Mark Perkins
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| Mark L. Perkins | |
| Born | October 13th, 1949 Richmond, Virginia |
|---|---|
| Occupation | President of InnerSight, Senior Executive and Partner Master Key Consulting |
Mark Perkins, PhD
Dr.Perkins earned a doctorate in psychometrics and statistics from the University of Georgia in 1976. He received his master's in psychometrics and research design from the same institution in 1974. Dr. Perkins earned a bachelor's degree from St. Andrews Presbyterian College in 1972.
President of InnerSight
Dr. Mark L. Perkins has over 25 years of experience as a Chief Executive Officer, Vice President and Leader in developing organizational teams and systems using a results oriented approach to realizing strategic goals. His experience includes strategic organizational positioning in competitive markets, recruitment and development of senior leadership teams to achieve positioning goals, development of integrated systems to bring data to bear on critical decision making processes and the development of human capital to sustain organizational momentum in changing environments.
He has successfully led complex organizations with operating budgets ranging from $70 million to $223 million and more than 2,000 employees. He understands complex organizations as systems and has successfully identified and developed national niches for those he has served. He has expertise in governmental relations and fund raising that has resulted in multimillion dollar enhancements for his enterprises. His leadership expertise includes strategic positioning, leadership team selection and development, and assisting complex organizations in improving performance through systems thinking.
Dr. Perkins knows that education’s efforts to develop the whole person have been incomplete because they have been unable to give students opportunities to develop the personal understanding of their interests, preferences and spiritual values essential for becoming contributing citizens in a free and global society. While at the American Council on Education, he learned that few institutions have developed effective learning models or experiences that foster personal development as well as intellectual achievement.
He has an unusual blend of strategic, academic, fiscal planning and organizational leadership. This experience has served him well in achieving the desired results for the organizations he has served. His visionary leadership and passion for the development of the whole person now finds expression in the strategic leadership of InnerSight™. Professional Background: • Senior Associate, American Council on Education • President and CEO, Towson University • Chancellor and CEO, University of Wisconsin, Green Bay • Executive Vice President and Chief Fiscal Officer, California State University, Stanislaus • Associate Executive Vice President, Old Dominion University • Executive Assistant to the President, Old Dominion University • Director, Office of Planning and Analysis, Old Dominion University • Associate Director, Office of Institutional Research, Old Dominion University Examination Research and Development Specialist, Division of Personnel, Commonwealth of Virginia
There was controversy surrounding Perkins' resignation from Towson University. Perkins resigned after system leaders skirted responsibility about the renovation of the University's state-owned home, which they purchased knowing the renovations it would require. He resigned after three members of Maryland's Board of Regents, including the chairman, told him in a meeting that he would be fired if he did not step down, according to a four-page letter he posted on Towson's website.[1]
In the letter, Dr. Perkins stated the spending, included improvements for coping with hadicap accessability as well as "family health issues" and for making the home a suitable place to entertain prospective donors.[1]. The regents were aware these improvements were necessary prior to selecting Dr. Perkins.
He suggested that he had become a "sacrificial lamb" for perceived overreaching by Towson, which he said has been viewed as a "step child" in the university system.[1]
The university received approval from the regents to buy a six-bedroom mansion in northern Baltimore for $850,000. But the university subsequently spent $860,000 on renovations, but $360,000 more had been allocated to complete renovations and provide furnishings for the public spaces of the University home as well. [1]
Dr. Perkins said in his letter that he was not involved in many of the spending decisions on the home, including $79,000 for an elevator and $25,000 for a multimedia system.[1]
There was also an inauguration ceremony held using funds raised specifically for the event, which reportedly cost $56,000. In his letter, Dr. Perkins said he had agreed to the event because "it was designed to celebrate not me or my arrival, but instead, the 135 years of commitment to learning on the Towson campus."[1]
The Baltimore Sun reported that similar concerns about excessive spending by Mr. Perkins were raised at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, where he was president before coming to Towson Mr. Perkins had pushed for $130,000 in improvements to the president's house on that campus to make it acceptable for parties, but he rarely entertained guests of the university in the house, The Sun reported.[1] A review of University Records, showed that Chancellor Perkins did in fact entertain many guests of the University and was successful at raising nearly $20 million for the UWGB endowment fund.
Many students and faculty members from Green Bay rallied to Perkin's defense after the baseless reporting done by the Baltimore Sun. Upon further investigation, the Sun selectively interviewed campus community members to arrive at their conclusions or were members of other groups who simply disagreed with some of the Chancellor's ideas. Perkins upset one long time academic advisor in the multicultural center when he required her to complete studies for a bachelor's degree, something she herself lacked despite the fact she had been serving as an educational advisor for universtiy students for a number of years.
Perkins also sparked controversy when the University spent $25,000 on a university medal symbolizing the president's office - a standard symbol at all major universities. All funds used for the Inauguration and the medallion were raised for those purposes by a committee charged with organizing the inaugural events.[2]
