Monday, January 21, 2008

College of DuPage trustee resigns

By Brian Hudson, bhudson@mysuburbanlife.com
Glen Ellyn News Mon Jan 21, 2008, 11:41 AM CST

College of DuPage Trustee Mary Mack has stepped down, charging failed leadership, self-serving interest and what she called “Gestapo-like tactics of intimidation and sexual harassment.”
Her resignation took effect Jan. 14.

Mack said in her resignation letter that the personal interests of the board members conflicted with her ability to execute her job.

“Ultimately it appears the politics of Chairman Michael McKinnon and the top administrative officials have proven stronger than the mandates of the statutes and the mission and objective of the college,” she said in the letter.

“What I encountered almost from the beginning of my term as trustee is aberrant, pervasive and contrary to good order, discipline and governance,” she said.

In a Jan. 15 response to Mack’s resignation, McKinnon said the board accepted her resignation, but he did not directly respond to or affirm her claims.

“Due to the serious nature of your allegations, the board, in fact, is seeking the advice of legal counsel in this matter,” he said in his letter.

What was “most disappointing,” McKinnon wrote, was that over the past two years, board members had in private discussed the issues that Mack aired publicly in her letter.
Mack is the second COD trustee to step down recently. Last year, Jane Herron resigned mid-term, citing many of the same issues.

“The board is going in directions I believe to be in conflict with the values of the college, the community, and my own ethics and values as a board member,” Herron said in her resignation letter.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Can't they just get along?

From Daily Herald, January 19 2008

Citing "Gestapo-like tactics of intimidation," yet another College of DuPage trustee resigned. This time it was Mary Mack who quit one year after former trustee Jane Herron resigned. Mack accused the college president of failing to lead and the board chairman of undermining other public officials. Chairman Michael McKinnon fired back, saying the board spent significant time trying to address Mack's concerns. It's ironic, though, that trustees are jumping ship under McKinnon's watch when he initiated a leadership study at the school years back, before he took the helm. Perhaps it's time to bring in another outside expert to analyze the problem.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Another trustee leaves COD Official cites lack of leadership - in letter

Daily Herald - January 16, 2008
By Catherine Edman

Citing "a lack of leadership" and "Gestapo-like tactics of intimidation," College of DuPage Trustee Mary Mack has abruptly resigned. In a letter mirroring concerns raised one year earlier by former Trustee Jane Herron, who also quit mid-term, Mack said she was frustrated with "self-serving interests placed above and ahead of the interests of the College." On Tuesday, she declined to elaborate on the specific charges in the letter submitted Monday night, other than to say she intended to make a statement by resigning.

Chairman Micheal McKinnon, at whom many of Mack's criticisms were directed, fired back with his own letter Tuesday afternoon on behalf of the board. He, too, declined to return repeated calls. "Most disappointing is that over the last two years the Board, both collectively and in many cases individually, invested significant hours in personal meetings with you as part of concerted, good-faith efforts to carefully address and deal with issues expressed in your letter of resignation," he wrote in the letter. The issues Mack raised include that COD President Sunil Chand has "abdicated many of his responsibilities to the chairman," she said in her letter, which made her resignation effective Monday. "I cannot in good conscience continue to participate in what appears to be a seriously flawed process, a president who is not leading and a Chairman who is determined to undermine every tenant and principle expected of a public official," Mack said.

By noon Tuesday, Mack's name, information and photo had been removed from the school's Web site. Chand, who joined COD in 2003, had "no comment on the matter," said Bill Troller, the director of public information. Trustee David Carlin said he disagrees with Mack's assertions, but particularly with her claim about a lack of direction. "(We) have some tremendous leadership," he said, adding, "I think Mary's voice was heard" during her time on the board.

Mack claims, though, hold echoes of Herron's departure letter last year in which Herron cited "dictatorial" leadership on the board. At the time, Herron said the board displayed "blatant disregard for the professional opinions of our administration," and micromanaged the college. Herron said "the board is going in directions I believe to be in conflict with the values of the college, the community, and my own ethics and values as a board member." In her letter this week, Mack similarly said: "I am resigning because I have tried and failed to reconcile my conscience with my ability to perform the duties and responsibilities of a Trustee as this board is presently constituted. I have no confidence that ... the process is ultimately self-correcting." And how does that all affect the everyday lives of students at the school? "If there's chaos and dysfunction at the top, how does that translate as it trickles down?" she asked. Other issues Mack cited in her letter include a decline in enrollment, "ineffective strategic planning addressing the future needs of the constituencies and electorate," and "ineffective measures and systems of accountability and sound financial management."

The board has 60 days in which to appoint a new trustee and plans to solicit applications through early February, said Robyn Johnson, COD news bureau coordinator.