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Welcome Message from the President
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Election Day in Washingon
Bill Schoettle and I flew to Washington on the morning of Friday, August 24, 1979. We checked in at the Watergate Hotel.
Bill was the Controller at Cooley; the money man. He had come to us originally as part of our CPA’s audit team. He knew all about making a law school function financially. I wanted him to help evaluate the fiscal mess I was sure we were getting into.
At 1:00 PM, we met with Jeff Petrash at his office. Paul Thomas, counsel for the school, was also there. In a few minutes, Irwin Sherwin arrived, his counsel, David Boone, in tow.
We chatted for a while, feeling each other out. It was my impression that Sherwin was quite happy to have a basis for getting involved at Potomac without having to front any money. I suspected that he was being used by the DiPietro-Winstead forces as a desperate last straw to keep me out.
Without much trouble, Sherwin and I agreed that we would be willing to work together. I saw him as exuding a blustery self confidence, but inwardly cautious about making any real commitment. I had a hunch that he was buying into the traditional Potomac fantasy; get some big donors, affiliate with an existing college; and accreditation will come quickly and easily; and that he thought finding donors and merger partners would be a piece of cake.
But I didn’t think he would stand in the way of Cooley style management. We shook hands and left separately for the meeting at Potomac.
The board was already in session when we got there. Bill and I went to our rooms and waited for the phone to ring. At about 4:00 PM we were summoned to the meeting.
There was a brief parliamentary skirmish. A motion was offered and seconded that Sherwin be elected to the board and also as chairman, and that I be elected to the board, and also as president and CEO. Colonel William R. Kenny, a DiPietro supporter, attempted to separate the two elections. His motion was defeated 7-4, and the combined election was approved unanimously.
Chairman Lee Corcoran, who had supported me on the Kenny motion, then submitted his resignation, which was accepted with regret, but sincere appreciation for his service. Whereupon, the new chairman, Irwin Sherwin, accepted congratulations all around, and promptly left to go home. It was about what I had expected. The rest of the meeting was businesslike and conducted under the leadership of Vice Chair Alice O’Donnell.
Jeff Petrash was elected secretary of the corporation, at a compensation to be determined by the president. He was directed to gather up the records and assemble a corporate minute book.
I was authorized to retain legal counsel; directed to prepare a budget; to create a trust fund for unearned tuition; and authorized to obtain a $100,000 line of credit from the bank.
Sherwin, Winstead and Schmidt were named to a fund raising committee, and I was asked to convey to the student body the news about the board’s actions and invite all students to return for the fall semester.
On the following Monday, at my request, Jeff Petrash went to the Watergate and met with the Potomac clerical staff. He assured them that no one was going to be fired, and that we intended to meet Thursday’s payroll. On Tuesday, August 28, Cooley’s dean Bob Krinock and I flew to Washington, and went directly to the law school.
We met with Dean Maury Kirk until lunch time. Bob and Maury continued our session over lunch, while I went to eat with the auditors from Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. They felt they could have some numbers for me before the September 11 board meeting. Back at the school, Jeff and I put together the Thursday payroll, getting the bank to agree to honor the checks.
Later, Bob and I had a brief evaluation session regarding Dean Kirk. We agreed that he lacked leadership ability, passed all issues on to the faculty, and blamed all problems on his predecessor.
That evening, I visited some of the classes, told them what was going on; told them that Potomac’s greatest asset was the student body; and asked for their support.
The next day, I got a nice letter on law office stationary from a student who enthusiastically offered to organize a "face lifting crew" to spiff up the school. I was to hear a lot more from that student in the years to come.
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This Page was last updated on:
08/19/2004