Friday 10/5/2007 DAILY NEWS DIGEST

In just over five months at the helm of the two-year college system, Chancellor Bradley Byrne has taken on the Alabama Education Association and legislators with lucrative jobs in the system.

He’s fired people, and says he is certain he will fire more if that’s what it takes to get the system back to its three-fold mission of work force development, adult education, and providing academic credit for students hoping to go on to four-year institutions.

“Considering what we still have to do, there will be more decisions and more controversy,” Byrne said during a visit Thursday to Anniston and the Ayers Campus of Gadsden State Community College. “But we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing, because it’s the right thing to do and because we need to put all those issues behind us.”

The issues include an ongoing federal investigation of corruption in the two-year college system, and the revelation that several legislators and members of their families had lucrative jobs or contracts with the system.

Since Byrne became chancellor in May, he has visited 21 of the 27 colleges in the system and the Alabama Technology Network, delivering a message of restoring integrity to the system.

“The vast majority of our people are good people,” he said. “They wake up every day and play by the rules. Unfortunately, a handful of people have caused a lot of problems.”

Byrne said that if he hasn’t gotten rid of all the troublemakers, then he’s serving notice that their days are numbered.

“If there is anybody left who doesn’t want to obey the laws passed by the Legislature, who don’t want to abide by the policies adopted by the state school board, who don’t want to follow the guidelines that I have issued, they have to leave — now,” he said. “They are holding us back, and we’re not going to stand for it.”

Renee Culverhouse, president of Gadsden State, said that since Byrne has been leading the two-year system, the climate has become more stable.

“We have direction now, and the board is pulling together and following his lead,” said Culverhouse, who served as interim chancellor. “He and his staff are dealing with the periphery issues, and we as college presidents can handle our local responsibilities to our students and our communities, and we’re grateful for that.”

Byrne said that is how it should be.

“I’m willing to take all of that on me, because we’ve got to get focused on our three-part mission,” he said.

Byrne said that in the coming months the system’s new internal audit division will be in place, and there will be a complete review of adult-education programs. There also will be no more building of athletic facilities and dorms in the system.

But there could be some delay of the implementation of policies that would force legislators to decide between their elected offices and their jobs with the two-year system.

Byrne is seeking pre-clearance from the U.S. Justice Department on those policies, which the state Board of Education adopted in August. The AEA has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Postsecondary Education over the policies.