UDC President Urged Toward Fundraising, Modernizing
Pace of Change Worries Trustees, Sources Say

By Valerie Strauss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Trustees at the University of the District of Columbia, increasingly concerned about the leadership of President William Pollard, recently directed him to hire a chief of staff so he could devote more time to fundraising and modernizing the school, according to university and D.C. government sources.

The trustees also instructed Pollard to hire a vice president with real estate expertise to help manage the university and pursue new ventures at the only public institution of higher education in the nation's capital, according to the sources, who declined to be named because personnel decisions are confidential.

Pollard became president of UDC in 2002, and during his tenure, he has overseen the reaccreditation of the university and the long-sought accreditation of its law school. The board of trustees agreed last year to a multiyear extension of his contract when it expires July 1, said Chairman James W. Dyke.

But sources said trustees, dissatisfied with the pace of change and concerned that other schools are more quickly developing programs to meet the workforce needs of the city, have recently taken a bigger role in the school's management.

"The board has a continuing fiduciary responsibility to monitor and oversee the operations of the university," said Dyke, who would not discuss details about the board's relationship with Pollard. "That is an ongoing responsibility. You are constantly monitoring, regardless of the status of the contract."

Pollard, whose salary will reportedly rise from $200,000 a year to about $250,000 a year under the new contract, said there is some friction about fundraising, reforming program offerings and improving facilities.

"A healthy tension with the board is probably always good," Pollard said. "The issues that we are addressing [are] what is in the best interests of the university. And either of us can want to move faster or slower than the other. But ultimately, it's about how we get there and the rapidity with which we get there."

The controversy is the latest chapter in the troubled history of UDC, which has had nearly 15 presidents and interim presidents, as well as more than 25 provosts, since it opened in the mid-1970s.

The college is seen by some as a vital avenue of social and economic advancement for many of the District's poor residents who cannot afford or qualify for postsecondary education elsewhere. Critics, however, say the school -- with its two- and four-year degree programs and graduate programs -- would better serve the city if it were smaller and better focused.

In the 1970s, UDC enrolled as many as 15,000 students, but the number plummeted below 5,000 by 1997. In fall 2002, when Pollard arrived, enrollment was at 5,468; this fall it was 5,700.

But some trustees don't feel he is moving fast enough in key areas, according to the sources.

Fundraising remains a problem for the school. Although Pollard said one of his biggest achievements was creating a development office, there is currently no director. Last year, alumni contributions amounted to $45,000, nearly the same as in years previous, according to UDC spokesman Mike Andrews.

Pollard also has been unable to persuade the city government to raise the university's allocation for next year by anything more than a cost-of-living increase. UDC administrators and faculty say the school is underfunded by the city; this year, it received $120 million from city and federal funds, Andrews said.

Critics question how money is spent at UDC. For example, the university has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in the past decade on plans for buildings that were never funded. A $500,000 contract was recently awarded to an architecture-engineering firm to design a student center, even though no money is available to build it.

And although more than $12 million has been spent on maintenance and improvement of facilities since Pollard arrived, major repairs are still needed. The school's main plaza floods every time it rains, with water seeping into the underground parking garage, where whole sections are crumbling, school officials said.

D.C. Council members said it was time for the city to pay more attention to UDC.

"We have quite a lot of work to do to make the university relevant to the workforce development needs of the city," said member David A. Catania (I-At Large). "Change is not happening as quickly as we like, but President Pollard is moving in the right direction to move the university."

Financial troubles nearly cost UDC its accreditation in the late 1990s, but it won reaccredidation in 2005 under Pollard, who had been a longtime dean at Syracuse University.

As UDC president, Pollard reached the first collective bargaining agreement with the faculty union in a decade; forged cooperative agreements with other institutions, including one with the Lombardi cancer research institute for a master's degree in cancer biology; and established a counseling and career services center for students.

In January, Pollard hired Stanley Jackson, a former D.C. vice mayor, as chief of staff and senior vice president for operations. Last month, he brought on board David Watts, a former deputy mayor and administrator at George Washington University, as vice president for real estate and facilities management. Both were hired at the urging of the trustees, sources said.

Neither Dyke nor Pollard would discuss the hires, and Jackson and Watts did not return phone calls.