Scott Scarborough

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Scott L. Scarborough was president of the University of Akron from 2014 to 2016. At the beginning of his tenure, the University of Akron was heavily in debt after his predecessor's 15-year-tenure, which had seen major, expensive expansions. During his tenure, he sought to overcome this debt, but his decisions lead to major opposition from the university community, and he resigned after only two years in the position.

After Scarborough took the University of Akron in July 2014, in an attempt to reduce spending, there were major layoffs of staff, including most of the university's press, and the intercollegiate baseball team was disbanded. The university sought to rebrand itself as "Ohio's Polytechnic University," initially considering an attempt to change the name. The rebranding process often involved expensive advertising, and Scarborough at times made comments that outraged the several other presidents of universities in northeast Ohio.

In a move some felt was an attempt to raise tuition in violation of Ohio legislative action on the matter, Scarborough imposed at $50 a credit-hour fee for upper-level classes. At the same time, introductory-level courses were offered at lower prices in a way suggesting they were a better value than community college courses, a move that alienated the leaders of regional community colleges.

Under Scarborough's leadership, the University of Akron founded a Center for Data Science, Analytics and Information Technology. It also established the Experiential Learning Center for Entrepreneurship and Civic Engagement.

At the same time, the university president's residence was refurbished for just under $1 million. This was viewed by some as too costly, especially at a time of layoffs and increased tuition.

The end of Scarborough's tenure came as he involved the University of Akron in talks with ITT-Tech to become the center of a national educational chain. Enrollment for fall of 2016 showed a very steep decline from previous years.

Sources[]

• Inside Higher Education article on Scarborough
• Crain's Ohio business article on Scarborough