty representatives on the search committee and “we do not believe we can do better than Dr. Greenwood by going down the list.”

Ross said the worst thing that could happen would be for the regents to appoint an interim president while the search continued. “We think the choice is clear,” he said.

But Doodie Downs, an information center specialist at Hawaii Community College, urged the regents to expand the search.

“One candidate left standing is not enough,” she said. “This is not a choice.”

Downs said she would like to see someone who understands Hawaii.

“This particular candidate has a shadow over her,” Downs added.

Several native Hawaiian faculty and campus organizations also testified against Greenwood’s selection, asking the regents to appoint an interim president from among the current UH leadership, who they said would better understand Hawaii and the budget cuts that are coming.

J.N. Musto, the executive director of the UH faculty union, pointed out that the regents are also being asked to approve Mike Rota as chancellor of Honolulu Community College. Rota, Musto noted, was not on the search committee’s list of finalists for the position.

Liana Hofschneider, former chairwoman of the UH Student Congress, told the regents Greenwood would be the right choice.

“More (candidates) doesn’t mean it’s better,” she said.

The University of Hawaii Board of Regents unanimously selected M.R.C. Greenwood today to become the next UH president after current UH President David McClain steps down on July 31.

Greenwood, 66, will be the first woman to lead the 10 campus UH system.

Idaho: ‘Inspiration officer’ paid $112,500 over nine months at UI

The Spokesman-Review: Faculty question expert’s earnings
‘Inspiration officer’ paid $112,500 over nine months at UI

MOSCOW, Idaho – The University of Idaho is paying a Minnesota consultant who spends less than two weeks a month on the Moscow campus $112,500 to serve as its “chief inspiration officer,” according to public records.

The Moscow-Pullman Daily News reports the university signed a contract with Magaly Rodriguez last year, paying her $12,500 a month as part of a nine-month contract that expires in June.

The workshops conducted by Rodriguez have helped save programs, school administrators said, but some faculty are criticizing the contract signed during the same budget year the school was forced to cut about $3.8 million.

In Researcher’s Background, Some Warning Signs

The Chronicle: In Researcher’s Background, Some Warning Signs

When Robert D. Felner applied to become dean of education at the University of Louisville in 2003, he carried a genuinely impressive vita. But two of the most recent large grants listed on that vita could not have survived close scrutiny — and it isn’t clear that Louisville’s search committee scrutinized them at all.

Education Dean’s Fraud Case Teaches U. of Louisville a Hard Lesson

The Chronicle: Education Dean’s Fraud Case Teaches U. of Louisville a Hard Lesson

The former official now awaits trial. Some colleagues say the university should have caught him earlier.
Related materials

At the end of 2005, Robert D. Felner was riding high. A well-paid dean at the University of Louisville, he had just secured a $694,000 earmarked grant from the U.S. Department of Education to create an elaborate research center to help Kentucky’s public schools.

U. of Hawaii Names Sole Finalist for Presidency

The Chronicle News Blog: U. of Hawaii Names Sole Finalist for Presidency

M.R.C. Greenwood, a former provost of the University of California system, is the only finalist in the University of Hawaii’s search for its next president, Hawaii officials said yesterday.

UNC system head is ‘very disappointed’ in Campbell’s role in the hiring of Mary Easley; Wants NCSU Board Chairman Out

News & Observer: Bowles wants NCSU chairman out
UNC system head is ‘very disappointed’ in Campbell’s role in the hiring of Mary Easley.

The president of the University of North Carolina system has asked McQueen Campbell, chairman of the N.C. State University board, to resign immediately after learning this week that Campbell played a role in hiring former first lady Mary Easley.

UWisconsin-Parkside chancellor candidates offer a variety of styles

Kenosha News: UW-P chancellor candidates offer a variety of styles
Five will head to Madison for sit-down interviews May 19

Now that the tribe — or at least the faculty, staff and students of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside — has spoken, the five finalists for the school’s top job have one more challenge before being named sole survivor in the search for a new chancellor.

The UW System is taking extra precautions with the search after last year’s pick of Robert Felner from the University of Louisville crashed before he started.

Felner was a favorite from the search committee leader and was touted as the perfect fit, but resigned after coming under investigation for stealing millions in grant money. He has since been indicted. A “no confidence vote” in Louisville also came to light after his selection. Although some members of the search committee were aware of that, the information wasn’t shared with the UW System president.

The New School’s Kerrey Is to Step Down in 2011

The New York Times: The New School’s Kerrey Is to Step Down in 2011

Bob Kerrey, whose eight years as president of the New School have been marked by rising enrollment and faculty expansion but also by criticism and recent student protests, announced on Thursday that he would step down when his contract expires on July 1, 2011. Mr. Kerrey, 65, revealed his decision Wednesday evening to the university’s board of trustees at their final meeting of the academic year. The board unanimously passed a resolution reaffirming its support for Mr. Kerrey and committing itself to a smooth transition.

Colorado State U. Board Picks One of Its Own as Sole Finalist for Chancellor’s Post

The Chronicle News Blog: Colorado State U. Board Picks One of Its Own as Sole Finalist for Chancellor’s Post

The Board of Governors of Colorado State University has chosen its own vice chairman, Joe Blake, as the sole finalist for the new position of chancellor of the university system, the board announced today.

President of Struggling Medical University Abruptly Resigns

The Chronicle: President of Struggling Medical University Abruptly Resigns

Susan A. Kelly, who had led Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science for three years, had encountered angry resistance when she announced budget cuts in February.

U. of California Taps Leaders for Davis and San Francisco Campuses

The Chronicle News Blog: U. of California Taps Leaders for Davis and San Francisco Campuses

The University of California system announced today that two women with hefty scientific credentials would take over as chancellors of the system’s Davis and San Francisco campuses. The two face final approval by the system’s Board of Regents, according to a news release.

The choice for chancellor of the Davis campus is Linda P.B. Katehi, 55, who is provost of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Ms. Katehi, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, was dean of engineering at Purdue University before her stint in Illinois, which began in 2006. As provost she is the chief budgetary and academic officer.

Susan Desmond-Hellmann was picked to lead the San Francisco campus, which has a heavy health-sciences focus. Dr. Desmond-Hellmann, 51, is a physician who has worked on cancer research for most of her career. She spent 14 years at Genentech Inc., the pioneering biotechnology company, most recently as president of product development.

Chicago State University president: Next President Wayne Watson booed by students, faculty

Chicago Tribune: Chicago State University president: Next President Wayne Watson booed by students, faculty

Retiring City Colleges chief and the other finalist have been criticized as local political insiders

As students and faculty booed, Chicago State University trustees Wednesday picked Wayne Watson, the retiring City Colleges of Chicago chancellor, as the university’s next president.

The choice came after weeks of controversy at the South Side school, with the faculty urging Gov. Pat Quinn to stop the board from picking one of the two finalists, and students holding several protests about those they described on T-shirts as “lousy candidates.”

Northwest Florida State College trustees vote to fire college president

Miami Herald: Trustees vote to fire college president Bob Richburg

The trustees of Northwest Florida State College just voted to fire president Bob Richburg, the man who hired Rep. Ray Sansom and was indicted along with him earlier this month. The vote was 4 to 3.

Ohio: Presidential search records destroyed at Hocking College

Columbus Dispatch: Presidential search records destroyed at Hocking College

NELSONVILLE, Ohio — The president of Hocking College’s faculty union was astonished when she received public records she requested from her employer.

It’s what she didn’t receive — faculty and staff evaluations of the finalist who is the union’s apparent choice as the college’s new president — that led her to denounce the selection process as a “fiasco.”