Gov't center director offers resignation

Spady leaves with tensions running high James Spady, director of the Fels Center of Government, has publicly announced his resignation from the program. Spady announced his decision last Thursday evening, according to Robert Mujica, student spokesperson for the Fels Center. Fels students and employees received a letter from Spady announcing the resignation and explaining the issues involved in his decision. The letter has not been made public and Center officials declined to release details to the press. The Fels Center, which grants masters degrees in government administration, is a subdivision of the Graduate School of Fine Arts. Malcom Campbell, interim dean of the GSFA, said he and other administrators also received letters from Spady. But this letter differed from the one students and employees received. Campbell confirmed reports that there has been some tension in addition to numerous disputes between the program's administrators, particularly in dealing with issues that have repeatedly been addressed at board meetings. He explained that tempers flared when he proposed an external review of the program. And there were numerous arguments over the process of registering students into the program, Campbell said. But despite the problems, Campbell said the decision came as "a total shock" to him. Campbell said he feels that the Fels Center's program is an important part of the educational link to the community, city, state and country. "It is a vital part of the graduate education program in government," he said. Campbell stressed that he is very concerned about the students and the liability of the program. He is working with program coordinators to find a new director as well as a new professor to take over Spady's courses. "I very much regretted hearing about the resignation but I will be working closely with the program to make sure that things continue running smoothly during this interim," he said. Spady was slated to teach two classes at the Fels Center this semester, a government program for executive students and a government workshop for the class of '97, according to Mujica. Mujica added that these two classes are the most important in the program. Campbell declined to comment on who the new director might be, saying he plans wait until he has spoken with program coordinators again. He said he will meet with coordinators sometime later this week -- probably Thursday morning -- but explained that choosing a new director will take some time. "We'll be sure to let students know as soon as we know ourselves," Campbell said. Fels students held a meeting last night to discuss their position on the situation and their concerns about the fate of the program and future plans for the center. Representatives were elected last night to work with administrators on ironing out the complications created by Spady's resignation. At press time, the student representatives declined to comment on the situation, saying that they have not yet spoken with the administration members and wish to do so first. A spokesperson for the group said the students will release a statement sometime after they have had the chance to confer with administration members about future plans. Spady was unavailable for comment last night.