Vice President for Administrative Affairs Doug Duncan is leaving the university to take a new position as a senior vice president for a government consulting firm, he said yesterday in a statement.
Duncan, a former Montgomery County executive and Rockville mayor, will step down from his position at the university Nov. 7, ending a 17-month tenure during which he led the East Campus and M-Square development projects and oversaw the university’s fiscal and administrative departments.
Starting Nov. 10, he will act as co-founder and senior vice president for research and business development of CivicUS, an advisory firm on executive-level management within state, county and municipal government, Duncan said.
“State and local governments find themselves having to do even more than in the past, but with lower tax revenue and lower Federal funding,” he wrote. “I am excited to be joining a company which provides advisory services to government leaders looking for timely analysis so they can be effective in today’s rapidly changing world.”
University President Dan Mote said he learned about a month ago Duncan had been looking for other jobs, but he said the university tried to change his mind. But Ann Wylie, Mote’s chief of staff, said she was surprised by the news.
“We didn’t have much warning,” Wylie said.
With the removal of such a key player in the East Campus development, Wylie said she hopes losing Duncan will not set back the project’s timeline.”There’s a lot of people working on [East Campus]. Him leaving is a big loss to the project, but we’re going to do everything in our power not to let us get off course,” she said.
This same optimism holds true for Wylie’s outlook on the rest of the university’s day-to-day operations. Dedicated staff and strong departments should be able to continue their initiatives despite Duncan’s resignation, she said. Duncan was responsible for managing the university’s human resources, facilities management, procurement and public safety departments.
“There are a lot of adjustments we have to make,” Mote said, but he added Duncan’s resignation shouldn’t negatively impact the timelines for any major projects.
Frank Brewer, associate vice president for Facilities Management, worked closely with Duncan on the East Campus development project. Both Brewer and University Police spokesman Paul Dillon said Duncan’s strong interpersonal skills will be missed when he leaves in November.
“He was a great collaborator,” Dillon said. “He was great at bringing different people together. He’s going to be tough to replace, honestly.”
Brewer and Dillon both expressed confidence in Duncan’s replacement but said he leaves tough shoes to fill.
“He’s going to be difficult to replace,” Wylie said.
Both Mote and Brewer cited Duncan’s ability to work with nearby governments such as the College Park City Council and Prince George’s county as key to his success.
Replacing Duncan could take until next summer, Wylie said.
Mote said an interim replacement and a search committee will be named next week. For such a high-ranking position, the university is required to undergo a national search and place advertisements in various publications.
Wylie expects the application process to end in early January, and interviews will continue throughout the spring semester.
“We’ll move as fast as we can, just as fast as we possibly can,” she said.
Brewer served as interim vice president for administrative affairs before Duncan was given the permanent job.
Duncan came to the university as a replacement for John Porcari, who resigned to become secretary of transportation for Gov. Martin O’Malley (D)’s administration. Before that, Duncan was the Montgomery County executive, where he was responsible for the redevelopment of Downtown Silver Spring and worked closely with Foulger-Pratt Argo, the same developer working on East Campus.
Duncan also ran against O’Malley in the 2006 Democratic gubernatorial primary, but he dropped out before the election, citing clinical depression. During the race, he was a fierce critic of slots in Maryland, an issue O’Malley now champions. Much of Duncan’s staff went to work for Comptroller Peter Franchot (D) – a leading figure in the anti-slots movement – and his campaign manager, Scott Arcenaux, is a strategist for one of the main anti-slots groups, Marylanders United to Stop Slots.
Last month, Duncan was involved in a dispute with P.J. Hogan (D), a former Montgomery County legislator who is now a lobbyist for the University System of Maryland. Duncan told The Washington Times Hogan delivered a message from O’Malley’s office threatening Duncan’s job and funding for university construction projects if Duncan appeared at a forum on the presidential election with former Gov. Robert Ehrlich (R) or if he criticized current Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett for supporting the legalization of slot machines. Hogan said he was merely offering Duncan friendly advice about how to make the transition from being an elected official to a state employee.
The next day, Duncan apologized for the “misunderstanding and resulting confusion,” according to a press release put out by the university and the university system.
Mote said he didn’t think the event had anything to do with Duncan’s resignation, though he admitted there was a chance it did.
Mote said he also wasn’t sure if Duncan was struggling against the boundaries of his apolitical position.
“It is true as a senior university official, you have no politics or religion,” Mote said.
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