Karen R. Hitchcock

Karen R. Hitchcock is an American biologist and university administrator, who has held leadership positions in both American and Canadian universities. She served as the President of SUNY's University at Albany in Albany, New York, from 1996 to 2003. She is a former Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Queen's University, in Kingston, Ontario. She took over from Queen's seventeenth principal, William C. Leggett on July 1, 2004. In an email to students on April 16, 2008, Karen Hitchcock announced her resignation effective April 30, 2008.Citation
title= Queen's University principal resigns after polarizing tenure
newspaper=The National Post
date=April 17, 2008
year=2008
month=April
url=http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=450570
accessdate = 20080418

Education and early career

Hitchcock was born in 1942 in Williston Park, New York, a suburb of New York City on Long Island.

Hitchcock received a B.S. degree in Biology from St. Lawrence University in 1964, and a Ph.D. degree in Anatomy from the University of Rochester in 1969.Citation
title= A woman principal and a principled woman
newspaper=Queen's University Alumni Review Magazine
date=Summer 2004
url = http://alumnireview.queensu.ca/pastissues/summer2004/hitchcock.htm
accessdate = 20080418 As a Postdoctoral Fellow, she did work in pulmonary cell biology at The Webb-Waring Institute for Medical Research at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

Hitchcock began her career at Boston's Tufts University, serving as as the George A. Bates Professor of Histology and Chair of the Department of Anatomy and Cellular Biology in the Schools of Medicine, Dental Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences over a course of 15 years.

From 1985 to 1987, she was Associate Dean for Basic Sciences, Research and Graduate Studies at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. She then moved to the University of Illinois at Chicago to serve as Vice Chancellor for Research, Dean of the Graduate College, Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology, and Professor of Biological Sciences.

University at Albany

Hitchcock moved to the University at Albany, part of the State University of New York system, in 1991 to become Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Biological Sciences. In 1995, she was named interim President and assumed the full Presidency in 1996.Citation
title= CHRONICLE
newspaper=The New York Times
date=November 8, 1996
year=1996
month=November
url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9400E0DA1F38F93BA35752C1A960958260
accessdate = 20080418

Hitchcock claims as her accomplishments at the University at Albany: engaging faculty in a major strategic planning process; establishing a new budget process and creating a faculty-based, campus-wide Resources and Priorities Committee to advise on resource allocation; collaborating with faculty on a major expansion of academic programs, including graduate degree programs; reversing a 12-year decline in faculty size through budget reallocation; and major targeted investments in faculty recruitment, research support services and infrastructure. Sponsored research at the University at Albany increased 47 percent over six years to $126 million.

Other claimed achievements involved developing a campus-wide technology plan, including bringing on-line a major new science library initiated by her predecessor; and developing, in consultation with faculty, a strategic initiative for expanding international programs, curriculum offerings and student and faculty exchanges. As President, Hitchcock launched a $750-million fundraising campaign, later abandoned by her successor as unsuccessful.

Hitchcock has published extensively in the field of cell and developmental biology, and been the recipient of grants from the National Institutes of Health. She has served on NIH study sections, review panels and advisory committees including the National Advisory Research Resources Council, and has received awards such as the National Science Foundation Professorship for Women in Science and Engineering (1983-84) and the Marketer of Excellence Award from the New York Capital Region Chapter of the American Marketing Association (2002). In 2004, she was inducted into the Capital Region (Albany, N.Y.) Business Hall of Fame and won a Woman in the Media Award from the Women's Press Club of New York State. She has received honorary doctoral degrees from the Albany Medical College and her alma mater, St. Lawrence University. She has also served as president of her professional society, The American Association of Anatomists and completed two terms as a member of the National Board of Medical Examiners.

Ethics inquiry

In October of 2003, the Albany Times Union reported that tensions between Hitchcock and the SUNY Chancellor had crested, leaving her future with the University uncertain.Citation
title= College Leader's Tenure Unclear
newspaper=The Albany Times Union
date=October 24, 2003
year=2003
month=October
page=A1 Hitchcock abruptly resigned from her postCitation
title= University President To Resign
newspaper=The New York Times
date=October 29, 2003
year=2003
month=October
url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A05E6D61630F93AA15753C1A9659C8B63
accessdate = 20080418 , citing recent bids for Presidencies at the University of Florida and University of Tennessee. Media speculationCitation
title= Inquiry into Hitchcock's Exit Weighed
newspaper=The Albany Times Union
date=October 30, 2003
year=2003
month=October
page=A1 Citation
title= UAlbany Program Divides Campus
newspaper=The Albany Times Union
date=December 2, 2003
year=2003
month=December
page=A1 centered on the Chancellor's wresting of the highly-touted Sematech NorthCitation
title= Computer Chip Industry to Create International R&D Center at UAlbany
newspaper=The University at Albany Magazine
date=Fall 2002
url=http://www.albany.edu/pr/ualbanymagfall02/sematech.htm
accessdate = 20080418 from the University's control.

