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Community reacts to Penley's resignation
Cece Wildeman
Issue date: 11/6/08 Section: News
Fort Collins and CSU community members were surprised and perplexed Wednesday when CSU President Larry Penley announced his resignation after five years of service to CSU.
"For heaven's sake, I am stunned," said Fort Collins Mayor Doug Hutchinson. "I have not heard a whisp of a rumor."
And it would appear that Hutchinson is not alone.
"I don't think anybody knew it was coming," said Paul Stretesky, an associate professor in the College of Liberal Arts.
Stretesky said there are many different reasons people resign from jobs and, although there are many speculations as to why Penley resigned, it is impossible to determine the real reason.
"It is hard to know what the real reasons could have been," he said. "There could be a million reasons."
"They say presidents usually last five years, so this is about right," he noted.
Wade Troxell, associate dean in the College of Engineering and a city council member, as well as Blanche Hughes, Vice President for student affairs, said the announcement came as a surprise.
"This is completely unexpected," Troxell said.
Many students said they had no knowledge of the resignation and some shared speculations as to why Penley may have resigned.
"That's really odd," said Christine Sednek, a senior environmental engineering major. "But it seems like the way he runs things is kind of secretive, so it's not a surprise that it's a surprise."
Sednek said she wonders if the resignation has to do with university monetary controversies, saying that the sudden rise in university construction projects strikes her as odd.
"It seems odd that we are doing so much at one time," she said. "I am wondering if (the resignation) has something to do with money."
Tim Mayhew, a junior construction management major, reveled in the idea of change that has been circulating recently.
"He's been here for a long time," he said. "Just like the election today, change might be good."
"For heaven's sake, I am stunned," said Fort Collins Mayor Doug Hutchinson. "I have not heard a whisp of a rumor."
And it would appear that Hutchinson is not alone.
"I don't think anybody knew it was coming," said Paul Stretesky, an associate professor in the College of Liberal Arts.
Stretesky said there are many different reasons people resign from jobs and, although there are many speculations as to why Penley resigned, it is impossible to determine the real reason.
"It is hard to know what the real reasons could have been," he said. "There could be a million reasons."
"They say presidents usually last five years, so this is about right," he noted.
Wade Troxell, associate dean in the College of Engineering and a city council member, as well as Blanche Hughes, Vice President for student affairs, said the announcement came as a surprise.
"This is completely unexpected," Troxell said.
Many students said they had no knowledge of the resignation and some shared speculations as to why Penley may have resigned.
"That's really odd," said Christine Sednek, a senior environmental engineering major. "But it seems like the way he runs things is kind of secretive, so it's not a surprise that it's a surprise."
Sednek said she wonders if the resignation has to do with university monetary controversies, saying that the sudden rise in university construction projects strikes her as odd.
"It seems odd that we are doing so much at one time," she said. "I am wondering if (the resignation) has something to do with money."
Tim Mayhew, a junior construction management major, reveled in the idea of change that has been circulating recently.
"He's been here for a long time," he said. "Just like the election today, change might be good."
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