Under the heading “23 college presidents make $1M”, the article state: “Presidents of small liberal arts colleges tend to be paid less, with only John A. Fry, the president of Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster earning more than a $1 million in 2007-89.”
WATCHDOG: Fry is no academic but rather a hard driving, some would say ruthless, businessman. According to Wikipedia, his master’s degree is in accounting from New York University. In large part due to his close relationship with Governor Ed Rendell, Fry has opened a pipeline of tax payer money flowing from Harrisburg to Lancaster.
By doing so, he has enthralled not only the convention center sponsors—the High Group and the Lancaster Newspapers—but now has seduced Lancaster General Hospital to cede to his leadership and look the other way when High acts on LGH’s behalf in a high handed manner by placing a rail yard where a dump existed at huge additional costs to taxpayers rather than exploring an alternate location.
This is a man who stood on his lawn and watched while, across the street, his F&M security police manhandled and improperly incarcerated reporter Ron Harper, who had done nothing more than ask for an interview and later walk on the right-of-way in front of Fry’s home.
We have no doubt that that Fry would be worth even more than a million dollars in private industry. We also are of the opinion that the sooner he moves on, the more civil and better off the community and F&M will be.
Would F&M be as well off as Eisenhower College if Fry left? Would they be as well off as Antioch College?
The president of a small liberal arts college is not an educator. The actual operation of the academic function is handled by the dean. The president handles some administrative duties in regards to the physical plant, etc., but his primary role is development. He’s a glad-hander, a rainmaker, a salesman, a promoter.
Phil Ochs sang, of Ohio State, “You’ve given me a number and you’ve taken away my name, and to get around this campus, well, you almost need a plane.” College students walk to everything, so a college campus needs to be compact.
And putting a rail yard on a dump is good use of land that would otherwise go to waste – unless you think that would be a good place to build an elementary school, like they did at Love Canal.
Would I be mad if I lived there? Probably. I’m mad that the street I live on is too narrow, and a city-owned building blocks access to the alley behind my house, making it impossible for me to park off-street, resulting in frequent damage to vehicles. On the other hand, it was there when I moved in. I suspect most of the people living near F&M moved there after the campus was established. Since they were as dumb as I was, I can commiserate, but it’s not F&M’s fault.
Fry went to NYU. Not Wharton. He was the Executive Vice President at UPenn prior to coming to F&M, so get your facts straight. This is terrible reporting.
Editor’s note: We regret our error. Our apologies to the readers, to Fry and to the Wharton School.
What does High have to do with the railyard thing?
This sounds like partisan conjecture, conspiracy theory, and nonsense.
Would F&M be as well off as Eisenhower College if Fry left? Would they be as well off as Antioch College?
The president of a small liberal arts college is not an educator. The actual operation of the academic function is handled by the dean. The president handles some administrative duties in regards to the physical plant, etc., but his primary role is development. He’s a glad-hander, a rainmaker, a salesman, a promoter.
Phil Ochs sang, of Ohio State, “You’ve given me a number and you’ve taken away my name, and to get around this campus, well, you almost need a plane.” College students walk to everything, so a college campus needs to be compact.
And putting a rail yard on a dump is good use of land that would otherwise go to waste – unless you think that would be a good place to build an elementary school, like they did at Love Canal.
Would I be mad if I lived there? Probably. I’m mad that the street I live on is too narrow, and a city-owned building blocks access to the alley behind my house, making it impossible for me to park off-street, resulting in frequent damage to vehicles. On the other hand, it was there when I moved in. I suspect most of the people living near F&M moved there after the campus was established. Since they were as dumb as I was, I can commiserate, but it’s not F&M’s fault.