December 09, 2002
Board of Governors votes to remove Slippery Rock University president
Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu
At a special meeting this morning of the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, the Board voted to remove G. Warren Smith II as president of Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.
Today’s action follows an October 10, 2002 decision of the Board not to renew Smith’s contract as Slippery Rock’s president. Smith’s tenure was to have ended June 30, 2004. With the Board’s action today, his departure is immediate.
“After our decision in October not to renew President Smith’s contract, our hope was that President Smith would focus his efforts on assuring a smooth leadership transition for the benefit of Slippery Rock University and its community,” said Board Chairman Charles A. Gomulka. “Instead, he has done precisely the opposite. Despite the decision of the State System’s Board of Governors, Dr. Smith has participated in a divisive campaign to try to reverse the Board’s decision instead of focusing on addressing the performance concerns of the Board.
“The Board’s decision in October was not made lightly or hastily. Indeed, one of the many facts that President Smith and his supporters have omitted from their public statements is that the Board’s decision in October was the third time over the last six years that this Board, under different chancellors, has determined not to renew Dr. Smith’s contract.
“Dr. Smith was removed for one reason only: unsatisfactory performance. That is not to say that he did not do some things well. He did. But doing some things well is not the standard for a State System university president. You must move forward positively on a broad spectrum of accountabilities to enhance student achievement and success – accountabilities that our presidents, our chancellor and this Board have discussed at length and agreed upon. The Board of Governors is absolutely committed to rewarding presidents who achieve those accountabilities, and to acting decisively in the small number of instances where a president does not. To do anything less would be unfair to all of the people who are working so diligently to make our great schools even better.
“Chancellor Judy Hample, the members of the Board and I all strongly agree that it is neither fair nor constructive for us to engage in a public dissection of Dr. Smith’s performance. Every university president should have the right to have their performance reviewed privately – even when those assessments are negative. And so we will not enter into such a public critiquing now – even to defend ourselves from false and misleading assertions. However, the Board’s vote today – the fourth time this Board has acted to end Dr. Smith’s tenure – should send a clear and unmistakable signal.
"We do not intend to offer any further detail on this matter. Instead, we will focus our effort now on working with the Slippery Rock community to conduct a search for a new president who can help lead Slippery Rock to greatness.”
University Provost Robert M. Smith will serve as acting president.
With more than 101,000 students, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth. Its 14 universities offer more than 250 degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. More than 360,000 System alumni live and work in Pennsylvania. The state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The System also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Kittanning, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg. The regional centers are part of the Educational Resources Group, which is responsible for coordinating statewide programming.