APRIL, TRADITIONALLY A time of excitement and possibility in higher education, is instead proving to be the cruelest month for US colleges and universities. High school seniors normally would be weighing their options after receiving college admission decisions, while campuses buzz with visits from excited would-be students. Instead, prospective freshmen are wondering whether their first […]
Suffolk University
Posted inThe Download
Sounds of silence at Suffolk
The silence coming out of Suffolk University is deafening. The board of trustees still isn’t talking about why it fired president Margaret McKenna, and McKenna herself hasn’t said anything since she issued a statement late last week suggesting her termination was unfair. The lack of chatter is amazing given the circus that erupted earlier this […]
Posted inThe Download
Deja vu at Suffolk U
A correction was added to this story clarifying that the Suffolk trustees sent a letter to the Suffolk community Thursday evening. That letter said McKenna had been terminated but did not explain why. Suffolk University’s trustees voted to fire President Margaret McKenna and her chief of staff on Thursday, but they bungled her removal just […]
Posted inMedia, The Download
Regan’s greatest show
There is a principle of public relations thinking that you want to maximize positive exposure for a client and minimize negative coverage. Then there is the old adage, which had more currency in the early days of PR, that it doesn’t matter what is said about you as long they spell your name right. Put […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Suffolk settlement a big win for McKenna and university
ON FRIDAY, AFTER a week of growing conflict between Suffolk University’s board of trustees on one side, and students, faculty, staff, and alumni who supported President Margaret McKenna on the other, the trustees agreed to a settlement: Trustees chairman Andrew Meyer would leave the board at the end of his current term this May. The […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
McKenna’s marketing deal with the Globe
As the Suffolk University soap opera heads toward some resolution today, one storyline hasn’t received much attention — the decision by President Margaret McKenna to enter into a $670,000 advertising and marketing agreement with the Boston Globe. The advertising deal came up last weekend when Suffolk board chairman Andrew Meyer and three other trustees told […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Suffolk’s McKenna gaining upper hand
Suffolk University President Margaret McKenna met for four hours on Wednesday with her nemesis on the board of trustees, a sign that some resolution of the ugly public fight over McKenna’s tenure is in the offing. The board is scheduled to meet to fire McKenna on Friday, but her powwow with board chairman Andrew Meyer […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Suffolk-cating presidents
Suffolk University is in a constant identity crisis. Of course, when you have five presidents in six years, that’s bound to happen. And, if the university’s board of trustees has its way, the downtown school may be making yet another change at the top. But this time, it’s not happening without a fight. Reports began circulating last […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Why Suffolk community stands behind Margaret McKenna
MARGARET MCKENNA IS the fifth president Suffolk University has had since 2010; now, seven months into her first term, the chairman of Suffolk’s board of trustees wants to fire her. That’s really all you need to know to understand the outpouring of support for McKenna from Suffolk students, faculty, staff, and alumni. We have seen […]