Suffolk University’s board taking a PR hit; Boston Globe, 2/1/16

Adrian Walker, Boston Globe; Suffolk University’s board taking a PR hit:

"Ultimately, McKenna wanted to dislodge Suffolk’s entrenched power structure — which includes Regan, who has managed to maintain an outsized influence since he left the Suffolk board.

He resigned several years ago after Coakley, ironically, charged that it was a conflict of interest for a board member to also hold a $366,000 annual contract to be the school’s public relations czar. But Regan didn’t need a title to maintain his juice with the board. It doesn’t hurt that his deputy remains on the board...

Lost in the maneuvering is the fate of the school itself. Honestly, who would want to work for this board? Or become a serious donor? The guys who run Suffolk like to say all they care about is the school and its mission. But everything they are doing says just the opposite."

Suffolk president says she will not resign; Boston Globe, 1/29/16

Laura Krantz, Boston Globe; Suffolk president says she will not resign:

"As McKenna’s job seemed to be in question, faculty, students, and alumni sprang to her defense. They focused their anger at trustees, who critics said have been allowed to micromanage the downtown school with little accountability or concern for its best interest.

The student government association plans to take a vote of no confidence in Meyer, the chairman of the board of trustees, and call for him to step down next week. The faculty senate took a vote of “deep and sincere” confidence in McKenna on Friday.

Many students and professors called the board’s move to oust McKenna the last straw in trustees’ failed track record to resurrect the troubled school. They pointed out that McKenna is Suffolk’s fifth president in five years and the first whom they considered truly capable of improving the college...

Students and professors don’t agree with all the changes McKenna has announced but said she has their respect.

“President McKenna has been nothing but a godsend,” said Suffolk senior Victoria Ireton. “We need stability at Suffolk University, and she has brought that to us.”

McKenna started in July knowing the job would be tough. The college has a small endowment and lacks direction because of its revolving door of presidents since 2010, when longtime leader David Sargent retired abruptly amid outrage over his lavish pay, which totaled $2.8 million in the 2006-07 academic year."