Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 30, 1995 TAG: 9505300030
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ALLISON BLAKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Thursday can't come soon enough at Radford University, where the classic campus of brick buildings and broad lawns has spent a tumultuous year.
From the unexpected departure of its longtime president, Donald Dedmon, last June to the abrupt end to its experimental New College of Global Studies in January, it has been one problem after another. By November, interim President Charles Owens had declared his lame-duck status.
"We have been without a leader, and a lot of things happen when you don't have a leader in place," said Nancy Wilson, a member of the board of visitors.
But that ends Thursday, when Douglas Covington takes over as the university's fifth president - and the sigh of relief on campus has been almost audible.
A three-time university president who most recently served at historically black Cheyney University in Pennsylvania, Covington is upbeat. He praises Radford's pretty campus as conducive to learning and a draw for prospective students. He points out good, solid academic programs.
But even though he's positive, measured - even elegant - Covington says he's no magician. He sees a lot of work to be done at a time of dwindling state funding, and knows decisions lie ahead that may not please all.
"I don't come with any magical solutions," he said. "I do hope that I can bring some ideas. Sometimes when you come in and you see things anew, there are some fresh approaches."
Change at Radford is in the wind. For the first time, the faculty will form a faculty senate. Final elections will be held this fall.
And the university's health care program was turned over to a private company this spring. The move "elated" Ellen Nau, one of two members of the board of visitors appointed by Gov. George Allen, who subscribes to the notion that universities need to cut costs to serve customers - the students.
"I really have confidence that he's the person to bring this school into the 21st century," Nau, of Richmond, said of Covington. "The challenges I see are, of course, what every college is facing: dwindling students; customers to serve. I think we're going to really have to promote the school and emphasize what it does best so we can increase the students."
Covington's first tasks will be dealing with low enrollment projections and completing restructuring plans.
Enrollment projections, which will be finished as the summer progresses, are flat next year, in keeping with a demographic dip in the number of graduating high school seniors. Last fall's enrollment dropped by 400 students, to just below 9,000, and the university now is dealing with the fallout - a $400,000 shortfall that's causing some internal cuts, said Charles King, vice president for finance.
"The first thing that we are going to do is re-examine the recruitment strategies and techniques: How we're organized, how we staff [the offices], the kind of organizational structure that we have," Covington said.
Then there's the restructuring plan. The state-mandated cost-cutting program was originally rejected by state officials last fall, triggering a $1.6 million threat to university finances. A resubmitted plan ultimately was approved, and the state funding granted - but then the board of visitors bowed to pressure from the Allen administration and closed the new college, which had been scheduled to admit its first students this fall. The college had been a big part of the restructuring plan, which has meant even more revisions - and a loss of $1.5 million.
Faculty committees have been working hard to help draft the new plan, due to go to the board for review by June 15.
"We don't have much time," Covington said. "In that short period of time, we're going to have to make some tough decisions, decisions that are going to have to be data-driven. We need to stay in close contact with faculty and staff so they are not unilateral decisions made by a small group of administrators."
Departments may be merged, and Covington acknowledged that "sensitivities run high."
"We would be concerned if people were to be passive," he said. "These are very critical issues."
Adrienne Birecree, an economics professor who has worked on the plan, conceded that she and her colleagues don't always agree.
"But everybody's going to have to bite the bullet," she said. "What I think most of us are concerned about is not so much the final decision, but how that decision is made."
Faculty want input, and they want decisions to be "made in a responsible manner," she said.
From what she sees, "Dr. Covington is the type of administrator who likes to have as much input as possible in decision-making."
Those on campus who have talked to Covington agree.
"I think Dr. Covington was chosen specifically because of what [the board] saw as very good leadership qualities," university spokeswoman Deborah Brown said. "He is a consensus-building individual, and I think it's very much what this campus needs - as well as the state and country."
Higher education is in the midst of change, she said, "and we need someone who's analytical, which I think he is, yet someone who can bring together all the various constituencies."
Board member Greg Goad said Covington "has 100 percent support, in my view."
"We've had a lot of turmoil in the past year," Goad said. "We'll be looking to him to bring the university community together."
Jill Alcorn, an associate professor of statistics, says it won't be easy.
"He has a tremendous task ahead of him," she said. "Morale is a serious problem right now. I think it's going to be up to him to change the spirit of things on campus."
Widely seen as a good listener and consensus-builder, and with hopes high for his success, Covington comes at a pivotal time. Faculty president Tom Mullis warns that hopes may be too high.
"That's one of the things that concerns me," he said. "Expectations are much too high."
But Covington seems ready to tackle the job.
"Anytime you start in new, you experience some surprises," Covington said. "Some of those surprises are good and represent opportunity, and some are really unanticipated problems with which you have to cope. Sometimes, the negative can be turned into positive.
"I'm sure there's a learning curve I have to be prepared for." But, he added, "I come with a sincere belief that the faculty, staff and student leadership at the university are really committed to do what's best for Radford, even if it requires some personal sacrifice."
Covington, who will be paid $137,000, is the former chancellor at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina and former president of Alabama A&M University in Huntsville. He holds both a master's degree and a doctorate in psychology from Ohio State University. Covington, 60, and his wife, Bea, are parents to two grown sons.
by CNB