Recently, I wrote in this space about Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s nominees to the University of the District of Columbia Board of Trustees.
The qualifications of the six individuals — William Keating III, Sean N. Gough, George T. Simpson, Marcus T. Ellis, Clarence Labor Jr. and Marvin Lee — gave me great pause. Some people who read that column called me expressing their surprise about my support for the current crew of trustees.
What happened to reform? I was baffled by their confusion. I’m a straight talker — though I don’t tool around in a bus with those words in bold black letters on its side. Clearly something must have been lost in their translation.
Concerns about the current UDC board resurfaced after its executive committee announced last week the creation of an interim academic senate.
That move, which may have been illegal, effectively dissolved the existing university senate; a vote by the full board is expected later this month.
People I spoke with are worried that this latest misguided action will pit new President Allen Sessoms against the faculty, which he needs to effect critical changes at the land grant college.
“How do you like them, now?” one person asked.
He never explained whether he was talking about the current board or the six people proposed by the mayor.
There is little doubt the current board has been disastrous: It hired a mediocre president.
Although he failed to improve the university, it renewed his contract; within months it fired him.
That love-him-hate-him dance cost taxpayers more than a quarter-million dollars.
Further, under the current board a multimillion-dollar grant for an employment training program was misspent, according to an audit by the D.C. inspector general. This summer trustees selected a new president with a controversial past.
Help us!
UDC needs a fresh start. Replacing members of the current board, especially those whose terms have expired, is a necessary step in that transformation.
But, the six individuals nominated by the mayor lack the gravitas to aid in the aggressive rebuilding of the university.
Talking with people around the city, several other names have been offered: Former Mayor Anthony A. Williams, former Deputy Mayor George Brown, civic leader Ellie Anderson, management and leadership consultant Donald Wilson, former D.C. Councilwoman Kathy Patterson, public relations executive Tony Bullock, and D.C. Public Schools principal Maria Tukeva are among those identified.
Separately and collectively, they have a breadth of experience and associations.
Some current UDC trustees, hoping to keep their positions, have been lobbying the D.C. Council, which has yet to schedule confirmation hearings on the mayor’s nominees.
Fenty’s choices may not be acceptable. Retaining the existing board membership is equally unacceptable.
The District is rich with talent — education experts, master fundraisers, corporate turnaround magicians and image-makers. Finding the right civic-minded people and persuading them to accept a short-term assignment isn’t difficult — unless the mayor is determined to stay in his own political backyard.
