Media Credit: File Photo by Arielle Bader
Students said LeBlanc s leadership style left them desiring more direct communication and feeling that administrators were prioritizing finances over student interests.
Improving the student experience was one of University President Thomas LeBlanc’s consistent talking points during his time at GW, but student leaders said his decisions leading up to his retirement announcement last week failed to prioritize student interests.
As faculty pushed back on LeBlanc’s 20/30 Plan and budget cuts, many students joined calls for his resignation, emphasizing racially insensitive comments and underwhelming, dilatory progress toward environmental action as evidence of his leadership failures. In interviews, half a dozen student leaders said LeBlanc’s recent announcement that he would depart GW after his contract expires comes on the heels of contentious relationships with their student organizations, marked by more than 40 student organizati
Op-eds By Charles Garris May 24, 2021 1:13 AM
Charles Garris is a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, a member of the Faculty Senate and a former Chair of the Faculty Senate executive committee.
It is with great sadness that I learned of University President Thomas LeBlanc’s decision to retire from his position at the end of the 2021–22 academic year. At the beginning of his presidency, there was a palpable excitement that he would build on the upward trajectory of excellence left to him by the administrations of predecessors Stephen Joel Trachtenberg and Steven Knapp. LeBlanc was provided by the presidential search committee with a detailed analysis which defined a series of major historical challenges that had prevented GW from joining the top tier academic institutions of the nation and limited the future trajectory of the institution.
Media Credit: File Photo by Kate Carpenter | Staff Photographer
Faculty from non-STEM fields said they have been frustrated with the humanities taking a backseat to STEM priorities during LeBlanc s tenure.
Liberal arts faculty who disapproved of University President Thomas LeBlanc’s leadership welcomed his retirement announcement last week.
A dozen liberal arts professors said LeBlanc’s presidency has been troubled with numerous controversies, like his now likely “obsolete” 20/30 plan to increase STEM enrollment at GW, which sparked concerns that the plan would come at the expense of non-STEM programs. They said they hope the incoming president and the Board of Trustees will collaborate more with faculty on a shared vision for the University that will restore and enhance GW’s reputation.
Media Credit: File Photo by Donna Armstrong
STEM professors said LeBlanc had the right idea in placing an emphasis on advancing STEM but was unable to get the wider University community to stand behind him in this goal.
Despite University President Thomas LeBlanc’s efforts to enhance STEM research and enrollment at GW, mathematics and engineering professors said they’ve been disappointed in his inability to unite the GW community behind his University vision.
LeBlanc faced mountingpressure to resign over the past year as the GW community widely opposed his controversial 20/30 strategic plan to promote STEM development at the expense of the humanities in addition to violations of shared governance principles. More than half a dozen STEM professors said LeBlanc managed the University’s COVID-19 pandemic appropriately but failed to consult the wider University community about his vision to increase GW’s focus on funding, enrollment and academics for STEM disciplines.
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Higher education administration experts said LeBlanc may prioritize certain shorter term goals like increasing fundraising in his last year at GW, but his attention should turn to ensuring a smooth transition for his successor.
Higher education administration experts said University President Thomas LeBlanc’s announcement that he will be stepping down next year comes as no surprise, given the ongoing tensions between him and the GW community.
Experts said university presidents tend to leave after faculty express doubts in their leadership, which LeBlanc experienced after a recent facultysurvey indicated a loss of confidence in his administration. They said in his remaining year at GW, LeBlanc may choose to focus on behind-the-scenes work like boosting fundraising, or he could aim to leave on a high note by ensuring an easy transition for his successor.