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Reporting on the state of education in your community and across the country.

Scarborough is Out as University of Akron's President

[photo: Mark Urycki/ ideastream]

by M.L. Schultze 

Scott Scarborough is out as the president of the University of Akron. Trustees accepted his resignation at a special meeting Tuesday, giving him the option of a year’s pay – about $450,000 – or taking a faculty position in the business school.

If he opts for the faculty position, the contract the university trustees signed when they hired him promises him 65 percent of his president's salary for at least five years or the highest pay  in the business school -- whichever is higher. The 65 percent comes to $292,500 a year.

Scarborough, who was with the university for two years, was not at the meeting.

Trustee President Jonathan Pavloff said the resignation was a mutual decision.

As we looked at the environment that we have today, and the challenges that are in front of us, we determined that the best path forward, the one that gave us the best chance for success, was to have a change in leadership."

The announcement followed a series of controversies, including hundreds of layoffs, plummeting enrollment, a faculty no-confidence vote, and a failed rebranding campaign and contract with a startup that was supposed to boost freshman retention.

By late September, Scarborough also must move out of the mansion, which the university spent about million dollars renovating for him.

In a statement, Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan said the announcement “provides an opportunity to move beyond a difficult period in the history of our university – although many challenges still remain.” He’s urging the trustees to fully engage faculty, students, alumni and the community in finding the next president.

Read statements by Scarborough and Pavloff.