Andrew Young School dean resigns

By Laura Diamond

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The dean of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies said the president of Georgia State University asked him to resign because he spoke out against a proposal to merge the nationally-recognized school with another college.

"I stood up to point out the quality of the Andrew Young School," Bart Hildreth told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday. "To think you could just move it over to the business school and get the same results is ridiculous."

President Mark Becker was out of town on college business and could not be reached for comment.

"We disagree with his statements, but because we respect the confidentiality of the personnel situation involved, we will not comment further," spokeswoman Andrea Jones said.

Hildreth said the proposed merger was floated during discussions on possible budget cuts.

Public colleges assembled lists of possible cuts at the request of lawmakers who said the University System of Georgia could lose an additional $300 million for the 2011 fiscal year because of the state's financial crisis. Lawmakers are still debating cuts but have said they will be less than previously stated.

Merging the Andrew Young School was not included in the list of possible budget cuts and program changes that Georgia State supplied to state officials, Jones said. Other changes were proposed in the document, including closing the university's Brookhaven campus, shutting the Regents Center for Learning Disorders and eliminating the Fiscal Research Center, which is part of the Andrew Young School.

"We continue to wait for further direction from the Board of Regents on all budget information," Jones said. "When this information is known, the university will determine what actions are necessary to address any budget cuts."

School namesake Andrew Young said he has spoken with Becker and Hildreth. Becker explained he was asked to look at as many options as possible to save money, said Young, the former Atlanta mayor, ambassador and civil rights leader.

"I've never been hung up on whether it's a department or a school or a college," Young said. "Structure is not as significant as mission. The job is going to get done and we are still going to give students the best education we can so they can become world leaders."

Hildreth resigned last week, but faculty and staff were notified Tuesday. He earlier sent a five-page memo to staff and faculty stating there was a plan to merge the school and outlined why he thought such a move would be detrimental. He questioned the motive behind a merger.

"If it was a budget issue he [Becker] would tell me ‘Give me a plan on what to cut,'" Hildreth said. "I've heard that people on campus are jealous of the world-class success of the Andrew Young School."

Hildreth, who became the dean in July, will remain on campus as a tenured faculty member. He earned $230,000 a year as dean and his contract states he will not make less than two-thirds of that salary when he returns to the faculty, according to the university.

Jones said the provost is seeking nominations of tenured faculty members at the Andrew Young School who could replace Hildreth as dean.