Cal Poly Vice President of Student Affairs Cornel Morton will no longer be in his current position come January, the university announced Thursday. He will instead be working as Cal Poly’s first senior advisor to the president for outreach.
Morton, who has been the vice president of student affairs since 2002, will now be working to encourage more first-generation students to come to Cal Poly. The change will take effect Jan. 1.
Under his new job description, Morton’s old salary of $179,400 will be reduced by approximately $40,000. His salary of $140,004 will take effect on June 1, 2012.
A search will begin for the new vice president immediately, Cal Poly public affairs team leader Stacia Momburg said.
“It does take a bit of time to prepare advertising for the opening,” she said. “I expect a new vice president could be in place by the beginning of next school year.”
In the meantime, current University Housing director Preston Allen will serve as interim vice president. Allen will continue in his University Housing position while Cal Poly searches for a new vice president.
Momburg said outreach and diversity initiatives are near the top of Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong’s priorities. The time is right for action on that agenda, Momburg said, due to Morton’s “strong background in increasing diversity.”
“President Armstrong tries to move quickly regarding initiatives, and this seemed like the right time to move forward on this,” Momburg said.
The new adviser position Morton will take is necessary due to the increasing complexity in global markets, Momburg said. Armstrong has been told in multiple private conversations that diversity is Cal Poly’s “Achilles’ heel,” she said.
It is unclear if the new position’s creation was a collaborative effort between Morton and Armstrong, or if Armstrong ordered Morton’s reassignment to the position. Neither Morton nor Armstrong were available for comment Friday.
A new day for Cal Poly. Is it just me, or does this sound like a fake position? After all, it’s not everyday that an administrator makes less than what he started out with. 🙂
I personally think its a step in the right direction. If he can attract more minority groups to campus, Cal Poly may not have to resort to racial based affirmative action strategies to bring more diversity to campus.
Hey, I’d gladly take $140k per year to work less than part time.
The position is fake in the sense that it brings no value whatsoever to the school.
A bigger step in the right direction would be acknowledging that racial diversity is inherently worthless. Diversity in terms of national/socioeconomic backgrounds has a certain value, but the emphasis on race is, I think, some type of mental disorder. Cal Poly’s academic merits set itself apart from the other California universities because of its values and curriculum, which are completely race-neutral.
Fire him for crying out loud! Get rid of the position. We don’t need to be spend precious money on a VP of Student Affairs. We didn’t need it when Poly was funded and we sure as heck don’t need it today. As it is, he’s making 140k to do nothing and another guy is making 170k to do nothing. He’s supposed be representing our affairs, but he is stealing from our education.
Is this the same Cornel Morton who precipitated the Steve Hinkel affair? That cost CP SLO a few bucks and spread the face of SLO all over the news. What other activities is he known for?
Indeed it is, Paul. He has cost the school thousands!
Great Point Paul. What a fascinating story that ordeal is.
For all viewers, below is the transcript from Hinkle’s Judicial Affairs hearing. Take note of Morton’s testimony and ask yourself if you’d like to raise tuition to keep this man employed:
http://thefire.org/article/4970.html