In a county that borders on bankruptcy it only makes sense to merge the campuses into downtown. Sorry that politics has to be a part of his issue but let’s get real. When the funding comes from a taxbase that is dwindling every year there is less and less money for you all to play with.
Buffalo News - Mariani resigns as president of ECC
The president of Erie Community College for nearly a decade abruptly announced his resignation Wednesday.
William J. Mariani, who has been at the helm of ECC since 1997, notified his executive staff and board of trustees of the decision early Wednesday morning, just before calling a City Campus news conference to announce he will step down by the end of this school year.
Mariani, 57, who earns $185,498 a year, did not give a specific reason for his departure.
“It is time for me to move on,” he said. “Today, I officially announce my departure from my position as eighth president of Erie Community College to pursue other professional and personal goals and spend more time with my family and friends.”
Growing frustration in dealing with Erie County government was at least part of the reason for his departure, people close to the situation thought.
ECC receives more than 18 percent of its funding from the county, so Mariani not only answers to the State University of New York and the ECC board of trustees, but also to the County Legislature and County Executive Joel A. Giambra.
Despite rising costs, the college has fought unsuccessfully to increase the level of county support over the years, and just last year it fended off an attempt to slash the county’s subsidy from $15.4 million to $6 million.
This reliance on county funding traps the college squarely in the middle of Erie County politics.
County officials have long interfered in the operations of the college, which frustrated ECC officials and drew sharp criticism from an outside accrediting agency.
“It has been frustrating,” said Raymond F. Gallagher, chairman of the ECC board of trustees. “It’s a situation where I can’t blame any one person. It’s just been very, very difficult.”
College officials spent years fighting Giambra’s plan to merge the three ECC campuses into one downtown campus, a situation that strained Mariani’s relationship with the county executive.
Colleagues said Mariani also did not appreciate attacks on his compensation package by county legislators last year and again this year in a county comptroller’s audit that was critical of the college.
“My suspicion tells me he got frustrated with the politics of being president of a college that has too many masters,” said Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, D-Buffalo, who spoke with Mariani on Wednesday.
2 users commented in " Mariani resigns as president of ECC "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackOccasionally a blind squirrel will find a nut. Likewise, Joel Giambra stumbled onto a good idea: consolidate ECC downtown. I’m sure it had to do with his developer buddies lusting after the Main & Youngs Rd. site. Regardless of the reason, it is the correct thing to do. The revenue from the increased tax base would be substantial (read: millions). This would also stop this nonsense of building dorms for ECC students.
Mr. Mariani fought this move. If the faculty don’t like the idea of the relocation they can quit. Private sector firms move to different sites all of the time. Get used to the real world ECC.
His salary doesn’t seem to be totally out of line when you consider the pay of local school district officials who operate a much less complex operation.
Consolidating ECC downtown will also be very beneficial for the students. All of the resources will be concentrated in one location and accessible easily by all. There was also talk of fully integrating ECC into the SUNY system, this should be investigated. It could be beneficial to both the College and the County.
Leave A Reply