ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, April 14, 1997 TAG: 9704140042
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: PHILIP WALZER LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
Gordon Davies has been at odds with the conservative appointees of Gov. Allen. The council may make a decision about his position as soon as today.
It's become almost a ho-hum springtime ritual at the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia: Renew Gordon Davies' contract for another two years.
After all, Davies has been director of the council for 20 years - one of the most senior agency heads in Richmond - accumulating ardent praise from legislative leaders in Virginia and academics outside the state.
But when the council members next talk about Davies' future behind closed doors - which could be as soon as its meeting today and Tuesday - it's not at all clear they will give him another green light. In interviews last week, council leaders declined to say whether they would support extending Davies' contract, in the face of widespread speculation in Richmond and academe that Davies will be fired. The contract expires at the end of June.
Officials of Virginia colleges, which enjoy a great measure of autonomy, have sometimes groused at Davies' efforts to increase accountability. But if he is ousted, several administrators fear a dramatic increase in micromanagement and a substantial decrease in their clout - and their ability to attract funding in Richmond.
The chairwoman of the council, Abingdon attorney Elizabeth McClanahan, and the vice chairman, Norfolk lawyer John Padgett, refused last week to speculate on Davies' future until the closed session. ``Whether that's coming up in April or not, I won't comment on,'' said Padgett, who, like the other council members, was appointed by Gov. George Allen.
When asked about Davies' job performance, Padgett offered no praise and, instead, hinted at difficulties working with the longtime higher-education leader. ``There's been some tension,'' he said, ``and we've tried to work our way through it.''
Last fall, when rumors began circulating that the members wanted Davies out, Padgett said that that ``would be very bad for higher education.'' But last week he said, ``I don't think it would be the death blow to higher education. Higher education in the commonwealth is greater than one individual. ... But I am not stating that that [Davies' departure] is the situation or that will be the situation.''
Davies declined comment. But one of his staunchest allies, Delegate Alan Diamonstein, D-Newport News, said: ``My understanding is his relationship with SCHEV [the acronym for the agency] will be terminated, but I don't know that will be a fact. I hope it won't be. He commands a great deal of respect in both parties.''
The developments reflect an astounding reversal of fortune for Davies and shift in the operations of the agency, which had run quietly and harmoniously until a group of members appointed by Gov. George Allen took control late last summer.
University administrators, reluctant to get caught in political crossfire, were hesitant to talk last week. But one official said Davies' ouster would be a ``devastating blow'' - especially combined with the recent resignation of an associate director of the agency, Margaret ``Peg'' Miller, who oversaw academic affairs. Miller, who will become president of the American Association of Higher Education, cited friction with the appointed members as a factor in her departure.
``One of the reasons that SCHEV was so effective was because Gordon Davies and Peg Miller commanded respect,'' the university official said. ``If we lose both of them, the authority with which the state council speaks is lessened.''
In recent years, Davies, 58, has won accolades inside and outside the state for coaxing colleges, sometimes against their will, through the ``restructuring'' movement. Restructuring is intended to increase efficiency, the use of technology and the quality of undergraduate teaching at colleges.
As a result, Old Dominion University, for instance, has reported raising teaching loads by about 10 percent. The University of Virginia has decreased by 10 percent the size of its graduate student body so faculty can spend more time with undergraduates.Davies has also been a relentless voice - sometimes rankling governors - for increased state funding for colleges in Virginia, which ranks among the 10 states with the lowest per-student appropriations. At a recent orientation for university board members, he pushed his case, saying: ``You give us average support, and we'll give you the best system in the United States.''
James Mingle, executive director of the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association in Denver, said other states have copied Virginia's restructuring plan. He described Davies as ``one of the most amazing guys I've met in this business. I think it's safe to say that among his colleagues, he's viewed as one of the most creative, innovative, dynamic [state] heads that we've ever had.''Davies worked arm in arm with previous chairmen of the agency within the last decade. Not anymore.
After Allen appointed three new council members in the summer - two of them former aides of Allen's - the council narrowly elected McClanahan its chairwoman and Padgett its vice chairman.
The relationship between McClanahan and Davies has been icy and distant. She has not publicly attacked his leadership, but she has criticized council policies and said the agency needs to be scrutinized more closely.
In the fall, she spearheaded a review by the state budget department that found the state council's enrollment projections - which help determine college funding - were seriously off-target. Legislators, led by Diamonstein, dismissed the review's findings.
Last month, she proposed toughening academic requirements for receiving state-sponsored financial aid. Davies has spoken out against any change, saying it could hurt students who have a rough adjustment in their freshman year.
Unlike chiefs of other state agencies, who serve at the pleasure of the governor, Davies was hired - and can be fired - only by the members of the council, who themselves are appointed by the governor. The idea is to safeguard higher education from the fierce currents of partisan politics.But Paul Metz, president of the Faculty Senate at Virginia Tech, said, ``Many of us would take anything other than a confident renewal of Gordon Davies' tenure as ... another example of the politicization of higher education.''
If Davies is fired, he would not be alone, Mingle said. Most of the state higher-education executives in the country, he said, have less than three years' seniority. ``I've seen them lose their jobs for no other reason than a change in [state] administration,'' Mingle said. ``Politicians are looking for excuses to cut back on public support of higher education, and people who advocate that are caught in the middle.''In 1995, Allen tried to cut the council's budget in half, but was rebuffed by the legislature. Current council members have vigorously denied that they are doing Allen's bidding and have stressed that they make their own decisions.
Ken Stroupe, Allen's press secretary, said last fall that Davies ``has served the council well and I expect that he will continue in that capacity.'' Last week, Stroupe did not return calls regarding Davies.
The state agency's role is limited. It cannot, for instance, set tuition at Radford University or determine teaching loads at Virginia Tech. It does, however, have the power to reject new academic programs at colleges or close existing ones.
The agency offers budget recommendations for the college system to the governor and the General Assembly, and, through the power of persuasion, attempts to steer a statewide higher-ed policy.
That means Davies and his staff have played the peculiar role of enforcer for colleges some days and cheerleader others. ``To somebody on the outside, it looks a little schizophrenic, but that's what these boards should be doing,'' Mingle said.
And it means frequently alienating almost every constituency. Although college leaders are rooting for Davies now, they have chafed at his agency's requests for mounds of paperwork under the restructuring program and complained that at times he hasn't spoken forcefully enough on their behalf. But he has received unwavering support in the General Assembly. The two chairmen of the Senate Finance Committee - Stanley Walker (D-Norfolk) and John Chichester (R-Fredericksburg) - regularly speak glowingly of Davies. ``To me,'' Walker said, ``he's probably one of the top educational people in the United States. ... He comes to you straight. He doesn't hesitate to tell you what is wrong and what the problem is.''
In a 1994 review of the state council, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission - the legislature's investigative arm - found only one ``unsatisfactory'' area among 17 investigated, deputy director Kirk Jonas said. The council was found to be not diligent enough in closing academic programs with low enrollment.
``That is a good record for an agency,'' Jonas said. ``I would describe it as a well-run agency.''
But Padgett, the vice chairman of the council, said none of those factors is the most important in judging Davies. ``The legislative branch are not the ones charged with the statutory responsibility'' to oversee the agency, he said. ``The members of the council are. Ultimately, that is the most important aspect of evaluating the executive director. You can't discount who he is there to work on behalf of.'' Padgett declined to elaborate.
LENGTH: Long : 157 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Daviesby CNB