The public will get a glimpse into the turbulence at the University of the District of Columbia today when the District Council opens hearings on the troubled city college.
University of the District of Columbia acting President Stanley Jackson will focus on his reform efforts at the school, but he told The Examiner Monday that “there’s been some challenges.”
“It’s going to take months to reconstruct,” he said.
The university, which has an annual budget of $63.5 million, is in the middle of at least two widening investigations into how it handled the public’s dollars. The Examiner reported earlier this year that university officials discovered nearly $18 million in unused funds at the close of the fiscal year.
That occurred at the same time the school was raising tuition by 40 percent over two years.
The faculty and students are in a state of near-revolt, said sources inside the university.
Much of the anger has zeroed in on Provost Wilhelmina M. Reuben-Cooke, who was responsible for the day-to-day operations at the university, sources said. A source close to Jackson told The Examiner he has asked Reuben-Cooke to find another job by the Spring semester.
Reuben-Cooke could not be reached for comment.
The university was founded in the mid-1970s in order to provide a top-flight education for the city’s poor and working class.
