Community College of Philadelphia Hires Controversial New Leader

Inside Higher Ed reports that Community College of Philadelphia has hired Donald Generals Jr. as its new president, despite concerns from college faculty: Generals previously served as provost of the for-profit Katharine Gibbs School of New York, which closed in 2008 after accusations it misled students.

“We do know that it was a troubled institution, and we do know that he was a leader there,” said Steve Jones, faculty union co-president and an assistant professor English as a second language.  “It’s not fair to Dr. Generals to hang the problems at Katharine Gibbs on him, but because we as an organization weren’t involved in the search, we haven’t had a chance to explore that.”

Despite those concerns, the college’s board of trustees hired Generals on a three-year contract with a base pay of $235,000.