Dive Summary:
- Two weeks ago, Steve Weinberger, the human resources chief of Connecticut's new higher education system, allegedly asked all of the state's community college presidents to accept a buyout offer with a year's severance in exchange for their resignation and retirement, giving them until Oct. 31 to accept it.
- Once the "safe harbor" period has passed, they were told, some of them might be "tapped on the shoulder" and informed they have a year remaining with terms less generous than the buyout offer.
- Officials in the state higher education system deny such an offer was ever made, but accounts of the incident have been given to the media by three of the community college presidents, including Gena Glickman of Manchester Community College and Barbara Douglass of Nothwestern Connecticut Community College--the latter saying the presidents are "increasingly in an atmosphere of intimidation."
From the article:
Two weeks ago, the leaders of Connecticut's public two- and four-year colleges gathered for a regular monthly meeting of campus chief executives at the office of the state's new higher education system. As the meeting ended, the president of the system board, Robert A. Kennedy, asked the community college presidents in attendance to stay behind to meet with the system's human resources chief, Steve Weinberger. ...