 "Photo: Archive Photo")
At 9 a.m., Tuesday, March 2, president of the STLCC-Meramec campus Paul Pai, Ed.D., held a meeting with all the managers who worked under Vice President of Student Affairs Stephen Petersen, Ed.D. At this meeting, Pai said that Petersen “was gone.”
“Dr. Pai came in and just very matter-of-factly stated that Dr. Petersen was gone,” said Claudia Potts, manager of the South County Education University Center, who was at the meeting. “My first reaction was, ‘Dr. Petersen had died,’ but in his next breath he said, ‘Yesterday was his last day.’”
With those words, Pai announced to the staff that Petersen’s probationary contract had not been renewed. Monday was in fact his last day as vice president of student affairs.
“Dr. Pai asked if there were any questions. I was the first one to speak,” Potts said. “I am very proud of the fact that I raised my hand and said I wanted to go on record to state that ‘In the 16 years I have been here, he was one of the best things to have ever happened to St. Louis Community College.’”
According to Potts, Pai did not respond.
“I was confused,” Potts said. “Why would they let the most effective person that I’ve dealt with in 16 years of the college go? I was totally confused about how that could happen. I felt helpless, and the only thing I knew to do was to speak up to say that, in my opinion, he was one of the very best that we’ve had.”
The reasons as to why Petersen was let go have not been given to staff or students – nor is the school required to provide them.
According to Missouri contract law, any person under a probationary contract, such as Petersen, may not have his contract renewed “without [the board] assigning reasons therefore and without affording a due process hearing.” In other words, no reasons need to be given for the refusal to renew.
Pai claimed that, due to privacy, Petersen’s removal will not be discussed.
“Certainly, there’s really not much that I can say,” Pai said. “This is a personnel matter; we need to protect his privacy. Basically, he’s gone; I’m confirming that he’s gone. Yesterday was his last day. That’s all I can say.”
Joann Ordinachev, the chair for the school’s Board of Trustees made a similar statement.
“I can confirm that Dr. Peterson is no longer with the college,” Ordinachev said. “The board is not at liberty to comment on personnel matters in the interest of privacy.”
Students, however, were not satisfied with this answer.
On March 9, the Student Governance Council expressed their support for Petersen. At their meeting, which Pai also attended, the SGC members approved a statement to be made at the next board of trustees meeting in support of Petersen.
“As a student body, we have been served well by the vice president of student affairs. As an organization which also serves the students of this institution, the SGC has lost a valuable resource and friend in Dr. Petersen. He has earned our respect and support,” states part of the text agreed upon at the meeting. “The SGC’s hope is that the board of trustees will reconsider the continued employment of Dr. Stephen Petersen.”
Pai, while addressing the SGC at their meeting, said again that he could not mention the exact reason why Petersen’s contract was not renewed. He recommended students write a letter of recommendation for Petersen’s next job.
“With that [letter of recommendation] coming from you all, that really is much more powerful than what I would say in my recommendation letter,” Pai said.
Pai also said that he initiated the decision process to not renew Petersen’s contract.
“The person who has to initiate this type of recommendation is nobody else but me,” Pai said. “This burden falls on me.”
Petersen declined to comment at this time.
A Clean Record
Before he was hired in 2008, Petersen worked in different administrative positions throughout Missouri universities. In 2007 he was appointed assistant vice chancellor for Alumni Relations at Washington University.
An article from WashU’s website praised his performance.
“Steve brings a wealth of experience in many facets of student and alumni relations, as well as administrative leadership to Washington University,” said Pamella Henson, associate vice chancellor of alumni & development programs.
Petersen also worked at St. Louis University as interim vice president for development and university relations. SLU’s website modeled almost identical praise for Petersen.
"Steve brings a wealth of experience to this position, including heading development efforts at another university," said SLU’s President Lawrence Biondi.
However, it was at University of Central Missouri where students and faculty witnessed Petersen’s work for 24 years as their vice president for student and alumni affairs. Furthermore, Petersen’s impact on Greek community at UCM was such that an award was named after him.
