Chicago
Dr. Ronald J. Temple, buoyed by the support of a group
of African American ministers, recently waded into the murky,
shark-infested waters of Chicago politics. But the chancellor of the
City Colleges of Chicago system discovered his feisty rhetoric was no
match for the vicious bite he received on March 5, when he was fired
outright by the board of trustees.
Temple had decided to take on the politicians after his contract
was not renewed in December. He launched a campaign publicly deriding
his bosses — including Mayor Richard Daley. He suggested that his
superiors were waging a political war to oust Black city leaders and
were exerting unseemly pressure on him to hire their friends.
The City Colleges board, which previously said Temple was welcome
to serve out the remainder of a contract set to expire in June 2000,
swiftly reversed its stance. Board Chairman Ronald Gidwitz said
trustees couldn’t stand to have Temple around anymore after his public
protests. They tapped one of Temple’s subordinates to take over the
chancellor’s post.
“Unfortunately, over the past few weeks, Dr. Temple, by virtue of
his public statements, left the board with no other choice,” Gidwitz
said in a recent interview.
Temple sat quietly last month as the board announced that
fifty-two-year-old Wayne Watson, another African American and a figure
in the inner-circle of Daley’s hand-picked public schools team, would
now sit in the chancellor’s seat.
Just a year earlier, Temple, fifty-six, had earned the ultimate
compliment from his bosses — he was not only awarded his $165,000
salary, but he also received a $50,000 bonus paid for by Chicago’s
business community. Now the board that fired him must pay up again or
face the former chancellor in court. Gidwitz has said trustees still
hope to negotiate a settlement with Temple — who stands to walk away
with a buyout ranging from $500,000 to $700,000, including salary and
benefits.
