December 10, 1999

Critics Say New College President in West Virginia Was Appointed for Wrong Reasons; Response to Gender-Bias Report Lands MIT Dean a New Job

By JULIANNE BASINGER and ROBIN WILSON

Joanne Tomblin has started work as the president of Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College amid accusations that she owes her new job to a couple of glaring facts. Her husband, Earl Ray Tomblin, is the State Senate President. And the other leading finalist for the college's presidency was black.

Ms. Tomblin, who is white, is popular in the hill towns her husband represents. She has spent the past 18 years working at the

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