On February 25, 2005, the New York Times reported that Hitchcock had faced a state ethics inquiry about allegations that she had offered to grant a multi-million dollar construction contract to a developer, in exchange for an endowed university professorship which she would hold exclusively once she left the presidency.Citation
title= Case of Former SUNY Official Points to Ethics Law Loophole
newspaper=The New York Times
date=February 25, 2005
year=2005
month=February
url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/25/nyregion/25ethics.html
accessdate = 20080418 At that time, Hitchcock had reportedly been informed by the then-Chancellor of the University system, Robert King, that she would be terminated as President. The ethics allegations were referred to the New York State Ethics Commission by then-Chancellor King with the support of the University's Board of Trustees.Citation
title= Questions at SUNY Albany on Why Ex-President Left
newspaper=The New York Times
date=February 26, 2005
year=2005
month=February
url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/26/nyregion/26ethics.html
accessdate = 20080418

It is alleged that once the inquiry became known to Hitchcock, she resigned from the SUNY Albany as soon as possible in order to escape liability. Hitchcock had been advised by legal counsel that the New York Ethics Commission is unable to take action against someone who has ceased being a state employee.

In Canada, the Senate Committee responsible for the appointment of Hitchcock reported after the incident was made public at Queen's University, that they had been made aware of the allegations by Hitchcock prior to their decision. The Senate Committee launched an investigation into the matter and found the allegations groundless.

Hitchcock, through a legal team, claims to have approached the Governor of the State of New York asking for the case to be reopened and investigated, so as to clear her name.Citation
last =
first =
author-link =
publication-date =
date = March 17, 2006
year = 2006
title = University pays Hitchcock lawyer $20,000
periodical = [http://www.queensjournal.ca/ The Queen's Journal]
publication-place = Kingston, Ontario
url = http://www.queensjournal.ca/story/2006-03-17/news/university-pays-hitchcock-lawyer-20000/
accessdate= 2008-04-18 Queen's University has also hired legal assistance in the case.

Hitchcock also co-hosts a weekly radio show on an Albany public radio station (WAMC) called "The Best of Our Knowledge." This program was paid for by the SUNY Albany Foundation until Dr. Hitchcock's departure from that campus and is now paid for by Queen's University.cite web
url= http://www.wamc.org/prog-tbook-hitchcock.html
title= Host, Dr. Karen Hitchcock
accessdate= 2008-04-18
publisher= WAMC public radio

Queen's University

Hitchcock was the first female Principal in the history of Queen's University.

At the beginning of her service as Principal in July 2004, Hitchcock championed major new infrastructure, including the Queen's Centre, the largest project ever undertaken by a Canadian university. The Queen's Centre will include expanded and upgraded sports facilities, a student life centre, and a new academic building. It was planned as an environmentally-friendly project using green technology and concepts. The project had a budget of $230 million, and was scheduled to take nearly a decade to complete. Its groundbreaking took place in February 2007. ["The Queen's Gazette", February 10, 2007.]

Soon after she arrived at Queen's, her husband Murray Blair was involved in a serious traffic accident, which has left him in a wheelchair. She was sometimes absent from campus for extended periods, while dealing with this very difficult situation. ["The Globe and Mail", April 12, 2008.]

She oversaw the development of a strategic plan for the future of Queen's, the first initiative of that type in many years. ["The National Post", April 12, 2008.]

Hitchcock saw the opening of the Integrated Learning Centre at Queen's, for engineering education. She emphasized international outreach for the university, adopting as a motto 'Engaging the World'. With a large number of Queen's faculty scheduled to retire in the near future, Hitchcock set a high priority on replacing this high-quality staff with a new generation of top professors. While she served as Principal, the endowment fund of the university grew to more than $650 million. Queen's University is one of Canada's leading universities, according to several national and international rankings, such as "Maclean's" magazine, "The Globe and Mail", and "The Times" Higher Educational Supplement (THES).

Applies for reappointment, then resigns

Hitchcock applied for consideration for a second five-year term as Queen's principal in January, 2008. ["The Queen's Gazette", January 14, 2008.]

After the initial positive response to her leadership, Hitchcock came under increasing fire for her lack of leadership and high degree of invisibility in the Queen's community. She was also criticized by donors, alumni, faculty and community leaders for the growing financial problems surrounding the lavish Queen's Centre project, which was some $38 million over budget, only 14 months after it began construction. On March 4, 2008, the Assembly of the AMS, the undergraduate student government, voted unanimously to pass a motion stating their opposition to Hitchcock's reappointment, and forwarded this recommendation to the Queen's University committee studying the matter. ["The Globe and Mail", March 7, 2008.] Her initial five-year term was originally slated to end on June 30, 2009. On April 16, 2008, in an email to faculty, staff, and students, Karen Hitchcock withdrew her request for reappointment, and announced her resignation effective April 30, 2008. ["The Kingston Whig-Standard", April 16, 2008 http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=988558]

On May 21, 2008, the Queen's University Senate voted to formally recognize the Queen's achievements of Principal Hitchcock. ["The Queen's Gazette", May 26, 2008, p. 3.]

References

External links

* [http://www.queensu.ca/principal/ Office of the Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Queen's University]