Student leaders at Grand Rapids Community College rounded out the 2024-25 academic year at the April Student Leaders Town Hall, hosted by Student Government and the Campus Activities Board. During the April 9 meeting, students shared their thoughts on the administrative leave of the college president.
During public comment, Student Government President Maria Choi asked attendees if they were aware of the leadership changes GRCC is currently undergoing. Some were aware of the top-level turmoil, while others were hearing the news for the first time.
As was clarified by Valerie Hargraves, Director of Student Life and Conduct, no final decisions regarding President Charles Lepper’s employment have been made by the board of trustees, and no reason for his suspension was given to the campus community. Lepper’s leave was announced to the campus community on March 14, following his announcement as a finalist for the presidential role at Madison Area Technical College.
Currently, Vice President for Finance and Administration Lisa Freiburger is acting president. Freiburger, who was unable to attend Wednesday’s town hall, shared a message with the campus community.
“The board of trustees plan to continue to keep the campus community up to date on future decisions on GRCC’s presidential leadership,” Choi said, relaying an email from Freiburger. “The college continues to support you and wishes you a strong finish for the semester.”
Vice President of the Democrats at GRCC, Ella Johnson, brought up the concern that a search for a new president, if necessary, may be costly. The most recent presidential search conducted by GRCC was held in 2022, following the departure of former president Bill Pink. During this time, the college partnered with Gold Hill Associates for the search, which cost GRCC about $67,500.
Many students questioned what the president does and how he’s compensated.
A copy of Lepper’s current contract, which was signed on June 11, 2024, and obtained by The Collegiate through the Freedom of Information Act, details that the president receives an annual salary of $269,000. Included in that salary is $35,000 for the purpose of housing expenses, which are paid to the president on a bi-weekly basis throughout the academic year.
According to his contract, Lepper also receives many benefits in addition to his compensation, including a $10,000 bonus if he receives an “effective” or “highly effective” rating from the board. Other monetary benefits include a monthly car allowance of $600 with employment-related mileage reimbursement and an allowance of $30,000 per fiscal year for “non-reimbursable expenses which will be beneficial to the advancement of the college.”
The duties of the president, as stated by his 2024 contract, include assuming the role of “Chief Executive Officer of the college” who “shall be responsible for the administration of the college under the direction and supervision of the board.”
Johnson also asked if a change in the president could affect students. Choi and CAB President Brayden Smith both agreed that a change in leadership would likely affect students on campus, though members of student government and CAB expressed that they didn’t interact with Lepper often.
“He showed up when he first started and kind of made his presence known and then kinda disappeared a little bit,” Smith said.
CAB Secretary Jena Shearer added, “I think that maybe the goal of finding a new president is to change that and make it so that the new president of the college is more involved, not just with student leaders but also just students.”
In order to help students better understand the role of the executive leadership team and administration on campus Akira Ferchichi, member of the biomedical club, suggested the college adopt an organizational chart.
“This is a pretty big deal, most people don’t even know what’s going on,” she said. “And I think the best way to get people involved is, for one, to tell them, of course, but also make clear what the expectations are.”
Ferchichi expressed a desire to know more about how decisions are made, saying, “of course it takes time, but we don’t even know how to bring it up if we don’t know who to give it to.”
In other news, as the end of the semester approaches, CAB and student government are looking forward to celebrating their year with free food day, which will be available to all students on the fourth floor of Raleigh J Finkelstein Hall on Thursday, April 17 from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. The following day, CAB will be hosting a cap decorating event from 12 p.m. until 3 p.m. in the student life hub.
Students are also able to provide CAB feedback on past events and suggest future events via Google Form.
The college also looks forward to Beautification Day in May. The Stay Rooted gardening club had an allocation of $1,748.60 approved by a majority vote during the Wednesday meeting, which will go towards seeds and new gardening tools, some of which will be planted and used during beautification day.
A total of $15,787.92 remains in the student activities budget. Student organizations are unable to make allocation requests over $1,000 during the summer semester, as no town halls will be taking place.
Student leaders will reconvene during the upcoming fall semester.
