The saga unfolding at the University of Maryland University College, where Susan C. Aldridge announced her resignation without explanation Thursday, comes at a critical moment for the institution. Projecting an image of stability could hardly be more important for the university than it is now, when two of its most lucrative military contracts are coming up for rebid.
Ms. Aldridge has been on leave for a month, and Thursday’s announcement merely doubled down on the mystery surrounding her. The month’s-worth of variations on “no comment” from university officials have continued to invite questions about Ms. Aldridge, who for six years has presided over a public institution with an unrivaled role in the on-site education of U.S. troops stationed overseas.
In 2009-10, nearly a quarter of University College’s tuition and fee revenue came from overseas military operations, university officials said. Valued at an estimated $70-million annually, three separate military contracts grant UMUC exclusive rights to offer on-site undergraduate education to troops in Europe and Asia. Two of those contracts will expire before the fall of 2013, and the university is gearing up for a competitive bidding war to preserve its preferred status as a key educational provider for the military.
William E. (Brit) Kirwan, chancellor of the University System of Maryland, says he is not concerned that unanswered questions about University College’s leadership will impede its case for a renewal of its contracts with the Department of Defense.
“This is an institution that has a 40- or 50-year history of delivering the goods to the military, and it’s done it with lots of different presidents,” said Mr. Kirwan, who declined to say anything about why Ms. Aldridge was placed on leave. “The idea that they are suddenly not going to be able to do their job is just preposterous.”
UMUC’s connection to the military is indeed embedded in its history, but Ms. Aldridge has emerged as a national figure in an intensifying discussion about the future of education for U.S. troops serving multiple tours of duty. As co-chair of the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force on Distance Learning Standards, Ms. Aldridge played a critical role in developing standards of good practice for military education programs.
Until her resignation’s effective date, August 31, Ms. Aldridge will assume the role of a “special adviser” to UMUC. She will provide guidance on the military contract-rebidding process, as well as expertise in online education, Mr. Kirwan said.
Ms. Aldridge will continue to collect her $306,800 presidential salary through August 31, granting her a total of six months at that pay level while not acting as president. She will continue to have access to campus facilities and her university e-mail, university officials said.
After August 31, Ms. Aldridge will receive no further pay from the university, Mr. Kirwan said. Ms. Aldridge is not tenured—no one at UMUC has that status—and she will not be given a faculty appointment, as is often the case with departing presidents.
Allegations of ‘Hush Money’
In a continuation of Maryland’s tight-lipped approach, Mr. Kirwan reiterated Thursday that he could not elaborate on the reasons surrounding Ms. Aldridge’s monthlong administrative leave. Discussing such a “personnel” matter, he said, would be illegal.
“We certainly have no plans to make any more information available, so as far as I know, this is the end of the story and we’re ready to move on,” Mr. Kirwan said.
Asked on three separate occasions if he would have been satisfied if Ms. Aldridge had not resigned, Mr. Kirwan declined to directly answer.
“I’m very appreciative of the work she did,” he said. “She’s a very tireless worker on behalf of the university. I think good things happened under her leadership.”
For the first time Thursday, Mr. Kirwan acknowledged the existence of an anonymous complaint about UMUC that was filed with Maryland’s Office of Legislative Audits, an arm of the General Assembly. The complaint, which was first reported on by The Washington Post, alleges that tax dollars were used to make “hush money” payments to administrators and professors who were terminated.
Mr. Kirwan said that he had not seen a copy of the document but that system officials had “been in touch with the legislative auditor” regarding the complaint. “We will be fully cooperative, as we always are,” he said.
In an interview on Thursday, University College’s new acting president pushed back against the “hush money” characterization laid out in the complaint. Javier Miyares, who served as senior vice president for institutional effectiveness before his appointment as acting president, said the complaint criticizes a “fairly common” severance arrangement employed by UMUC and many other institutions. Such agreements offer “a couple of months” of payment on condition that no legal action be taken against the institution, he said.
“That is a standard procedure at every university,” he said. “That is not hush money.”
Mr. Miyares was sufficiently frustrated with what he called the mischaracterization of the agreements that he offered to provide The Chronicle with a copy of the boilerplate language of the agreements. About an hour later, a university public-affairs official called to retract the offer.
