Beverlee McClure, president of Adams State U., was placed on leave last week by the university’s governing board.
Accusations of bullying faculty and staff members, wearing an offensive Halloween costume, and retaliating against critics loomed over a decision last week by Adams State University’s Board of Trustees to place Beverlee J. McClure, the Colorado institution’s president, on leave.
In a February 12 statement the board wrote that “the priorities of the current board are no longer congruent with the priorities of the president, and the parties are therefore working to accomplish a mutually agreeable resolution. Dr. McClure will be on leave while the parties work through the details of a transition.”
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Adams State U.
Beverlee McClure, president of Adams State U., was placed on leave last week by the university’s governing board.
Accusations of bullying faculty and staff members, wearing an offensive Halloween costume, and retaliating against critics loomed over a decision last week by Adams State University’s Board of Trustees to place Beverlee J. McClure, the Colorado institution’s president, on leave.
In a February 12 statement the board wrote that “the priorities of the current board are no longer congruent with the priorities of the president, and the parties are therefore working to accomplish a mutually agreeable resolution. Dr. McClure will be on leave while the parties work through the details of a transition.”
The vague nature of that statement has left people on the campus looking for clues as to what exactly motivated the board’s decision.
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McClure dressed as an overweight plumber, complete with a fat suit and fake buck teeth, for a Halloween party in 2016, The Denver Post reports. Danny Ledonne, a former adjunct professor and vocal critic of McClure’s, told the Post that the president’s Halloween costume showed a particular disrespect for the blue-collar residents of Alamosa, Colo.
Faculty members also accused McClure, who became president in April 2015, of bullying and retaliating against her critics. In a statement last year, McClure accused an “Internet mob” of engaging in cyberbullying. “I, and others in our community, have consistently been the target of these bullies for more than a year,” McClure wrote. “They have attacked my character and gone after my reputation and credibility both professionally and as a private citizen.”
In 2016, when Adams State was put on probation by the Higher Learning Commission, the institution’s accrediting agency, McClure expressed her dissatisfaction with the agency in an open letter. She wrote that Adams State felt like the commission’s “whipping boy, with none of the benefits of HLC membership.”
Matt Nehring, interim vice president for academic affairs, will serve as interim president while McClure is on leave, according to the board’s statement.
A university spokesman said he had no comment on the Post’s article or the accusations against McClure. The newspaper reported that its phone messages to McClure had not been returned.
Fernanda is newsletter product manager at The Chronicle. She is the voice behind Chronicle newsletters like the Weekly Briefing, Five Weeks to a Better Semester, and more. She also writes about what Chronicle readers are thinking. Send her an email at fernanda@chronicle.com.
