Danny called it — interim two-year college chancellor Renee Culverhouse has resigned her position after serving only two months. Gee, I can’t imagine why:
Culverhouse has come under fire since taking over the interim chancellor position in March.
Most recently, state board of education members said they were surprised to learn she had hired a private criminal defense lawyer to represent her in connection with the ongoing investigation of the two-year college system.
Several board members also have criticized her for having four relatives employed by the system; hiring more legislators than any other college; and giving contracts to system officials tied to a criminal investigation.
The state school board appears to be pleased with this news.
“I told her I thought she was making the correct decision,” state school board member Mary Jane Caylor said today. “I’m extremely frustrated. We were not making progress in a very positive direction and now this. I understand why Renee has done this but it leaves us just where we were two months ago after Dr. Corts abruptly resigned.”
We’re extremely frustrated as well, Ms. Caylor, and I have to wonder why the school board chose to hire Culverhouse in the first place. The two-year college system came into being as a vehicle for political patronage, so we shouldn’t be surprised that it’s rife with corruption. And we shouldn’t be surprised that a chancellor chosen from within that system would be tainted. I wonder who’s waiting in the wings to take on this turkey.
Bevill St. president Harold Wade, about 2 weeks ago: “I wouldn’t get up outta the electric chair to take that job!”
I predict we’ll see an interim person installed this week, primarily because the system requires one in place with authority to make sure all the bills get paid, etc.
The college presidents, as a group, really hold the power. Question is, are any of them willing to step into the crosshairs, even temporarily? Or are we in a holding pattern till late summer, expecting the Gov. might try then to sweet-talk Ed Richardson out of retirement and into a big ol’ housecleaning at Postsecondary?
Her health troubles are not new; the past few months really haven’t helped. So, take it from me that this isn’t the PR-version of “spend more time with family”.
Jeff, I’m sure seeing her name in the paper almost daily hasn’t improved her health. That stress alone would be enough to make most people ill. If Tom Corts couldn’t make any headway in cleaning up the mess, I’m not sure anyone can. Harold Wade probably said what all the other potential candidates are thinking.
Corts, while a very nice man, is very methodical and deliberate. I give him credit for realizing he had done as much as he could or would be allowed to do, and fleeing the scene with little fuss or fanfare.
He was also coming from a place where the trains run on time, and everything’s in order, and has been for ages, to a place of near-total chaos.
It’s going to take another Roy Johnson type, moreso than another Tom Corts type. Apart from Ed Richardson, I don’t know who else ’round here might qualify.
A “Roy Johnson” type to fix the mess? Um, it was the “Roy Johnson” type that got us into it in the first place.
Let me clarify: Roy Johnson’s a career politician. He knows everybody, and he knows how to work the system. He was working it to the hilt in building up the 2-year system. “Building an empire” some insiders called it; trying to make it grow so it wouldn’t get swallowed up by ACHE.
Roy took the system as he found it, and used it.
Tom Corts, on the other hand, came from outside the state’s education/governmental complex; he brought a completely respectable background, with impeccable credentials, etc. His temperament, his management skills, and his deliberate approach simply weren’t going to be enough to change things.
It will take someone who’s decisive, and enough of an insider, or who has enough experience to understand how things work, to effect change. Putting a nice fella with a spotless resume in the office just won’t be enough.
Jeff, the word around here is that Sen. Bradley Byrne will be the next chancellor. Any opinion on him?
My thought was that it would be good to bring in an outsider with experience running a statewide system, but you’re probably right about the need for someone with contacts and influence.
[...] This must be a good week for lawsuits. The AEA is not happy with the hiring of Sen. Bradley Byrne (R-Mobile) to run Alabama’s troubled two-year college system. It’s suing, alleging the state school board violated its own procedures when it hired Sen. Byrne to replace Renee Culverhouse, who resigned in early May. [...]