Dear Dr. Caldwell,
As a public relations executive of a large mid-America corporation, I have been a long-time "FC watcher" and have been interested particularly in developments over the last four years during which time you have dismissed (fired?) four key people. I have several relatives who have attended FC and I have contributed to the college many times over the last 30 years.
After spending considerable time investigating IAD's charges, I find the charges against you accurate and very troublesome. Bill Hammontree's tactics are despicable. That he has been on the board for so many years is incredible, and does not speak well of the other board members who continue to tolerate his self-serving behavior. His treatment of Jaun Guyer (and your complicity) was unconscionable.
It has been confirmed that IAD's mailing campaign and website have convinced FC donors to withdraw contributions well into six figures.
It is obvious that the board of directors dreads the task of removing yet another president, appointing a search committee, and selecting a new president. It is unfortunate that the only way to get a visionary president for FC with excellent administrative talent is to continue to bring financial pressure on the board.
When they remove you as president, we urge those who have participated in this effort to double their previous contributions. I will continue to urge supporters to withhold support to FC until you resign.
With justification, you have become a very controversial president. Perhaps you thought you could fire people in relative secrecy who had offended you. The policy that administrators and untenured teachers "serve at the pleasure of the president" seemingly gives you the power of a tyrant to dismiss good people abruptly and totally without due process. I knew Jim Cope for many years. His decision-making processes were not visceral---as yours seem to be. While his commitment and emotions were inextricably linked, he was always fair-minded in his treatment of FC's administrators, faculty, and employees.
Your response on FC's home page did not refute the charges made by IAD. A letter supporting you from FC�s Bible department would have been much more convincing. Not only do YOU not have administrative talent, you can't seem to find administrators who do.
Following are clearly stated reasons why FC needs a new president.
(1) You appointed a 28-year-old to head the facilities management department after firing a man with 30 years of experience, who made the mistake of exposing Bill Hammontree's poor choices of vendors, especially the HVAC contractor and the contractor who built Hinely Hall.
(2) You appointed a man with absolutely no experience in student recruitment after allowing a man with a 11-year success record to leave. Your enrollments fell badly and financially damaged the college.
(3) You had to slash the budget radically to deal with a 7-figure deficit as enrollments decreased markedly from January 2002 through April 2003. The current budget has band-aids all over it. We learned recently that the three key managers in the business office resigned in September. Why?? And how do you replace three key people at one time?
(4) You appointed a man that you have under your thumb to chair the Bible department. Current faculty members have made this charge. He rarely is asked to hold gospel meetings and is virtually unknown in our brotherhood. He follows three men who were well-known among our brethren, all of whom were in high demand for gospel meetings and highly respected for their scholarship and publications.
(5) You appointed a friend to run the Florida College Bookstore who had no experience in bookstore management. His salary increases were supposed to be based on the bookstore's profitability and revenue increases. Those goals weren't met but he still got salary increases.
(6) You appointed the same friend to simultaneously serve as director of publications. His experience in magazine production was zero, and no comparison to the man you fired.
(7) After three graduating classes, the elementary education program is faltering. It has a �skeleton crew� faculty and a very limited course offering. Graduating sophomores are defecting to attend accredited universities with broader course offerings.
(8) You can count the number of BAs in Biblical Studies on one hand. The program is not growing. With the accredited BA, it should be one of your "showcase" programs.
(9) Your integrity is severely questionable after you first strongly supported Jaun Guyer and Shane Scott, and then abandoned them when board pressure (Guyer) and outside pressure (Scott) became too much for you. You can offer excuses ad infinitum but the truth is all too obvious: when the controversy gets hot, we can count on you to disappear.
FLORIDA COLLEGE desperately needs new, visionary leadership! We urge all FC supporters to stop contributions NOW until you resign --- for the sake of FC and for the sake of the students who deserve the best leadership possible.
We urge you to resign and allow the board to appoint a search committee. Except for a non-voting member, we hope that the FC Board does not appoint its own board members to the search committee.
Sincerely yours,
Jenn Smith