THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 11, 1995 TAG: 9508110228
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY MASON PETERS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
Jimmy R. Jenkins Jr., the Elizabeth City State University chancellor whose sudden resignation stunned students, faculty and alumni this week, won't leave office until Aug. 31.
But political maneuvering to select his successor already has begun.
Two track-tested African-American leaders are so far the most-discussed candidates to succeed Jenkins as head of the predominantly black university:
Paul F. Vandergrift Jr. He was sent to Elizabeth City by the UNC Board of Governors several months ago to help Jenkins with a number of controversies that were disturbing ECSU.
Ronald G. Penny. The director of the state Office of State Personnel, he is an attorney who represented ECSU during the administration of Marion Thorpe, Jenkins' predecessor.
Vandergrift is a tough ex-Marine with academic credentials as well as experience as a director of UNC public television operations. During his tenure as Jenkins' alter ego, he has won the respect if not the friendship of many ECSU administrators.
Those who have followed ECSU's management conflicts insist that Jenkins' Aug. 3 letter of resignation to UNC President C.D. Spangler Jr. was a direct result of a recent climactic dispute between Jenkins and Vandergrift.
The sources said a spectacular argument between the two men in the chancellor's offices was followed a few days later by a meeting last week between Jenkins and Spangler in Chapel Hill.Few on the ECSU campus will be surprised if President Spangler names Vandergrift as an interim chancellor while the ECSU Board of Trustees carries out the long precedure required to pick a permanent successor to Jenkins.
``A search committee will have to be named by the trustees and a list of candidates compiled,'' said Joni Worthington, Spangler's UNC spokeswoman in Chapel Hill.
The board will submit names of several finalists to the UNC governors, who will then vote on a chancellor, she said. ``It could take several months,'' she added.
Meanwhile, an increase in support for ``Ron'' Penny, the state personnel boss, was heard in the Albemarle, particularly among Democrats. ECSU gets a lot of attention from political leaders because of the influence the school has on black voters.
Penny, 42, is an Elizabeth City attorney with wide experience in difficult cases. He was the lead NAACP lawyer in a series of voting-rights cases that resulted in increased black representation in elective offices in Albemarle cities and counties.
Penny has the respect and support of many white community leaders who actively opposed him during the bitter voting-rights battles.
``Ron Penny would make a fine chancellor at ECSU,'' said Frank Hollowell, a white Albemarle conservative who for years has urged governors, legislators and state educators to remove Jenkins from office.
Zee B. Lamb, chairman of the Pasquotank County Board of Commissioners, expressed similar sentiments about Penny.
When Democratic Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. won a third term as governor in 1992 after eight years out of office, one of his first acts was to appoint Penny director of state personnel.
When Democrats quickly rallied behind Penny on Thursday as the best nominee to the chancellorship, many said they were prepared to bring pressure on the ECSU trustees to include Penny's name on the candidate list.
Penny was legal counsel to the late and revered ECSU Chancellor Marion Thorpe, Jenkins' predecessor. Thorpe died of cancer a little more than a decade ago. From 1980 to 1993, Penny lectured on business law and criminal procedure at ECSU.
In Raleigh, Penny was noncommittal about the prospects of taking over the chancellorship.
``Of course I'm flattered. But I haven't made any kind of a decision,'' said Penny, a UNC law school graduate who directly or indirectly has administrative responsibilities for 120,000 state employees. by CNB