President David Pollick helps Birmingham-Southern College navigate financial crisis
The Birmingham News
August 2, 2010
As alumni, students, faculty and supporters of Birmingham-Southern College learn more about the accounting errors and deficits that helped put the elite liberal arts school in financial crisis, the blame game and finger-pointing has heated up.
Some have divided into camps, either calling for the firing of President David Pollick or defending him as having inherited deep-rooted problems. Faculty in a meeting Thursday voted 54-14 to table a motion for a vote of no confidence in Pollick.
"It suggests that the faculty takes the president at his word and we're ready to go forward," said Natalie Davis, professor of political science. "It was a very emotional meeting."
Pollick spoke at the meeting. "He bore his soul a little bit," Davis said. "He expressed first that he took responsibility as CEO and apologized to the faculty for what happened. A lot of people had a lot to say about how unhappy they are with what occurred."