A common theme emerged in the University of Akron community Wednesday after it had a day to process the sudden exit of President Scott Scarborough: It’s time to move in a positive direction.
Community leaders, business leaders, faculty and students all held out high hopes for the future after the Board of Trustees voted Tuesday on a mutual agreement with Scarborough to end his contract nearly two years into his five-year deal.
The first step is to regain trust, said John Zipp, president of the Akron chapter of the American Association of University Professors. He said the key is building a sense of shared governance and improving the decision-making process.
“That’s not just me speaking; there were many other indicators that things were not where they needed to be at the university,” Zipp said. “The no-confidence votes in the president from faculty leaders and chairs; surveys from students, graduate students and faculty members also expressing no confidence in the president; community members taking out ads, signing petitions; student protesters and declining enrollment. We need to reverse all that and we have to start with trust.”
Zipp said the board should choose an interim president who will establish some stability before a search starts for a new president.
“I would prefer an internal candidate from the academic side who has some credibility, who understands the core mission of the university and has the skills set that allows them to interact with community groups and other constituencies,” he said.
He said many of those same qualities should also be in the search for a new president, but the presidential search should take at least a year. He’d also like to see the interim president in place before the fall session begins.
Wish list for leader
Bill Rich, a law professor and the head of the Faculty Senate, said one to two years to find a replacement for Scarborough doesn’t seem unreasonable.
“If we’re going to hire someone by the end of the next academic year, we should start before the fall — and it might be difficult to attract higher qualified candidates given the university’s present circumstances,” Rich said. “We have to stabilize and recover from the events of the last two years for the opportunity for more attractive presidential candidates.”
He said qualities he’d like to see in the new president include a good manager, an academic administrator and someone with experience in budgeting — but not necessarily a former chief financial officer. He said UA already has a CFO.
“It’s important for everyone at the university to come together and put the university on the path of recovery,” he said, adding that the board of trustees should consult the faculty leadership in choosing the new interim leader as well as the permanent president.
Graduate student Thomas Guarino, who was part of many of the protests on campus and at the UA Board of Trustees meetings, agreed that communication is vital in the selection process for a president.
He said it is a chance to bring the university’s various stakeholders together “in ways that are transparent and not deceptive; that’s an important opportunity.”
One alumnus, Class of 1960 graduate Herb Stein of Akron, said he has been watching the situation and now feels comfortable again to donate to the university and rejoin the Men’s Athletic Club.
“I just hope the next president they choose is someone who understands Akron and will reach out to people,” he said. “One thing about economics is that it will eventually go back up. I think the university will get better financially under new leadership.”
Faculty member Constance Bouchard, who has been critical of Scarborough, said faculty members are looking forward to working with the interim provost, Rex Ramsier, who is taking on the president’s responsibilities until an interim president is named.
“Our core mission has always been the generation of new knowledge and teaching that knowledge to our students,” said Bouchard, associate chair of the history department. “We do trust that the next president will be someone with solid academic credentials.”
Outside academia
But one business leader suggested the University of Akron look outside the box for its next leader. Rick Fedorovich, chief executive officer and managing partner of Fairlawn-based accounting firm Bober Markey Fedorovich, said perhaps the board should look at someone who is not the traditional academic leader.
Fedorovich suggested it could be someone who can bring together all the constituents — including those in the school, alumni and the community — and lead the university while the provost spearheads academics.
“We need to take a look at the position as the president of a major university,” said Fedorovich, a UA graduate and longtime UA supporter who has served on the College of Business Advancement Council for many years and participated in executive searches for various university positions.
“I think, like in business, we may find that the model has changed. It may not be the person that was a Ph.D. in education and has those types of credentials. It may be a different model. It might be an outside person. So much of the president’s role has to do with relationships with the community” and other things such as fundraising, he said. “The person also needs to have an outgoing personality to collaborate with school and community members— something that Scarborough was criticized for.”
Betty Lin-Fisher contributed to this report. Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com.