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May 20, 2005
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| David Taylor, who has led the U of M's General College for 16 years, is leaving to take a new job. The future of the General College is in doubt, since U President Robert Bruininks recommends closing it. (MPR Photo/Marisa Helms) |
Minneapolis, Minn. — (AP) - The dean of the University of Minnesota's General College, and its most vocal defender, announced he will step down in August to become provost and a senior vice president at Morehouse College in Atlanta.
University President Robert Bruininks is pushing to reorganize the university and close the General College, which helps underprepared high school students catch up before they transfer to other colleges within the university.
David Taylor, 59, who oversaw the General College for 16 years, announced Thursday that he had accepted the job at Morehouse, a small, historically black, liberal arts college that boasts the Rev. Martin Luther King and filmmaker Spike Lee as alumni.
"This is probably my last time to dance on a big stage and I wanted to do that in ways I couldn't always do here," Taylor said Thursday. "It's a wonderful opportunity that came at such a fortuitous time."
The General College students must transfer to other colleges, but only about half actually do that within two to three years. Less than a third of students to start in the college go on to earn a degree within six years, compared to 57 percent overall at the Twin Cities campus.
Bruininks has proposed merging the college into an expanded College of Education and Human Development as part of a sweeping restructuring plan.
University Provost Thomas Sullivan said in a prepared statement:
"This appointment recognizes David's many talents. I know my colleagues across the university will join me in wishing David the very best at Morehouse."
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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