Shake-Up Follows Probe of Police Chief's Degree Credentials

Some senior officials are leaving their posts at Virginia Commonwealth University following an investigation that found a police chief was improperly allowed to graduate after taking just two classes there.

Previously, officials at the Richmond school had said some people were disciplined in connection with the inquiry, without naming them. Yesterday, a university spokeswoman declined to link the administrative shake-up to the incident. But VCU Rector Thomas Rosenthal said he would not say the departures were unrelated; he added that the school could not discuss personnel actions.

Last month, a VCU investigation concluded that Rodney Monroe should not have been given a VCU degree last year because he had not completed requirements for transfer students to earn at least 30 credits at the university. Monroe, a longtime member of the D.C. police department, was Richmond police chief at the time he was awarded the degree and is now chief of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department in North Carolina.

Monroe had earned credits from other schools, including from online programs, but only six were from VCU. He was allowed to keep the bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies from VCU's University College as the investigation determined that he had not sought special treatment or been aware that he was granted an exception.

S. Jon Steingass, who had been dean of University College and associate dean for undergraduate affairs for the College of Humanities and Sciences, left for a job in another state, according to VCU. Robert Holsworth, who had been dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences, will serve as special assistant to the provost and professor of political science. Michael Pratt will no longer be interim director of the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs and director of the VCU Center for Public Policy as of Aug. 15; he will continue as professor of economics.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools' Commission on Colleges is investigating the degree incident as well, according to the accrediting body's chief of staff, Tom Benberg.

Messages left for Holsworth and Pratt were not returned yesterday, and Steingass could not be reached. A Charlotte spokeswoman said Monroe was traveling and unavailable for comment.