Weeks after vote, NSU president faces scrutiny

NORFOLK

Seven weeks ago, Norfolk State University President Carolyn Meyers received a unanimous vote of confidence from the university's Board of Visitors.

Last week, the board held a rare special meeting in which Meyers was the subject of a lengthy "personnel matter" discussion.

What happened in that seven-week window isn't clear, but sources close to NSU say Meyers, who is in her fourth year as president, is on the hot seat.

Rector Ed Hamm and other board members would not discuss the special session, which also included reviews of internal audit reports. Such closed-session meetings usually last around two hours, but this one went on for nearly six.

A spokesperson for Meyers said the president "declined to comment about the meeting because of the nature of the business."

Meyers' first three years on the job - based on interviews with students, city officials, faculty, alumni and former administrators - get mixed reviews. Supporters describe her as sometimes reserved and sometimes spirited - a woman who unwinds by restoring an old dollhouse and shows off photos of her grandchildren at meetings.

Yet she is a scrapper, not afraid to display the tenacity she developed growing up in Newport News. When a counselor refused to sign her college application after Meyers said she wanted to be an aerospace engineer - the counselor told her she should be a math teacher - Meyers found someone else to push the form through.

Her advocates see her deftly handling state budget cuts. They point to increased enrollment and a new plan to raise those numbers and to improve the academic profile of students.

Critics, however, describe Meyers' vision as too weak for a school tired of being viewed as second-rate. They say she has created an atmosphere of fear by putting administrators on six-month contracts instead of 12-month.

And some community leaders say Meyers is still an unknown because she doesn't mingle enough with the public, a few even calling her MIA - missing in action.

Meyers, 63, said in interview earlier this year that she didn't think she had a "snowball's chance" of landing the job in 2006.

It was being vacated by Marie McDemmond, who had served for eight years and was known for establishing admission standards, strengthening the school's finances, and creating the Research and Innovations to Support Empowerment - RISE - Campus, designed to mark Norfolk State as a technological institution.

Search committee members said Meyers was the perfect candidate to become the school's fourth president: She is from the area, has degrees in mechanical engineering and a doctorate in chemical engineering, and has completed postdoctoral work at Harvard University.

Meyers became president in July 2006. Months into the job, she experienced her first budget cut. Subsequent years brought more cuts, sometimes two in one budget cycle. Then, during light-rail discussions with the city and Hampton Roads Transit, Meyers felt vilified for doing her job when she and the board fought certain points in the plan.

Meyers realized quickly, she said, that she would not be able to please everyone.

She heard talk that she was moving too slowly in her first year, but much of her work, she said, was internal. Besides, she said, she is a scientist and needs to analyze before acting.

She often tooled around campus in a golf cart to get feedback from students and faculty. She began work on five accreditations and reaffirmations; she said most presidents might have only one or two to deal with during a term.

"I think it's insulting to come in and make changes without learning first," Meyers said earlier this year.

She hired a provost who created a five-point plan that would raise enrollment to 9,000 by 2013, bringing in more tuition dollars to offset state cuts. The plan included establishing an honors college this fall to house high-achieving students and lure others from competing colleges.

Enrollment is up 10 percent.

Earlier this year, Norfolk State was knocked for agreeing to host Afr'Am Fest. Nearby neighborhoods complained that the traffic and noise would be too much, and Meyers publicly apologized and decided against holding the festival.

Vice Mayor Anthony Burfoot, whose ward includes the Norfolk State area, said he admired how Meyers handled the controversy. She has continued to hold meetings with the civic leagues.

"She's a problem-solver," Burfoot said.

Some students have also seen Meyers' caring side. When Cara Newborn was a freshman, she and a friend were walking past the president's on-campus house and decided to knock on the door. To their surprise, Meyers answered, invited them in and offered them ice cream.

The three chatted for nearly an hour. Newborn told Meyers what she liked about the school and what needed improvement - namely, the cafeteria staff and the food.

"I could tell some changes have been done," said Newborn, now a junior. "The workers are not as rude, and the food has gotten better."

The board has also approved of Meyers' work, giving her good marks on her three informal evaluations. It approved a raise in 2007, bringing her initial base salary of $250,000 to the current $285,450.

Then, on Sept. 4, the board gave Meyers its unanimous vote of confidence.

Hamm, the rector, said: "For the year that ended June 30, the president was given an excellent evaluation for reaching the goals and objectives for that year."

Hampton University President William Harvey said he has known Meyers for more than 35 years and considers her an asset to Norfolk State. He said an anonymous $3.5 million donation the school received this year is an endorsement:

"People don't give to the institution if they don't believe in the leadership."

Many critics say they've hesitated to speak publicly against Meyers or the university for some time.

They wanted both to succeed, and they said Norfolk State is too often the subject of negative media coverage. Employees interviewed feared retribution if their names were used but said their love of the school has compelled them to come forward.

Detractors say an atmosphere of low morale and intimidation was created when the six-month contracts began last year. The shortened contracts, used at other schools, were introduced as a cost-saving measure, Meyers said this week.

"Those people who are doing a good job don't have anything to worry about," she said. "It does give us the flexibility to make more changes more quickly, as necessary."

Some employees say they can't plan because they don't know whether they will have jobs after the new year. One professor said several faculty members and administrators left out of frustration.

The criticism goes beyond the campus. Melvin Holloman, a former president of the local alumni association, has dubbed Meyers "The Invisible President."

Holloman says he's active in community groups and has talked to other alumni who say they rarely see her out and about, making the necessary connections to gain support and raise money.

Holloman, 79, can go back to functions with Lyman Brooks, Norfolk State's first president (1938- 1975). He said previous leaders were much more active than Meyers. He also believes she has mishandled public relations.

Shortly after the Afr'Am whirlwind, Dick Price, a revered former coach, died. His family and many in the community felt the funeral service should've been held in the stadium named after him.

Meyers and administrators nixed the idea, concerned about the disruptions the service might cause during the school day.

"This president is not in touch with the general public," Holloman said.

Others have said that disconnect shows in what they describe as thin ties to cities and local groups. They see other schools, such as Tidewater Community College and Old Dominion, expand with strong partnerships.

Critics also point to RISE and wonder why it hasn't grown.

A recent update warned that the "window of opportunity will quickly close" for RISE if the school doesn't move to re-establish dialogue with the city about land.

Meyers said the school has a good rapport with the city of Norfolk and that one project, the Brambleton Community Outreach Center, is expanding near campus.

Chesapeake's Brenda Hampton, whose son recently graduated from Norfolk State, said she would also characterize Meyers as out of touch.

Hampton said she had called and stopped by Meyers' office several times with concerns about customer service in the financial aid office and campus police, but the president was never available. She said she was referred to talk to staff, but she wanted to talk to Meyers. "My thing is: If you say you have an open-door policy, then make yourself available."

Hampton thought hers was an isolated case until she attended her son's May graduation and heard students in the audience ask, "Who is that?" when they saw Meyers onstage.

"She seems like a very nice woman," Hampton said, "but I wouldn't know, because I didn't get a chance to meet with her."

Hamm said the board will continue its discussions in another closed session to be scheduled within 40 days.

Denise Watson Batts, (757) 446-2504, denise.batts@pilotonline.com