by Tera Roberson
Staff Writer
For the next few months, at least, ex-University of Houston President Glenn Goerke and ex-Executive Associate Vice President Glenn Freedman may not be taking a pay cut.
Instead, the UH System Board of Regents is proposing the approval of Goerke and Freedman's appointments as co-directors of the proposed Institute for the Future of Higher Learning. According to Board of Regents Chairman Eduardo Aguirre, the positions will be a token to express the gratitude of the university toward Goerke and Freedman for their two years of service as president and vice president of UH.
UH "Chancident" Arthur Smith said that Aguirre informed him of the proposed positions. "Chairman Eduardo has informed me that the Board of Regents would like to have approved for them in recognition of their service to the university over the past two years," Smith said.
"They have helped the university get through a period that could have been highly disruptive, but instead has turned out to be calming, stabilizing and progressive.
"I am pleased to give the approvals that both recognize appropriately their extraordinary contributions and provide for their professional roles at UH beyond April 1."
Under the proposed plan, Goerke's $191,000 annual salary and Freedman's $112,000 salary will remain the same under their contracts until Sept. 1, when they will be re-evaluated and changed in accordance with other research positions.
Aguirre said, "(Goerke has a) contract to remain with the university on salary. We felt that Dr. Goerke is a very valuable resource to the university and System. He has agreed to report to the provost's office under the general supervision of Dr. Smith. "(He will be) reporting issues of higher education not only at UH, but at other higher-education (agencies) in the state of Texas."
Goerke requested, and was granted, a one-year leave of absence at his current salary, a request that Smith called "customary and appropriate."
However, Freedman's request for a year leave with pay was denied, although Smith said he will leave the door open for this request in the future.
Smith said, "A comparable leave for Glenn Freedman would in my judgment be neither customary nor appropriate, especially after less than two years of service.
"This is not meant to detract in any way form the breadth of Freedman's contribution during this period," he explained. "Someone will have to direct the new Institute during the period of Glenn Goerke's one-year leave, and that obviously should be Glenn Freedman."
IFHE's proposed mission is to provide research and policy analysis on higher-education issues within a global context. IFHE's goal is to provide direct, measurable assistance to higher education, government agencies and the private sector to help design educational processes responsive to the global environment.
Aguirre considers the work Goerke and Freedman are going to be doing as a "think tank" in the area of education.
Their new positions are going to call for them to evaluate issues such as the delivery of education, budgeting and funding. Aguirre said, "If you don't step back and think about (the issues), you don't have time to re-engineer them."
IFHE is housed in UH's rented space at the Schlumberger facility on the Gulf Freeway. It has a startup operating budget of $25,000 to cover computers, software, fax machines and other office supplies, as well as an executive secretary with an annual salary of $28,000.
Smith has requested that there be an investigation into possible transfer of funding from the System budget to the university level to cover costs from Sept. 1 onward.
Smith approved the IFHE project for a three-year trial period, ending Aug. 31, 2000.
Although the board doesn't make its final decisions on the proposed positions until April 24, there is already some controversy surrounding the appointments of Freedman and Goerke.
Susan L. Gerhart, a former employee of the Research Institute for Computing and Information Systems at UH-Clear Lake, alleges that there is some controversy surrounding Freedman's ability to handle issues of funding evaluation, given his past handling of such issues.
Gerhart alleges that there were problems with Freedman when he worked at RICIS. "There is a pattern with Freedman," she said. "He ran a bunch of different projects, but he never filed final reports.
"There was lots and lots of money that he was the principal investigator on, so he decided how the funds were spent. There isn't any accountability (for where the funds actually went)," Gerhart said.
But Freedman said IFHE will be funded with "grants, contracts and gifts that we can attract just the same as other research institutes at the university."
When informed of Gerhart's allegations, Freedman said, "That's the first I've heard of that. I haven't worked in the RICIS program for over eight years. This is really amazing."
Despite any problems, Aguirre said he expects Goerke and Freedman's appointments to be approved April 24.