Editorial:
Early in the week Dr. Raj Chopra handed in his resignation effective immediately.
At La Prensa San Diego we have supported Chopra in the way he has handled the business end of the institution. Sure he has stubbed his toes a couple of times, most notably for his handling of the student/teacher protest, but in the overall picture Chopra was the right man for the job at the time of his hiring.
At the time of his hiring the school was in chaos. The college had gone through five presidents in five years, the country was suffering through a depression, and the State leaders were slashing education budgets left and right trying to salvage a wrecked State economy.
Chopra was not a product of the local community, which in part may have been his biggest hurdle. He had a no-nonsense style of leadership, which rubbed some the wrong way, and he did not bow to the whim of the unions. You put all this together and Chopra had a perception problems.
At the same time Chopra dealt with the primary issue of balancing the budget, keeping the school on track, keeping the full time teachers employed, getting a bond measure passed, and cutting excess spending.
He has dealt with accreditation issues, some of the issues dating back as far as 1996, and has the college on track to have all the issues resolved in the next few months.
We congratulate Chopra on the job he has done, but his perception problem fueled the motivation of the voters to elect a new Board majority with the support of the unions. The new Board’s agenda was the ousting of Chopra.
Chopra had two options. He could have stayed on as President and forced the new Board to buy out his contract through litigation. Or he could take the high road and retire. Chopra took the high road, asking only for a six month severance package. His retirement gives the incoming board the freedom to choose a new president.
In our opinion, Chopra has generally acted in a manner that he felt was best for the college. His early retirement is the final testament to this.
