Philip Austin to Lead Connecticut's Board of Regents following Resignations
ByA turbulent week at the Connecticut College System has come to an end with the board's scandal-struck president and executive vice president resigning Friday over unauthorized staff raises.
Following the resignations, board members held an emergency meeting and voted to recommend to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy that former University of Connecticut president Philip Austin be appointed as the interim president of the state's Board of Regents for Higher Education, to get things back on track.
Former board president Robert A. Kennedy resigned Friday morning and the board accepted his resignation. It was immediately followed by the news of executive vice president Michael Meotti quitting, who resigned by Friday evening.
According to ctpost.com, Kennedy handed out more than $260,000 in raises to board staff, including a $47,000 boost for Meotti that brought his annual pay to $232,244. The raise was part of the board's savings of more than $5 million. It used some of its money to add faculty at the colleges it oversees, and some of it was used to give a raise to 21 central administrators, including Meotti. But the problem was that none of these raises were authorized or given consent by the board.
Though Meotti returned the money once the scandal broke, the public outcry demanded resignation.
The choice of Philip Austin has been approved by the Governor and he will serve as the interim president of the board.
"The work ahead isn't going to be easy -- change never is -- but it's critically important that we move forward on the issues of college preparedness, career training and workforce development, to support Connecticut's economy and our state's residents," Austin said.
Lewis Robinson, volunteer chairman of the Board of Regents, said Austin is not interested in the permanent job and his salary has not yet been determined, San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The board governs 17 state institutions, including the four state universities, 12 community colleges and one online school.