As president of Monroe Community College for the past eight years, Tom Flynn has led the school through a period of tremendous growth. The college built its first residence halls, established 12 new degree programs ranging from massage therapy to optical fabrication, and added new facilities. Enrollment has grown from 31,790 in 1999-2000 to an estimated 36,000 this year.
Flynn, who retires in June, has been a popular president. He's respected by politicians of all parties, business leaders, educators, community leaders, and students. And those same people believe Flynn's replacement should be of equal caliber.
A closed-door leadership shuffle on the college's board of trustees earlier this month, however, has sparked speculation that the selection process might be rigged. Lori Van Dusen abruptly resigned her post as the board's chair - she still sits on the board - and Richard Guon, who also serves as treasurer of the Monroe County Water Authority, was elected in her place. It was all done in executive session.
A change in two candidate lists, one from a board search committee and the other from the Faculty Senate, further stoked those fears. Two names, previously not on either list, were added by the board of trustees after the leadership change. The names haven't been released. The board of trustees is interviewing the candidates and plans to release the names of finalists at the board's March 24 meeting.
The additions are rumored to be former County Legislator Bill Smith, a Republican heavyweight, and restaurateur Dennis Kessler, who last year was named president of Finger Lakes Community College, only to see trustees abruptly change their minds soon after.
Smith's interest in the position has long been rumored in political circles. An attorney at Harris Beach, he served in the Legislature for 10 years. He was an effective Republican leader, though sometimes abrasive and dismissive of opposing viewpoints.
Kessler is a Yale-educated lawyer. He has business experience and is a part-time professor at University of Rochester's Simon School of Business. He sits on the boards of several area organizations, including the Rochester Education Foundation.
It's up to the MCC trustees to select the school's new president. The trustees themselves were appointed by Republican administrations at the county or state level. The exception is the student trustee, a voting member who is elected by the student body. The majority of the board members are connected to the GOP through other appointments, administration jobs, politics, or as donors. Some faculty and students are worried that those political ties could influence the president pick.
David Ladwig, the board's student trustee, has shared his fears with the Student Senate, but has declined comment to the media.
Student government representatives have no proof that anything is amiss, but they are paying close attention to the selection process, says Matt Lawson, speaker of the Student Senate. The perception that politicians are influencing the process is "disturbing," Lawson says. If students do see undue influence from outside political forces, the student government will work with faculty groups and rally the student body, he says.
"Right now, we have just heard speculation from the media. We are just trying to find out answers and correct information before we take action on the issue," Lawson says.
It's not unusual that, at this stage in the process, the candidates' names are being kept private. By adding two names to committee lists, however, the board raised suspicions, says Ted O'Brien, a Democratic county legislator. Especially since that move comes on the heels of the recent controversy over the selection of a new public defender. (Legislators have no official say in who is appointed the college's president, but Democrats say they are watching the process.)
Accusations that GOP leaders had a predetermined candidate dogged the public defender selection process. Now, some critics of that process, including State Assemblymember David Gantt, see parallels between the search for a public defender and the search for MCC's president.
"What I see happening at the County Legislature with this appointment is the same thing I see happening at MCC," Gantt said during a February 14 press conference on the defender selection. "We in this community cannot afford to allow it to happen. We cannot afford to have government run by Mr. Minarik and others in the back room. It will devastate our institution."
Steve Minarik is the head of the county Republican Party.
Unlike the Legislature's pick for public defender, however, there is a state-level check of the college's board. Its pick for college president has to be approved by the SUNY board of trustees. And its members have, in some instances, shown they are willing to go against the wishes of local boards.
In 2003, SUNY trustees clashed with Rockland Community College's board of trustees over the appointment of an interim president. The college's board wanted to extend the contract of the acting president, who had upset faculty with some organizational changes, says a July 2, 2003, article in the New York Times. The SUNY trustees wouldn't go along with that, and appointed a different interim president. The college sued the SUNY board, but the State Supreme Court ultimately sided with SUNY.
Typically, community college presidents have some sort of educational background. Genesee Community College President Stuart Steiner, appointed in 1975, was hired as dean of students when the college was founded in 1967. Onondaga Community College President Debbie Sydow is a former English professor and administrator. Flynn joined MCC in 1974 as vice president for student services. In 1999, Flynn was promoted to president from his job as vice president for student services.
It's not unheard of, however, for politicians to be appointed as college leaders. In January, Erie Community College appointed Jack Quinn, former Republican U.S. representative and lobbyist, as its new president.
That appointment raised questions about patronage, says a January 30 Buffalo News story. But Dennis Golladay, SUNY's vice chancellor for community colleges, told the paper that there was no forgone conclusion. The News reported that Quinn beat out 59 other candidates from across the country. It also quoted several sources who said his political and lobbying experience could help the school fare better with funding and help Quinn maneuver through administrative minefields.
Other politicians haven't fared as well with university posts. When former Monroe County Executive Bob King served as Governor George Pataki's SUNY chancellor, he was viewed as a patronage appointee. He was plagued by accusations that he was doing Pataki's bidding, instead of acting in the best interest of the state college system. King was also offered a controversial paid sabbatical, widely viewed as an attempt by SUNY trustees to transition him out of the position.
An educational background is not a required qualification for the MCC presidency, judging by criteria assembled by the college trustees. Some of the qualifications include having a doctorate, or at least a master's degree; administrative experience; government, business, or college administrative experience; and an ability to work with a policy-making board. Smith and Kessler meet most, if not all, of those qualifications.