Tumultuous Tenure

Black Issues in Higher Education, Jan 20, 2000 by Eleanor Lee Yates, Ronald Roach

CHICAGO -- Dr. Charles Green's resume was impressive. He had served as president of the Houston Community Colleges system for five years, before that, president of one of the prestigious Maricopa Community Colleges in Phoenix for nine years and, prior to that, as a dean at Inver Hills Community College in Minnesota.

But suddenly in 1995, he found himself without a job and "trying to figure out how to pay the bills." The phone wasn't exactly ringing off the hook with job offers, in part, because of a much-publicized spat with his last bosses.

Houston trustees forced Green to step down from his $158,000-a-year job as the top administrator at the nation's second-largest two-year institution, blasting him for not whittling what they considered to be a bloated administration.

Though Green contends he did nothing wrong, he feels the stigma of what happened in Houston haunted him. Eventually Green accepted several consulting jobs here before joining the city's public school system in 1998.

He likes his job as assistant director of career opportunities. But truth be told, he misses working at community colleges. "l would like to get back. I'm good at that work," he says. "Just because I got a divorce from one community college doesn't mean I don't have a lot to offer."

Green's plight is not that uncommon these days.

So what's the next step for a college president who has been unceremoniously shown the door? How many presidents are willing to jump back in the "sack" with another board after a rocky romance with a previous one? And if they are willing, how hard is it to hop to another college presidency?

That depends on many variables, higher education experts say. But with the rise and fall of college presidents becoming a much more public affair, landing another gig after a tumultuous departure isn't getting any easier.

Some say they don't care to lead a college again. But for those who are willing and able, there is often a long and tortuous road to redemption.

Speaking From Experience

Dr. George Ayers knows the drill. Among college presidents and leading administrators who are Black he has become a guru on career management and institutional development. "I've gotten good advice from [Ayers]," says Thomas Law, president of Saint Paul's College in Virginia. Law, a veteran higher education leader, previously has served as president of Virginia State University and Penn Valley Community College in Kansas City, Mo.

Ayers' value to campus leaders, especially those in hot water, is that he has walked along the same path his presidential colleagues now travel. A former community college president and president of a four-year urban university, Ayers spent many years navigating his way through the minefields of campus politics.

At Chicago State University during the 1980s, he emerged as a controversial college president known for an aggressive management style and his close political connection to former Chicago Mayor Harold Washington. Ayers initially had earned his presidential stripes as chief executive of Massasoit Community College in Massachusetts before moving to Chicago State in 1982.

Although credited with working hard to involve Chicago universities in public school reform, Ayers clashed with Illinois state officials over what direction to take Chicago State. His relationship with state officials didn't improve any after allegations of irregularities, including the handling of student financial aid and health insurance, surfaced. Under pressure, Ayers resigned from the presidency in 1989.

"I was pretty aggressive in attacking the criticisms of the university's academic reputation. This was not received well and contributed to making the president's position untenable. I knew it was time to move on," Ayers says.

In a move few minority college presidents have the opportunity to make, the hard-charging Ayers became vice president for academic programs at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities in Washington, D.C. "I needed and wanted time to reflect whether I wanted to pursue another presidency," he says.

Instead of seeking another chief executive's slot, Ayers opted to launch Ayers & Associates Inc., a northern Virginia-based higher education management consulting and executive search firm, to work primarily with minority institutions and talented minority administrators. Ayers says his firm was the only minority-owned company of its kind when he founded it in 1991.

"I created the firm with the notion of specializing in helping minority institutions with organizational development activities and attracting talented academic administrators. I also wanted to help create professional employment opportunities for minorities," he says.

Notable accomplishments for Ayers and his firm include his being hired by the state of Ohio to lead a reorganization of Central State University. Ayers and Associates also completed a study for the William and Melinda Gates Foundation that served as the basis for their $1 billion scholarship program for minority students in science, math and engineering.