THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 2, 1996 TAG: 9602020388
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
Timothy J. Sullivan just wanted to get to know his staff better and get back to what counts most at the College of William and Mary: tradition.
But Virginia officials say he is violating state regulations.
At issue: Should Sullivan hold late-Friday-afternoon sherry hours in his presidential office?
The state says no, Sullivan says yes. No one is budging, and the sherry keeps flowing, albeit a little later on Fridays.
It began late last year, when a few people called the state's ``fraud and abuse'' hotline to complain about the gatherings because of the use of alcohol, said Joseph D. Freiburger, the acting state internal auditor.
Freiburger wrote Sullivan to ask him to halt the sherry hours because, he said, they violated state regulations. Sullivan wrote back, saying that the functions would be pushed back from 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., after the end of the workday, and that the college would make sure that the imbibers not return to work afterward. ``We will continue the gatherings I have scheduled,'' Sullivan said.
Not good enough, said Freiburger.
He said the use of alcohol in state offices is not forbidden by state law, but is addressed in policies issued by the state Department of Personnel and Training.
The policies prohibit the ``unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensation, possession or use of alcohol or any other drug in the workplace.''
``The interpretation I have would indicate that it would be inappropriate to consume some alcohol on state property during working hours or any time,'' Freiburger said. ``It's one that all institutions should adhere to.''
On Tuesday, Sullivan was one of seven college presidents to testify before the Senate Finance Committee. His topic: intrusive state oversight of colleges. ``We are buried under rules, regulations and red tape that have slowed individual services to a crawl,'' he complained.
He didn't mention the sherry hours and, in an interview, steered clear of criticizing the state for seeking to close down his Friday gatherings. But he said: ``I am completely satisfied that what we're doing is consistent with common sense and state policy.''
Sullivan, an alumnus of W&M, was named president in 1992. Reviewing the college's 300-year history, Sullivan discovered that the first president, James Blair, began inviting staff and faculty members to regular get-togethers featuring ``tea, sherry and Colonial tea cakes'' in the early 1700s.
``I was never able to pin down exactly what Colonial tea cakes were,'' Sullivan said, but he liked the idea. ``It coincided with my instinct to try to create as many opportunities as I could for informal interaction with people with whom I work.''
So was born the sherry hour. Of course, he couldn't invite the whole staff and faculty, so sherry hour is just for the folks who work at the Brafferton, the small building near the edge of campus that houses the offices of Sullivan and the provost, Gillian T. Cell. Usually, he said, about a handful of people show up - none of them students - to socialize and talk about matters of concern.
``I'm trying to make this the best possible college I can,'' Sullivan said. ``I love this place. I want everyone who works here to feel that way. This is one way I've developed, drawing a leaf from James Blair's book, to do that. If in the world we live in, that subjects me to criticism, so be it.''
Freiburger has concerns on two counts. First, rules are rules, he said. ``If you're receiving state funds, any agency or institution should be subject to all rules and regulations that come with it.''
Second, what about the William and Mary employees who don't work in the Brafferton? ``If anyone else at lower levels were to engage in this type of activity,'' Freiburger said, ``their feeling is that the administration and management would say, `You can't do that.' Yet the president and the provost continue on with their meetings. Do we have a double standard here?''
No, Sullivan said, sherry wouldn't be restricted just to his group. ``We don't have any double standards here,'' he said.
Freiburger says his work is done, but the matter isn't over. He has referred the matter to the state secretary of education, Beverly H. Sgro, who wants to find out more.
``I have not had a chance to talk with Tim Sullivan yet,'' she said, ``but I'd like to hear from him about this.'' MEMO: Staff writer David Poole contributed to this story.
ILLUSTRATION: THE ISSUE: Should W&M President Timothy Sullivan hold Friday
afternoon sherry hours in his presidential office? The state says
no. Sullivan says yes.
by CNB