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"Some college administrators seem so distracted with fund raising, academic infighting, and community initiatives that they set up their emergency communications departments very poorly. Training is poor to nonexistent, secretaries are pressed into service with tremendous responsibilities for running 'notification systems' 24/7 and on weekends because no one else knows how to do it and the administration won’t pay for additional staff. Procedures are seat-of-the-pants and dependent on HIPPO (highest paid person’s opinion), except when something like Virginia Tech happens and there is some sort of scramble to do something different." --Donna
Most Colleges Avoid Risk Management, Report Says
Jill Biden Shines a Global Spotlight on American Community Colleges
Speaking at a Unesco conference in Paris, the vice president’s wife stressed the importance of two-year institutions to the nation’s educational goals.
Connecticut Public Colleges Lose 200 Professors to Early Retirement
Administrators are scrambling to plug holes in their course schedules for fall, with most expecting to do so by hiring more adjuncts or increasing class sizes.
U. of Georgia Paid 2 Fraternities $2.4-Million to Relocate, Contracts Show
The two were among five with houses on property where the university plans to build new academic facilities.
New Allegations in Admissions Controversy at U. of Illinois Suggest Ex-Provost Played a Role
Linda P.B. Katehi, the incoming chancellor of the University of California at Davis, has insisted she knew nothing of the admission of politically connected applicants at Illinois.
Sonoma State U. Foundation May Lose $350,000 on Loan to Former Board Member
The foundation will be forced to issue fewer scholarships in the 2010-11 academic year because of a diminished endowment, a university official said.
College Suspends Student for Working in Gay Pornography | 58
President Obama's Visit to Notre Dame Carries Barely a Hint of Controversy That Preceded It | 58
Drug Sting Nabs 21 Students at U. of Illinois | 57
Faculty Members and Union Protest Staff Layoffs at Temple U. as 'Cruel' | 57
North Dakota Board's Vote Puts 'Fighting Sioux' Mascot on Thinner Ice | 57
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July 8, 2008
West Virginia U. Hires Former Chief of Land-Grant Association as Its Interim President
West Virginia University named today as its interim president C. Peter Magrath, a veteran leader in public higher education and president emeritus of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. Mr. Magrath, who is 75, has previously led four public universities, including long runs at the University of Missouri system and the University of Minnesota.
Also today, West Virginia University’s Board of Governors elected new officers and swore in three new members, including Charles M. Vest, president emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a West Virginia alumnus. Mr. Magrath begins his transition with the departing president, Michael S. Garrison, next week. The terms of Mr. Garrison’s severance agreement have not been finalized, according to a university official, who said Mr. Garrison would assist in the transition as a consultant.
The arrival of respected leaders such as Mr. Magrath and Mr. Vest is likely to be viewed as a successful step in the university’s efforts to move past a degree scandal that has dominated headlines in West Virginia since late last year, heightening questions that had followed the selection of Mr. Garrison, a former lobbyist, as president. Mountaineers for Integrity and Responsibility, a faculty-led group, praised both the board’s “outstanding choice” of an interim president and its newly elected officers.
However, the university continues to face challenges. A university spokeswoman confirmed to the Associated Press today that the West Virginia Ethics Commission had made preliminary inquiries about the university’s scandal-triggering decision to retroactively grant an unearned degree to the daughter of West Virginia’s governor.
While Mr. Magrath in a written statement acknowledged “bumps along the road” at West Virginia, he also said the university was a prestigious and great land-grant institution. “I’m all fired up and I’m ready to go,” he said during a news conference. —Paul Fain
Posted on Tuesday July 8, 2008 | Permalink |Comments
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The good in all this, if there is any, is that the alumni, faculty, students and financial supporters stood up and rejected a politically appointed president. We have a growing number of college and university presidents who are politicians but have no backgrount in the field they think they can lead. Seems polticians have no limitations in their belief in themselves. And yes Garrision was an “ol time” West Virginia poltician nothing more and nothing less.
— R. James Jul 9, 08:01 AM #
It is refreshing to see someone qualified in the post, though.
— Laura Jul 9, 09:14 AM #
WVU is the most beloved institution in West Virginia. Let’s hope that it now has leadership that understands the institution’s responsibility to the people of the great state.
— Mountain Man Jul 10, 10:47 AM #