Category Archives: Administration

Inside Higher Ed: A Board Implodes Over N-Word

Roger Williams University announced last week that its board chair of nearly 40 years, Ralph R. Papitto, a major donor for whom the law school is named, was retiring from the board. The press release praised Papitto’s “visionary leadership” and said that he considered the diversification of the board as one of his greatest accomplishments.

Times-Picayune: LSU’s new chief may ruffle feathers in his pursuit of national excellence

The best predictor of what kind of president the Louisiana State University System is getting in John Vincent Lombardi is what he has done in his previous jobs. That seems to be what Lombardi himself would suggest.

“We need the past because we humans prove quite predictable,” the 64-year-old historian wrote in 1998. “We do similar things and find similar solutions to similar problems. We respond to challenge and opportunity in ways that track a relatively narrow range of alternatives.”

So, if Lombardi’s pattern holds true after his unanimous appointment Friday by the LSU System Board of Supervisors, the Golden Band from Tigerland will soon welcome a new guest marcher. He’ll arrive in an unassuming pickup truck, wearing black-rimmed spectacles befitting a professor and sporting a pair of suspenders, probably purple and gold. He’ll wield a clarinet and a sharp tongue, with more than a few strong opinions at the ready.

Philadelphia Inquirer: Lehigh U. official arrested in child-sex sting

A high-ranking Lehigh University administrator was arrested by Delaware County police today on charges that he went online to solicit sex with what he believed to be two elementary school-age girls and their mother.

Steven J. Devlin, of Bryn Mawr, who works as vice provost of institutional research at Lehigh, was charged this morning with criminal intent to commit rape, aggravated indecent assault, and involuntary deviant sexual intercourse, police said.

San Francisco Chronicle: Faculty angry with president over music center — price has spiraled to $100 million

Sonoma State University’s longtime president is under attack by faculty members for his seemingly single-minded quest to build a world-class music center, a dream critics say is siphoning money and staff time away from the campus’ day-to-day academic needs.

The Green Music Center at Sonoma State was first proposed as a small choral hall to serve students. But after campus President Ruben Armiñana visited the famed Tanglewood concert hall in Massachusetts in 1996, he was inspired to think big for his small campus in Rohnert Park.

Sun-Sentinel: Some question judgment of FAU president in accepting free cruise

Florida Atlantic University President Frank Brogan accepted a $7,362 Caribbean cruise in late 2005from Barry Kaye, a major donor whose relationship with the university has faced scrutiny in recent months.

Kaye, a Boca Raton insurance magnate, has pledged a total of $17 million to FAU, but has also recently sought to do business with the school.

The Guardian: Secret list of universities facing collapse

A secret list of nearly 50 universities and colleges at risk of financial failure has been drawn up by government officials since tuition fees were introduced, the Guardian has learned.

Boston Globe: Embattled UMass chancellor could be next in line for top LSU job

The embattled chancellor of the University of Massachusetts flagship campus is a finalist for the top job at Louisiana State University, according to a person familiar with LSU’s presidential search.

The Washington Post: Accrediting Agency Puts Gallaudet On Probation

Gallaudet University was put on probation today by its accrediting agency, a warning sign that problems persist months after protests shut down the school for the deaf.

“We wanted to avoid that label,” President Robert Davila said yesterday. “But we may look back on all this . . . as a blessing in disguise. It gives us an opportunity to change, and change is good.”

Inside Higher Ed: President Behind Bars

The president of Rocky Mountain College, in Billings, Mont., won the unanimous backing of the board of trustees on Friday morning — more than two weeks after he was arrested for allegedly slapping a man in the face and spent a night in jail.

The board’s resolution, if final, would bring another twist to the highly unusual spectacle of a sitting college president being charged with a violent act — in this case, battery, a misdemeanor. It is unclear whether any clause in Mace’s contract with the college would be invoked depending on the outcome of his trial, which is set for Aug. 23. He has plead not guilt

The Chronicle: 2 Presidents of Colleges in Alabama’s Troubled 2-Year System Resign

The presidents of two community colleges in Alabama’s scandal-plagued two-year-college system are resigning amid federal and state investigations into financial dealings at their institutions.

The Billings Gazette: RMC president was jailed in Indiana assault case

Michael R. Mace, president of Rocky Mountain College, was arrested in Indiana earlier this month on misdemeanor battery charges and spent one night in jail, according to police records.

The Chronicle: Indiana State U. President Announces His Resignation, Effective Next Summer

One year after receiving a “no confidence” vote from the faculty, the president of Indiana State University publicly announced his resignation on Friday.

The Chronicle: Accreditor’s Probation Provides Chilly Welcome for Incoming President of Florida A&M U.

James H. Ammons will face immediate challenges when he takes over next month as president of Florida A&M University, including straightening out financial irregularities and proving to the institution’s accreditor that it should be taken off probation.

Tallahassee Democrat: Auditor: FAMU fix needs scrutiny

Chronic mismanagement and loss of property at Florida A&M University might be “something more than sloppiness,” a state auditor told the special task force on FAMU operations Thursday.

State Board of Governors member Lynn Pappas, who chairs the Task Force on FAMU Financial and Operational Control Issues, said it might be time for a “forensic audit” into some of the 35 critical findings cited in an April operation audit of FAMU.

The Chronicle: Accreditor Puts Florida A&M on Probation for Financial and Administrative Problems

The accrediting association that oversees Florida A&M University has voted to place the historically black public college on six-months’ probation, citing financial and managerial problems.

San Diego Union-Tribune: MiraCosta president resigns amid upheavals

MiraCosta College President Victoria Muñoz Richart resigned early this morning, following a year marked by lawsuits, three administrative departures, and a no confidence vote in her leadership by the faculty.