Here's an example of “worst practices in governance.”
In a “special edition” of the college e-newsletter sent this week, Hocking College president Ron Erickson assailed his board for interfering with his presidency.
“Word has now reached me that a new plan is underway to remove me from my current position as president, reassign me to the role of 'consultant,' and to appoint an internal, interim president for the remainder of my current contract,” Erickson wrote. He said that the board had made promises at a previous meeting to improve the board-president relationship, but these had not been kept. (The previous conflict was detailed last year in the Columbus Dispatch under the title “A mess at Hocking College.”)
When the Athens News asked board chair Joe Murtha about the e-newsletter, Murtha said, “My God — you're telling me (about this) for the first time. He certainly hasn't tried to talk to me about anything like that.”
Erickson suggested that the plan to remove him from his job might be enacted at Friday's board meeting, which is why he needed to get the word out to the public quickly. Board chair Murtha acknowledged that Erickson's continued employment at the college might come up at the meeting.
A college spokeswoman told the press, “Dr. Erickson regrets that he had to go about handling it this way, but he said he could think of no other way to remain in office than to share this with the campus and the community.”
Read the story in the Athens News here. Read an account of the dispute in the Chronicle of Higher Education here.