According to the award description, "The Dr. Stephen H. Petersen Award goes to a member of the UCM community who goes above and beyond in supporting the Greek students and has demonstrated service and commitment to the central Greek community."
Jeffrey Murphy, assistant director of media relations at UCM, said he worked with Petersen since he started at UCM in 1980, until he retired in the summer of 2004.
"He was always a very kind man, an individual who cares about students," Murphy said. "He was very highly regarded by our Greek community."
In 2008, his experience led him to the vice president of student affairs position at Meramec.
In an August 2008 Montage article, Pai described Petersen as the "best fit" for Meramec.
"He’s sought after by many college and university arenas in Missouri, [both] public and private," Pai said of Petersen. "What he also impresses is that he says his devotion is in the student services area. When the position here became open, he applied for it. Actually, he applied twice, once before I [arrived]. Certainly, he has proven he is well-liked, as well as him being the best fit for this position."
Kim Fitzgerald, coordinator of enrollment management at STLCC, worked with Petersen on several occasions. She was also at the meeting organized by Pai on March 9. Fitzerald said she considered Petersen a qualified individual for his position.
"He was one of the best administrators I’ve ever had the privilege to work with," Fitzgerald said. "I learned something new from him almost every day. He set a standard for professionalism that is beyond compare."
Professors and students want transparency
John Messmer, political science professor, said that although Petersen’s probationary contract does not require an explanation as to why he was let go, it doesn’t mean people cannot demand one.
"That [probationary contract] shouldn’t keep people from demanding an explanation," Messmer said. "We shouldn’t just exist in a vacuum where decisions are made either at Cosand [Center] or over at Clark Hall and no one who is affected by these decisions has any recourse - any ability to question them."
Messmer also said there was a high chance that students and faculty would be voicing their opinions to the administration.
"There is a certain movement afoot, not only by students…but also by faculty and staff," Messmer said.
Juliet Scherer, associate professor of the English department, said that many at the college are frustrated by this decision.
"I’ve worked closely with Dr. Petersen on numerous occasions, and I hold no other administrator I’ve ever worked with in higher regard," Scherer said. "So many of us are shocked and frustrated by Dr. Petersen’s dismissal because we wonder how someone like him can be relieved of his duties when we believe that he is everything our campus and STLCC needs."
Other students outside of the SGC plan to make statements regarding Petersen’s dismissal. Meramec student Vincent Hayden, vice president of communication for Phi Theta Kappa, said students should push for transparency in decision-making processes between the president, the chancellor and board of trustees.
"I think most students should voice their opinion at the board of trustees meeting," Hayden said. "Our support should be behind Dr. Petersen and in making sure that this is a transparent process of what is going on between the board of trustees, the chancellor and the college president. "
Hayden also said that students ought to be careful of how they voice their opinions.
"I think we need to be careful. Dr. Pai is still the president of this college and therefore regardless of anybody’s personal opinion regarding him, I don’t think we need to attack Dr. Pai," Hayden said. "That’s not the appropriate course of action. The appropriate course of action is to support Dr. Petersen and essentially ask the board to continue Dr. Petersen as V.P. of student affairs."
However, Hayden said that there is also the possibility that Petersen decides not to come back, even if the job is offered again.
"And that’s really not the point. The point isn’t whether or not he comes back. The point is that he gets the dignity to be offered the chance to come back," Hayden said. "And then at that point, we have done our job to support him, just like he had supported us, and we would have fulfilled our obligation as students."
Andrea Royals and Collin Reischman contributed to this article.
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In an August 2008 Montage article, Pai described Petersen as the "best fit" for Meramec. "He’s sought after by many college and university arenas in Missouri, [both] public and private," Pai said of Petersen. "What he also impresses is that he says his devotion is in the student services area. When the position here became open, he applied for it. Actually, he applied twice, once before I [arrived]. Certainly, he has proven he is well-liked, as well as him being the best fit for this position."