St. Mary’s College of Maryland has reportedly fired two long-time employees with a combined total of 62 years of service. In a letter to the college community on July 2, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aide Pat Goldsmith reported that the positions of Office Administrator Lisa Crowe, with 37 years at the college, and Director of Admissions Rich Edgar, with 25 years, had been eliminated. The following is the e-mail letter sent out by Goldsmith:
Dear Campus Community:
Admissions at St. Mary’s College is in the process of launching an ambitious, national recruitment campaign designed to improve the quantity, quality, and diversity of our applicant pool, which has been shrinking in recent years.
A bold campaign requires positions that are both thoroughly grounded in traditional best practices in admissions and financial aid and that are creative, innovative, and forward-looking. We’ve combined two traditional assistant director positions to create an Associate Director of Admissions and Financial Aid position. We anticipate the creation of one or two additional new positions that will create vital linkages among admissions, financial aid, and other key constituents.
In the reorganization, two positions – the Director of Admissions and the office administrator – have been eliminated. Rich Edgar served St. Mary’s College of Maryland for 25 years, and Lisa Crowe gave St. Mary’s an astonishing 37 years. We thank them for their many contributions, and wish them well in future endeavors.
Sincerely,
Pat Goldsmith
Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid
At the request from the Bay Net for comment, the college issued the following statement: “Personnel changes are difficult and emotional, complicated by the fact that personnel matters are necessarily confidential. Decisions regarding personnel are always made with the best interests of the College serving as the highest priority. “
The elimination of the positions has drawn immediate reaction within the college community. An on-line petition drive has been established at
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