CSF's leader has his critics.
They say the first year is the toughest. In marriage. In prison. And, apparently, when you're the president of a small liberal arts college.
Dr. Mark Lombardi has had a tumultuous first year at the helm of the College of Santa Fe, most notably his dismissal of the CSF men's tennis program [Cover story, July 12:
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SFR has learned Lombardi also is a defendant in at least two pending lawsuits filed by former CSF employees against the college. Meanwhile, several members
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of the CSF administration have resigned in recent months. The latest was Tammy Gocial, former CSF assistant vice president and dean of student life. Gocial did not respond to interview requests.
Marcia Sullivan, CSF spokeswoman and vice president for Institutional Advancement, says the exodus is typical after a change in leadership.
"Staff turnover at College of Santa Fe is no greater or less than other institutions that have undergone a change in presidential leaders," Sullivan said in a prepared statement on behalf of Lombardi. "The president has implemented a set of practices in staffing and organizational structure that is designed to meet student needs."
But some former CSF employees speculate the departures were sparked in part by disenchantment with the Lombardi administration.
"[Lombardi] has always been sort of a controversial character," says former CSF professor Robert Harrill.
Harrill came to CSF in 1998 to help launch the Institute for Conservation Studies (ICONS) program at the school and served as chairman of the math and science department.
Harrill is the plaintiff in two ongoing lawsuits-one alleging defamation of character and the other wrongful termination-that stem largely from actions taken by Lombardi. Lombardi first came to CSF in summer 2001 as vice president of Academic and Student Affairs before becoming provost in 2004 and president last year.
Harrill alleges Lombardi gutted the ICONS program and used money taken from lab and field report fees for other academic expenses. Harrill filed two complaints with the CSF Academic Standards Committee alleging Lombardi had changed the grade and status on two students' transcripts. Harrill says he also took his concerns to the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, the agency that accredits CSF. The following day, Harrill says, he was notified that his contract would not be renewed.
Jim Tolisano, another associate professor involved in the ICONS program, also was released from his contract.
"The short of it was there were some disagreements between where Lombardi wanted to see the program go and where we were taking it," Tolisano says. "He made some decisions, some judgments that I think would be very difficult to substantiate but ultimately they were his decisions to make."
In addition to Harrill, former CSF employee Dr. Stephen Kane (who did not respond to an interview request) is involved in a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit that lists Lombardi as a defendant. [Sullivan says neither she nor Lombardi can comment on pending legal matters].
Barbara Selnick left her job as an administrative assistant in the CSF development office shortly after Lombardi became president.
"I know a lot of people were running to human resources just to voice their frustration. There were a lot of disgruntled employees," she says.
Sullivan acknowledges that the development department has undergone a face lift (Alumni Relations Director Jill Slaby left earlier this year).
"There has been restructuring in the development office," Sullivan says. "There have been some other changes as well. But I think that's natural in the first year of a president's job to look at existing staffing structures and see how departments can be run more efficiently."
