Letter from Bob Martin, Board of Overseers

Southampton alumni are organizing in preparation for their meeting on Wed.,July 7@ 7 pm with LIU President David Steinberg and Southampton Provost Daniel Rodas.The message below is sent to you at the request of Southampton alum Bob Martin '68, who is a member of the Southampton College Board of Overseers.

Please respond directly to Bob Martin.

To all Southampton College alumni,
At the request of many classmates and others I am coordinating our preparation for the July 7th meeting.
I have selected three people to pose questions. I will do the introduction. If anyone has a reason why those selected may not be the best candidate please email me separately. This is not the time to hold back.
Everyone should forward targeted questions to the individual responsible.
For all others attending, I encourage you to let the designated speakers represent us. Only jump in if there is a critical point that is missed. Everyone needs to show good judgment and please hold the emotion. We certainly want the press to be on our side. They need to walk away with the feeling that this is a reasonable group with some very good points. As indicated, we will need four speakers to present our view. Each speaker will manage a topic. Each speaker will be responsible for questions in their segment. They should solicit the alumni and others for input.

The questions not only have to be targeted, relevant and to the point, they will need to be sequenced so the flow makes sense. I cannot emphasize strongly enough the need to make this a fact- finding event and not one of emotional outbursts. Below are the four segments I recommend and some thoughts as to what should be said.

1. Opening comments (Bob Martin'68 mrobert168@aol.com ): State objectives, our expectations, acknowledge that follow up will be required. It needs to be clear that we want the exact information, current and historical, that led them to this decision. We need to convey that we fully understand the need to keep LIU afloat is the Board of Trustees of LIU responsibility and that unless we see something that the Board overlooked, we are likely to come to the
same conclusion.
2. Governance (Michael Director'68 directorlaw@aol.com ): Who are the Board Members - explore the kind of conflict of interest that we have seen in the Corporate world. Look for explanation as to why key stakeholders were not informed until after the fact, including Southampton's own Board of Overseers for which he is a member. Was the timing and method of the announcement responsible? It seems to me that a lot of people lost money, if not reputation, in the way this was done. What federal and state funding does the school receive? If it does, what responsibility did it have to the community? Mickey this will be a delegate area and one that will require some balance.
3. Financial Management (Peter Saros'71 petersaros@yahoo.com ): Bottom line is we want to find out: how bad the situation is; how did it get this way; what management decisions were taken to correct this over the years, what executive changes were made to correct his problem? Explain the restructuring programs that were implemented. What are the key performance indicators for the college and how do they compare with others? Why can other long island colleges make money but Southampton cannot? Why wasn't the new program given a chance to work, considering the amount donated and invested over the last 12 months?
4. Problem resolution (Peter Phillip'67; petersells@AOL.COM
): Assuming the numbers supported the decision and
all turnaround efforts have been tried or considered, what other solutions have been explored to maintain the campus? Takeover by another University. Have we sought political support (Tim Bishop) , etc.?

I suggest that we meet at Southampton College at noon on July 7th to rehearse. I will secure a room and let you know where. My home number is 203-656-2867, cell 239-289-1947. email mrobert168@aol.com
Bob Martin '68
Southampton College Board of Overseers