R.I.'s higher education chief steps down
5:09 PM Wed, Jul 01, 2009 | Permalink
Email
 |
 |
Projo 7 to 7 News BlogTaking the news pulse of Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts, by Providence Journal and projo.com staff, from 7 to 7, every business day |
|
Get the 7 to 7 on your mobile at www.projo.com. Twitter: projo | RSS | Email alerts
« Several R.I. bills hang in limbo |
Main
| Update: S. Kingstown firefighter's funeral Saturday at URI »
Tuesday marked the last day for Jack R. Warner, Rhode Island's higher education commissioner since 2002. With his departure, Rhode Island lost three education leaders on the same day. The Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, Peter McWalters, and URI President Robert L. Carothers also both stepped down June 30, after tenures of about 18 years each. Warner, 64, ran the Office of Higher Education, which coordinates the state's three public colleges, the University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College and the Community College of Rhode Island. Warner is credited with reversing a decline in enrollment and helping to expand the three institutions by about 3,000 students; working closely with the K-12 education system to ensure more high school graduates are ready for college; and establishing policies that ensure the three institutions run more efficiently while also strengthening academic quality. Warner will assume a similar job in South Dakota this summer, where he will oversee six public universities and two state-run schools. There he will earn $323,000 a year -- more than double his base pay of $135,000 a year as Rhode Island's higher education chief. Successors have already been appointed to replace McWalters and Carothers following national searches -- Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist and URI's new president, David M. Dooley, both of whom earn significantly more than the men they replaced. But Warner's job will remain vacant over the summer as a seven-member search team begins to interview candidates and recommend finalists to the Board of Governors for Higher Education, said Frank Caprio, chairman of the board. "We're shooting for the beginning of September," Caprio said of appointing a new higher education commissioner. "We have some candidates we are very interested in but the search committee hasn't had a chance to interview them yet. We hope to do that around July 21st or 22nd." Staff at the Office of Higher Education will run the department over the summer, he said. Caprio praised Warner's seven years in Rhode Island, while acknowledging that the state's massive deficit has meant deep cuts to the $800 million public higher education system, which serves 40,000 students. "Jack was a tireless advocate for access to public higher education and he was active in trying to keep education as affordable as possible for students," Caprio said. In 2008, the board increased tuition and fees by 10 percent, a double-digit the board had tried to avoid, Caprio said. "We had no choice and it was painful for the board but especially painful for Jack," he said. "But when you consider the state contribution to the higher education system was $178 million two years ago and was just about $150 million last year, that's a painful fact, too." Tuition and fees will also increase by another 10 percent for the 2009-2010 academic year. In addition, scores of positions have been left vacant at the three institutions and URI was forced to lay off some staff. Warner said his greatest frustration has been "trying to convince people in the state about the investment value in public higher education," a message that became harder to deliver as Rhode Island entered a recession, he said. "We've certainly used this fiscal crisis to take a close look at everything we do," Warner said. "We are trying to hold down our costs so we don't have to raise our prices." "Low-income people already do not go or graduate from college at high enough rates," Warner said. "We can help by keeping tuitions low or by investing more in the state scholarship program and right now we are doing neither. It's very frustrating to see people shut out because they can't afford it." Warner, who served as a higher education administrator in Massachusetts before moving to Rhode Island, said he will particularly miss his friends and co-workers in Rhode Island as he and his wife Celeste prepare to move to the Great Plains. They plan to retire in New England one day, to be near family and the sea. In South Dakota, the couple will live in a townhouse. "It's on a canal that connects to the Missouri River," Warner said. "Perfect for my jet skis and kayak." 
|
Tags 
New comments
New photos
New posts
Projo blogs
Archives
Leave a comment
Please be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish.