UMW College of Business Dean Lynne Richardson
College of Business Dean Lynne Richardson’s weekly column in The Free Lance-Star discusses TAKING THE HEAT FOR DOING THE RIGHT THING.
A FEW YEARS into my first job as a dean, I had to make a personnel decision that I knew was not going to be well received by the general public. It was not a hard decision to make, as the person had done some pretty bad stuff. Suffice it to say, the university attorney and president agreed that the action had to be taken. We were not firing the individual, but were removing supervisory authority.
I expected, however, that once the word got out, I would be vilified in the community. How dare I take this action? Why would I do such a thing to this person? The individual was such a resource. And on and on. Read more.