Category Archives: Administration

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Former Morris Brown president sentenced to 5 years probation

Morris Brown College’s former president and financial aid director avoided prison time in a sentencing hearing in federal court Wednesday.

U.S. District Court Judge Julie Carnes sentenced Dolores Cross to five years probation, 12 months home confinement and 500 hours in community service for her role in a financial aid scheme at the historically black college in Atlanta. Cross, 70, pleaded guilty in May to one count of embezzlement for defrauding the government of financial aid money, admitting to knowingly accepting money for students who were not enrolled to try to ward off the school’s impending financial crisis. Cross will pay $13,942 in restitution to the government, the amount the federal Department of Education said it is owed stemming from the fraud charge, and a $3,000 fine. Cross and former financial aid director Parvesh Singh were charged in a 34-count federal indictment in 2004 for misappropriating student financial aid.

Inside Higher Ed: Battle of the Boards

n an unorthodox move, North Carolina’s State Board of Community Colleges has passed a resolution admonishing the Board of Trustees of Blue Ridge Community College for failing to oversee how the college’s president has operated its baseball program.

Specifically, the state board suggested that Blue Ridge trustees had not acted aggressively enough after a special review by the state auditor found myriad violations, including the baseball coach’s misuse of work-study payments, improper use of state funds and a possible conflict of interest in a financial deal that involved the college and a company owned by the board chairman.

Inside Higher Ed: Popular Move at Gallaudet

Gallaudet University’s board named an interim president Sunday — and in a break with recent turmoil on the campus, the selection of Robert Davila won immediate praise from hundreds who gathered in a campus auditorium to hear the announcement. “We don’t need to be reminded of our recent experiences here,” said Pamela Holmes, chair of the board. “Life brings great pain, but we must all look forward to the future.”

Philadelphia Inquirer: Two more Temple officials exit

Temple University is undergoing a major change in leadership, nearly six months into the tenure of its new president. Two of the top four administrators under the president at Temple announced their departure within a week of each other, both for jobs at prestigious private universities. A third resigned shortly before Ann Weaver Hart assumed the presidency on July 1.

Washington Post: Gallaudet Accrediting Decision Put Off

A decision on Gallaudet University’s accreditation has been postponed, with an oversight group expressing serious concerns about recent developments at the school for the deaf.

The university is still accredited while the decision is delayed.

Washington Post: Incoming President Draws Praise

Steven Knapp comes to the presidency of George Washington University by way of Yale, Cornell, UC-Berkeley and Johns Hopkins, where he has been provost for the past 10 years and helped land a $50 million gift, just announced. He continued teaching English literature even as he handled major crises at Hopkins, testified before Congress and led the school when the president was out of town.

Detroit Free Press: EMU turmoil prompts 3 regents to step down

Three of Eastern Michigan University’s eight regents have resigned, saying they think it’s time for another set of regents to try to fix the university’s festering problems.

The Chronicle News Blog: Faculty Vote of No Confidence Hits President of 2-Year College in California

Full-time faculty members at MiraCosta College, a two-year institution in California, have overwhelmingly voted no confidence in the leadership of the college’s president, Victoria Muñoz Richart.

Tallahassee Democrat: Search still on at FAMU
A first look at the top candidates who could become Florida A&M University’s next president will emerge this week after a search process that has taken more than a year.

National Conference of State Legislatures:

NCSL commission releases recommendations for state legislatures in new report

DENVER — More Americans must finish college if our country is to prosper in the global society, and it’s up to state legislators to make that happen. Those are recommendations from the final report of the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Blue Ribbon Commission on Higher Education, released today.

Akron Beacon-Journal: Panel would unite schools

A state legislator introduced a bill Tuesday that could require Northeast Ohio’s state universities to collaborate more.

A proposal by Rep. James Trakas, R-Independence, would create a study commission to spur cooperation among Kent State, the University of Akron, Youngstown State, Cleveland State and the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine.

Houston Chronicle: TSU board picks ‘rigid’ leader as interim president
He says his Air Force skills will help him direct university

The governing board of Texas Southern University, still reeling from a spending scandal and layoffs, appointed a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general as interim president Monday

Inside Higher Ed:

The Boston Globe: Leader forgoes campus salary

Derek Bok agreed to give up a year of his retirement to step in as interim president of Harvard University, and to heal the wounds left by the abrupt departure of Lawrence H. Summers.

Houston Chronicle: Slade faces claims of lying

Former Texas Southern University President Priscilla Slade may have lied to the grand jury that later indicted her, Harris County prosecutors told a judge Monday.

Prosecutor Donna Goode sought to unseal Slade’s grand jury testimony so that Slade’s former assistant can review it for inconsistencies.

The New York Times: Erasing Divide, College Leaders Take to Blogging

Some university presidents are vaulting the digital and generational divide and starting their own blogs.

Des Moines Register: Expert: Regents met unlawfully

The secrecy surrounding the University of Iowa’s failed presidential search may color a second search for a new leader, said an Iowa expert and advocate for open government.

The Iowa Board of Regents, which voted Friday to reject four finalists and disband the presidential search, met in closed session several times in the past week without announcing each meeting, a requirement of the Iowa Open Meetings Law. Regents said the meetings were separate sessions of a closed-session meeting that started Nov. 9. Regent Bob Downer said Saturday that the board’s lawyer said that meant they did not have to announce the meetings.