Community College of Philadelphia officials were questioned about its president’s ouster amid the college’s strong performance
Donald Guy Generals was placed on paid administrative leave earlier this month and the board voted not to renew his contract.
Fresh off naming an interim leader Monday, Community College of Philadelphia officials faced questions from City Council about the college’s recent ouster of its president and request for more city funding.
After CCP officials told Council the school’s enrollment and student retention are rising, students are succeeding, and partnerships are growing, Councilmember Cindy Bass said she would bring up “the elephant in the room.”
“What happened to the last president?” she asked, referring to Donald Guy Generals, whom the board placed on paid administrative leave earlier this month, then voting not to renew his contract. “It’s all glowing. It all looks great. For the life of me, I can’t understand why this would suggest that it was time for new leadership. This seems to be everything a community college would want.”
» READ MORE: CCP board removes president, voting not to renew contract and placing him on immediate paid leave
Harold T. Epps, CCP board chair, said that Generals “did a solid job” but that there were other factors “that go into a human resource decision” that cannot be put on paper.
“On the streets one of the sayings is that everything that glitters ain’t gold,” he said.
Bass said, referring to the prepared testimony submitted by the college: “Is this not gold, isn’t this not glittering? … To say that this person wasn’t doing a good job is really hard to understand.”
During the Tuesday hearing, college leaders asked Council for an $8 million, or 14%, increase in funding over the $56 million it received from the city this year.
That would raise the city college’s allotment to $64 million. If granted, the increase would be $5 million more than the $3 million that Mayor Cherelle L. Parker has earmarked for the college in her budget.
The college said in prepared remarks that it needs the money “to continue to provide a high-quality educational experience to students and cover the costs” of recently settled contracts with faculty and staff. “With these funds, we will build upon our continued successes and ensure the college remains a desirable institution where Philadelphians can learn and grow.”
Epps said the funding would help the college avoid a tuition increase; the school has not raised tuition in seven years. Epps and newly appointed interim president Alycia Marshall presented the request to City Council, flanked by other members of the college’s cabinet, and fielded questions during the approximately 90-minute hearing. Marshall was appointed Monday to replace Generals, who had led the college for nearly 11 years.
» READ MORE: CCP board appoints provost as interim leader after ousting president
College officials touted a steady increase in enrollment over the last three years, noting that the school’s unduplicated credit enrollment for this academic year is 18,326, up 4.5% from last year. The school also noted that its City College for Municipal Employment, launched last year in partnership with the city, served more than 100 students.
The program provides free career training and education to Philadelphia residents interested in working for the city.
The college also said in prepared testimony that it was launching a new noncredit program in partnership with the U.S. Navy to prepare 150 city residents for jobs in naval welding and nondestructive testing. The college received a $2.76 million grant from the Navy to run the program.
“This is the only two-year program of its kind in the country, offering hundreds of hours of hands-on training to fill critical construction and advanced manufacturing roles in the growing maritime industry,” the college said. “We are confident this program will be just the beginning of a fruitful relationship with the Navy.”
Epps told Council members he would like to have a point person in each of their offices that will help the college “go deeper” and make the case for attending Community College.
The college graduates between 1,800 to 2,000 students a year, and that number needs to grow to 4,000, he said.
“We’ve got to dig deeper for the gems,” he said. “We all know that one of the best possibilities ... to change our lot in life is an education.”