Information on metro VP candidate in error

By Boyd Fletcher
fletchar@mscd.edu

Information provided to the campus community on Metro's lone candidate for vice president for student services was out of date as a result of communication errors within the college.

Dr. Douglas Samuels is currently a professor of black studies at Portland State University, but the resume and information circulating around Metro says he is still the vice provost for student affairs at Portland State.

" It's the college's fault that we did not distribute current information," said Cathy Lucas, spokesperson for Metro. "The information was all current when we received it, and we were going from that resume. I take full responsibility."

Lucas said Metro President Stephen Jordan received Samuels' resume early last summer, and that all bulletins and notices about his qualifications were based on that.

Jordan visited Portland State in mid-September to talk with faculty and staff, and was also aware of Samuels' move to professor, which came in late September. Samuels had served as a vice provost at Portland State since 2001.

Samuels visited Metro on Oct. 13 and 14 to meet with various groups on campus and was candid about his current position.

Metro Student Trustee Brian Glotzbach met with Samuels and said he was made aware of Samuels' current position at Portland State from the start of the meeting.

" He said that he was currently a professor," said Glotzbach. "There was nothing misleading about it at all."

Faculty Senate member Vonda Knox also said there was no misrepresentation by Samuels and that she was aware of his current position during their meeting. She said she was excited about Samuels' ideas on multicultural student retention.

Repeated attempts to reach Samuels for this story were unsuccessful.

Check this week's Metropolitan for a more comprehensive version of this story.