Documents surface surrounding controversial meeting with community college presidents

What exactly happened behind closed doors last month between the dozen community college presidents and a top central office staff employee depends on whom you ask.

What isn’t debatable are the email communications that followed the meeting. They show that a plan had been drafted by the higher education system’s office for the separation of Gena Glickman from her job as president of Manchester Community College; education officials have been maintaining that no buyout was offered.

“I’d like to schedule a meeting with Bob. Here are some times I could be available,” Glickman emailed the president of 17-college Board of Regents office shortly after the Sept. 24 meeting, according to documents obtained by the Mirror this week through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Glickman never heard back from President Robert A. Kennedy. Her request for a meeting with him was, instead, passed off to Steven Weinberger, vice president for human resources.

The 16 items on the agenda — with Glickman’s notes —  for that monthly college presidents’ meeting reads, “Executive Staff will leave at this time.” The only person left in the room from the central office staff was Weinberger and Norwalk Community College President David Levinson, who also serves as the system’s executive vice president for the community colleges.

After a series of back-and-forths between Glickman and Weinberger, they set up a time to meet in person Sept. 27. Her calendar confirms that the meeting took place.

The next email didn’t come again until Oct. 1.

“Hi Gena: I’m planning to deliver a draft [of a separation agreement] for you to review this week; should I email it just to you, or is there another recipient to be included?” Weinberger wrote.

In Glickman’s response, she told him to send it to her lawyer.

Shortly after receiving the email from Weinberger, Glickman sent an email to her faculty informing them that she and other community college presidents had been offered a “buyout” she and the others either had to accept or face the risk of being let go.

The draft proposal never made it to Glickman or to her lawyer, her office confirmed Wednesday.

Keith M. Phaneuf contributed to this report.