Doria Ripped by Star Ledger..Not Qualified

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Doria Ripped by Star Ledger..Not Qualified

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Posted by John Russ on December 08, 2004 at 22:45:56:

Hacking away at academic freedom
Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Here's a little tip for acting Gov. Richard Codey: If you ever want to get rid of the word "acting" in front of your title, drop the Doria thing. It has all the subtlety of a Tony Soprano hit.

Joe Doria is the old-time Hudson County pol whom Codey is trying to place in the presidency of Ramapo College. Codey's argu ment is that Doria, the Bayonne mayor and also a state senator, is supremely qualified to run a respected liberal arts college.
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Nonsense. What Doria is supremely qualified to do is fatten up his pension. That's what old politicians do when they are nearing retirement age. And that's what the 58-year-old Doria is up to. The Trenton tradition is to reward long-time legislators with cushy jobs in the pre-retirement years. And few jobs are cushier than the $195,000-a-year presidency of Ramapo.

University presidents make that kind of money because they have spent their lifetimes acquiring the type of academic credentials that Hudson County politicians so conspicuously lack. If you go to the college Web site (www.ramapo.edu), you can survey the sterling credentials of the five finalists chosen by a search committee to compete for the presidency. You will note that the name of Joseph Doria is not among those finalists -- even though Codey and his predecessor as governor, James McGreevey, made it plain Doria was their favorite.

There's a reason for this: Doria is not qualified. Doria's claim on the college presidency, other than his impressive political connections, is that he has a doctorate in education. Big deal. So has Bill Cosby. And unlike Doria, Cosby is a real deep thinker and a uniquely talented man. Still, that doesn't qualify him to lead a college. A high school perhaps. A grammar school certainly. But people with degrees in lower education do not commonly lead institutions of higher education.

That was among the reasons the search committee, after listening politely to Doria, did not name him among the finalists. Another reason was that he gave no indication that he was willing to devote himself to the job as required. At Ramapo, as at other colleges, the president is expected to live on the campus and to take part in campus life virtually around the clock. To this end, Ramapo College has set aside a stately mansion as the president's residence. As at other colleges, the president is expected not just to live there but to entertain academics and potential contributors on an almost daily basis.

Yet Doria made it plain that if chosen president he intended to keep living in Bayonne. Though Doria has not commented publicly on the issue, he apparently also intends to keep both his day jobs, the one in Bayonne as well as the one in Trenton. The sole debate has been on whether he could legally hold onto the senatorial spot, but he has given no indication he wants to give it up.

The search committee was underwhelmed by the prospect of having a full-time politician as a part-time president. They took a pass on Doria.

The board of trustees had other ideas. As part of his effort to politicize higher education in New Jersey, McGreevey packed the board of trustees at Ramapo with political operatives. Codey is continuing that tradition.

Last week, the Codey contingent on the board made a last- ditch effort to stop the search dead in its tracks. Citing some alleged technical flaws in the search process, the Codey crowd made a move to reopen the search. The measure failed on a 6-6 tie vote, but only because the professional politicians overlooked the inconvenient fact that an amateur, the student representative on the board, was entitled to vote on the matter. Otherwise, Doria would have been back in the running. He still may be if Codey has his way. The governor is openly pushing to put his pal in the presidency.

The acting governor has not asked my advice on this, but here it comes anyway: Give it up. It'll never get past the goo-goos.

The goo-goos -- the many liberal, do-gooders in this state -- will never buy this one. Though I disagree with my liberal friends on most aspects of politics, I have to say they have their good points. One of these is a strong belief in academic freedom. Though most liberals support the Democratic Party, they don't want to see the state's higher education system become part of the Democratic political machine.

If this is the kind of crude stunt that Codey intends to pull, he might as well forget about running against U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine in the Democratic primary. Heck, even the Republicans might be able to beat him.

Paul Mulshine is a Star-Ledger columnist.

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: Hacking away at academic freedom
: Tuesday, December 07, 2004

: Here's a little tip for acting Gov. Richard Codey: If you ever want to get rid of the word "acting" in front of your title, drop the Doria thing. It has all the subtlety of a Tony Soprano hit.

: Joe Doria is the old-time Hudson County pol whom Codey is trying to place in the presidency of Ramapo College. Codey's argu ment is that Doria, the Bayonne mayor and also a state senator, is supremely qualified to run a respected liberal arts college.
: Advertisement

:
:
:

: Nonsense. What Doria is supremely qualified to do is fatten up his pension. That's what old politicians do when they are nearing retirement age. And that's what the 58-year-old Doria is up to. The Trenton tradition is to reward long-time legislators with cushy jobs in the pre-retirement years. And few jobs are cushier than the $195,000-a-year presidency of Ramapo.

: University presidents make that kind of money because they have spent their lifetimes acquiring the type of academic credentials that Hudson County politicians so conspicuously lack. If you go to the college Web site (www.ramapo.edu), you can survey the sterling credentials of the five finalists chosen by a search committee to compete for the presidency. You will note that the name of Joseph Doria is not among those finalists -- even though Codey and his predecessor as governor, James McGreevey, made it plain Doria was their favorite.

: There's a reason for this: Doria is not qualified. Doria's claim on the college presidency, other than his impressive political connections, is that he has a doctorate in education. Big deal. So has Bill Cosby. And unlike Doria, Cosby is a real deep thinker and a uniquely talented man. Still, that doesn't qualify him to lead a college. A high school perhaps. A grammar school certainly. But people with degrees in lower education do not commonly lead institutions of higher education.

: That was among the reasons the search committee, after listening politely to Doria, did not name him among the finalists. Another reason was that he gave no indication that he was willing to devote himself to the job as required. At Ramapo, as at other colleges, the president is expected to live on the campus and to take part in campus life virtually around the clock. To this end, Ramapo College has set aside a stately mansion as the president's residence. As at other colleges, the president is expected not just to live there but to entertain academics and potential contributors on an almost daily basis.

: Yet Doria made it plain that if chosen president he intended to keep living in Bayonne. Though Doria has not commented publicly on the issue, he apparently also intends to keep both his day jobs, the one in Bayonne as well as the one in Trenton. The sole debate has been on whether he could legally hold onto the senatorial spot, but he has given no indication he wants to give it up.

: The search committee was underwhelmed by the prospect of having a full-time politician as a part-time president. They took a pass on Doria.

: The board of trustees had other ideas. As part of his effort to politicize higher education in New Jersey, McGreevey packed the board of trustees at Ramapo with political operatives. Codey is continuing that tradition.

: Last week, the Codey contingent on the board made a last- ditch effort to stop the search dead in its tracks. Citing some alleged technical flaws in the search process, the Codey crowd made a move to reopen the search. The measure failed on a 6-6 tie vote, but only because the professional politicians overlooked the inconvenient fact that an amateur, the student representative on the board, was entitled to vote on the matter. Otherwise, Doria would have been back in the running. He still may be if Codey has his way. The governor is openly pushing to put his pal in the presidency.

: The acting governor has not asked my advice on this, but here it comes anyway: Give it up. It'll never get past the goo-goos.

: The goo-goos -- the many liberal, do-gooders in this state -- will never buy this one. Though I disagree with my liberal friends on most aspects of politics, I have to say they have their good points. One of these is a strong belief in academic freedom. Though most liberals support the Democratic Party, they don't want to see the state's higher education system become part of the Democratic political machine.

: If this is the kind of crude stunt that Codey intends to pull, he might as well forget about running against U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine in the Democratic primary. Heck, even the Republicans might be able to beat him.

: Paul Mulshine is a Star-Ledger columnist.

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