Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 14, 1994 TAG: 9407140103
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ALLISON BLAKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Two new members appointed by Republican Gov. George Allen join the board for the first time since it launched an audit of former President Donald Dedmon's discretionary fund last month.
The term of former rector Marion "Tommy" Jones expired June 30.
Under state law, individual boards may decide if they will form a formal search committee to find a new president, which is the typical recruitment process. A politically strong rector can play a large part in selecting the search committee members, said Ann Pratt, spokeswoman for the Council for Higher Education of Virginia.
Charles Owens, Radford's acting president, has said he doesn't know if he's interested in the full-time job, but he has moved swiftly to begin efforts to improve academic admission requirements. The school's former vice president for academic affairs took over the job after longtime president Dedmon stepped down amid faculty-led allegations of possible misappropriation of the discretionary fund. Dedmon, who underwent spleen surgery in the spring, is on medical leave until August 1995, when his retirement takes effect.
Vice-rector Bernard Wampler said this week that a final report on the audit will likely be completed in August.
Although the board could choose a new president without a search, that seems unlikely. Several board members interviewed this week said a search is warranted.
"I think in every situation you need to explore all your options," said member Ginger Mumpower of Radford.
"We want the best man or best woman for the job," said member Nancy Wilson of Salem. "I don't think we should close the door."
"I assume a search committee will be appointed; and I imagine it would be representative not only of the university, but alumni and possibly the faculty," said George Smith of Shawsville.
Meanwhile, the two new board members, both Radford alumni, have watched recent events unfold with interest.
New member Greg Goad, commonwealth's attorney in Carroll County, said the school should focus on academics - as Owens has stressed - and that the school cannot neglect the proposed, multimillion-dollar New College for Global Studies - also an Owens priority.
As for a new president, Goad said, "This time we have to keep an open mind and entertain applications from outside as well as inside the university."
Ellen Nau of Richmond, the other newcomer, said she would reserve judgement on the situation until the meeting, scheduled for July 19.
It will be the board's first meeting since the six-hour closed-door session June 8 that led to Dedmon's retirement announcement the next day. Even as the board ordered an in-house audit of documents showing expenses from nursery receipts to a handful of TVs and VCRs - which might be legitimate under guidelines that allow wide latitude for purchases for the president's home - word of another audit surfaced.
Wampler said then that, unbeknownst to the board, Dedmon had repaid more than $2,800 to the state in the spring of 1993 for personal phone calls and faxes after a whistleblower audit. The state's internal auditor, John Huston, said no wrongdoing was intended. A mix-up in paying for the expenses apparently occurred at Dedmon's office, when an employee failed to use Dedmon's personal credit card and checks to pay for his personal expenses, Huston said.
by CNB