Cleary Leadership Called Into Question by Former Board MembersCleary Leadership Called Into Question by Former Board Members

1/21/14 - Two former members of the Cleary University Board of Trustees say plans to potentially sell off the school’s Ann Arbor campus are a sign of a much broader, troubled financial picture, something the university’s president strongly refutes. Last month, Cleary announced to the employees of its Washtenaw Campus on Plymouth Road in Ann Arbor that it was exploring either leasing the campus or selling it outright due to declining in-classroom enrollment there. The university would then transfer many of the functions and employees to its main campus in Genoa Township. Cleary President Tom Sullivan said the proposal was due to the fact that students taking classes at that campus had decreased significantly in the past few years and were instead opting for online courses. But for Matt Ikle, a former member of the Cleary Board of Trustees and one-time president of the Alumni Association, the decision was the result of poor financial decisions including adding a sports program and paying to house a donated art collection by world-renowned artist Arthur Secunda at the Genoa campus. "For a small business university to get off its core by adding athletics and an art gallery when you don't have funds to support it...is not a good decision to make." That criticism was echoed by local developer Joe Parker, who left the board in 2012 due to differences with the direction the rest of the board and Sullivan wanted to take the university, especially concerning the addition of a sports program. Parker said that just like GM or Ford require a change in leadership to remain competitive, so too does Cleary. But Sullivan insists the decision to add sports was made as a way to increase enrollment and is something many other business schools have already done. Sullivan says while the university did see enrollment drop during the recession, so too did almost all small education institutions. He disputes the notion that the decision to explore selling the Ann Arbor campus is being driven by a cash shortage, pointing out that the university has been shifting its focus to Livingston County since the 1990’s. He adds that the value of the 2.5-acre parcel has essentially doubled since they bought it for $2 million in 1998 and that as online courses increase their enrollment; it just makes sense to look into selling it now that the real estate market has rebounded. "As those values have come up and as we've had much more success with our distance learning program, we find we don't have as much demand for face to face classes and the facility is under utilized. So it makes sense to consolidate that." But both Ikle and Parker maintain that the university is risking its long-term viability by incurring the costs of not only a sports program, but also with housing a donated art collection at the Genoa Township campus. They say the dispute with the board that led to their departure is due to Sullivan’s influence and it’s time for new leadership. Sullivan feels their criticism is a non-issue and the school is moving forward into a future he feels will be productive and fruitful. (JK)