University Headed for "Next Level" or "Big Trouble?"

Posted Sept. 15, 2007

By Ashlee Watson
Texan News Service
For decades the big purple “T” in Tarleton State University symbolically stood for the traditions its students revere. Today, however, the T could as easily stand for transition.
Tarleton, which many still think of as a rural agricultural college, is undergoing as much if not more change as anyone on campus can remember.
Dr. Dennis P. McCabe, Tarleton’s president since 1991, recently announced that he is retiring next June. McCabe’s departure will follow those of the university’s chief academic officer, its vice president for institutional advancement, three of eight deans, and its police chief.
Further, the changes come at a time when the university, long known for its rodeo prowess and well-regarded agricultural program, is reaching out to urban students in the Metroplex, expanding its Stephenville campus and adding new graduate and doctoral programs.
Former and present university administrators and faculty interviewed for this story say the changes could take Tarleton “to the next level” or “spell big trouble,” depending on who fills whose shoes.
But McCabe says as strange as the exodus may appear, the timing of the departures is coincidental.
“Is it odd that we have this many changes?” McCabe said. “Yes, I think that tends to capture attention, but when you look at the decisions independently, they’re not connected at all.
“What we have is some people in key leadership positions all having career changes or career decisions that call for them to leave their current role,” he explained. “These people are not being thrown out on their ears because they are going in almost every case to teaching.”
The recent retirement of Dr. Gary Peer, the university’s provost and vice president of academic affairs, came after only six years on the Stephenville campus of some 7,500 students but after four decades in higher education.
“I have been considering retirement for several years now and have thoroughly enjoyed my six years at Tarleton,” Peer explained in an email. Peer is being replaced temporarily by Dr. Brad Chilton, director of the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Institutional Research, while the university conducts a search for someone to fill the position long term.
Additionally, Dr. Koy Floyd, vice president for institutional advancement for the last 15 years, retired from his administrative job and is returning to the classroom. He began new duties this semester as a research professor in the doctoral program of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. As head of institutional advancement, Floyd oversaw alumni relations, public information and major fund raising campaigns for Tarleton. The university has not yet named his successor,
One more rung down the ladder, three deans have also stepped down since the beginning of last year – and each, like Floyd, returned to he classroom.
Dr. Rueben Walter, dean of Science and Technology, is being replaced by Dr. James Pierce, Assistant Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Dr. Ruby Barker, dean of Business Administration, will be replaced by Dr. Raja Iyer, head of Information Systems. And Dr. Don Zelman, former dean of the College of Liberal and Fine Arts, was replaced by Dr. Dean Minix, formerly chair of political science and criminal justice and, later, director of the master of public administration program at Northern Kentucky University.
Dr. B.J. Alexander served as Tarleton’s provost from 1996 until stepping down in 2001. Alexander said the changes now underway are more than he’s seen since arriving at Tarleton in 1971, but he does not “expect major changes even with a new president, a new provost and some new deans.
“Universities have a life of their own, and people come and go,” he said. “The business of providing an appropriate educational experience for our students is our primary purpose.”
“Tarleton has a history of continuity. Names and faces change, but the university has always continued to serve its historical purpose. My expectation is that new leadership will take us to the next level as we grow in size and complexity.”
He also said the departure of three deans is not usual for an institution of Tarleton’s size,
“The dean’s job is high stress with a high burnout rate,” he said. “Five to seven years is about all that anyone can do comfortably. Some people make it a few years longer, but if you look at other schools, our turnover rate is comparable to that of other institutions.”
As the university’s latest chief academic officer, Chilton said the departing administrators are leaving a significant legacy and “their tenure will go down as one of the most successful periods in Tarleton’s history.” He said he is “confident Tarleton will continue to prosper and grow as a new generation of leaders emerges.”
Others, however, say it’s too soon to say what the changes will mean.
“Basically I think it was time for a change,” said Dr. Chris Guthrie, a history professor and author of “The Legacy of John Tarleton: The History of Tarleton State University.” “Whether this change will be good for us or not is a question that only time will tell.
“It all depends on the quality of the new people that will come in to replace the old ones who are leaving,” he said. “Those who are retiring love this school and wanted to do what was best for everyone here…if their replacements are motivated by the same sincere desire, I think everything will be OK. “
On the other hand, he added, “if they do not possess this desire, if they are primarily motivated by personal ambition and a desire to please system bureaucrats, then we are in for big trouble. It will be interesting to see what happens.”
The Texan News Service is a product of Tarleton State University’s journalism program. Contact us at texannews@tarleton.edu