President Breuder's extravagant lifestyle at COD honed at Harper College a decade ago.
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Harper College President's Vision May Be Too Ambitious, Expensive
Despite Shoring Up Finances, He Faces Confidence Vote...
April 10, 2001, By Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah, Tribune staff reporter.
Nobody was surprised when Harper College President Robert Breuder decided to teach a class. But when he chose to teach wine appreciation, it raised eyebrows.
When he suggested building a wine cellar at the school, critics howled. And now, as students and faculty learn that he wrote off a $2,258 trip to a Monterey, Calif., food and wine festival as a research expense, the campus of the Palatine school is buzzing.
"It appears he's charging the school for his personal lifestyle," says John Ratliff, who unsuccessfully ran for college trustee in a race that played out more like a referendum on the president. "People don't care what you do on your own time, but he's pursuing a personal passion at public expense."
Though Breuder wasn't on the ballot, critics made his more than $206,000 annual compensation package, plus the tens of thousands of dollars the school has paid in travel and entertainment expenses for him, an issue in last week's campaign for two seats on the school's board of trustees. The two trustees elected have offered conditional support for his leadership, but he faces the first no-confidence vote by the Harper faculty, scheduled for next week. Underlying it all is the question of how ambitious a community college--traditionally an affordable home for basic and vocational instruction--should be. But for now, the increasingly bitter controversy centers on the man with patrician tastes and grand plans, as the debate ranges from cabernetsto pay scales to management style.
As charges of highhandedness continue to fly, Breuder hardly flinches. The 56-year-old with a slight New York accent cuts an impressive figure with his cuff links, gold rings and silk handkerchief. His love for wine and bow-hunting--his office is decorated with heads of deer and antelope--are well known on Harper's sprawling campus.
Breuder said his latest headache began with a naïve comment about building a wine cellar--a closet with a $350 cooling gadget that he says his opponents misrepresented as a $9 million subterranean extravagance. The cellar was never built.
This is not the first time Breuder has been involved in a controversy.
At his last post as president of a small community college in rural Pennsylvania, he stocked a wine collection for that school's teaching restaurant and boasted it was the best in the state.
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Breuder may not have got his wine cellar at Harper, but 'if at first you don't succeed, try COD'.
Nobody was surprised when Harper College President Robert Breuder decided to teach a class. But when he chose to teach wine appreciation, it raised eyebrows.
When he suggested building a wine cellar at the school, critics howled. And now, as students and faculty learn that he wrote off a $2,258 trip to a Monterey, Calif., food and wine festival as a research expense, the campus of the Palatine school is buzzing.
"It appears he's charging the school for his personal lifestyle," says John Ratliff, who unsuccessfully ran for college trustee in a race that played out more like a referendum on the president. "People don't care what you do on your own time, but he's pursuing a personal passion at public expense."
Though Breuder wasn't on the ballot, critics made his more than $206,000 annual compensation package, plus the tens of thousands of dollars the school has paid in travel and entertainment expenses for him, an issue in last week's campaign for two seats on the school's board of trustees. The two trustees elected have offered conditional support for his leadership, but he faces the first no-confidence vote by the Harper faculty, scheduled for next week. Underlying it all is the question of how ambitious a community college--traditionally an affordable home for basic and vocational instruction--should be. But for now, the increasingly bitter controversy centers on the man with patrician tastes and grand plans, as the debate ranges from cabernetsto pay scales to management style.
As charges of highhandedness continue to fly, Breuder hardly flinches. The 56-year-old with a slight New York accent cuts an impressive figure with his cuff links, gold rings and silk handkerchief. His love for wine and bow-hunting--his office is decorated with heads of deer and antelope--are well known on Harper's sprawling campus.
Breuder said his latest headache began with a naïve comment about building a wine cellar--a closet with a $350 cooling gadget that he says his opponents misrepresented as a $9 million subterranean extravagance. The cellar was never built.
This is not the first time Breuder has been involved in a controversy.
At his last post as president of a small community college in rural Pennsylvania, he stocked a wine collection for that school's teaching restaurant and boasted it was the best in the state.
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Breuder may not have got his wine cellar at Harper, but 'if at first you don't succeed, try COD'.
posted by Walt Zlotow at 3:47 PM
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