She was the President and CEO of Pittsburgh Technical College when it shut down for good last June amid controversy.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Current quarter will be the last for Pittsburgh Technical College students
More than a year later, we’re seeing the former leader of the Oakdale Technical College, Dr. Alicia Harvey-Smith, for the first time, in court, as she fights for lost wages.
11 Investigates has been covering the downfall of PTC for years from allegations of misconduct by the former President and CEO to lost accreditation and finally the college closing for good.
Now, students who filed claims because they paid tuition and didn’t get to take classes or lost money when PTC shut down could be paid soon.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Majority of faculty, staff let go weeks before PTC’s announced closure
A judge will likely rule next week to approve about 80-thousand dollars in payments to roughly 30 students.
The court also has to make a decision about whether or not the woman who was the CEO of the technical college should also get paid.
Dr. Alicia Harvey-Smith represented herself as her own lawyer on Wednesday.
She asked the court to pay the rest of her salary as outlined in the contract she signed when she became the President and CEO. That request wasn’t originally on the docket.
The hearing was supposed to be for a judge to approve claims submitted by students who lost anywhere from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars when they paid tuition but didn’t get to take classes or lost years of education because credits didn’t carry over to another college or university. Dr. Harvey-Smith asked for her claim to come from that same pot.
A representative from the Attorney General’s Office Bureau of Consumer Protection, was taking meticulous notes in the courtroom.
We asked Dr. Harvey-Smith if she feels like she’s owed severance. She said no comment. We then asked her about the students in limbo who are still waiting to be paid.
“They are the priority, will always be the priority, and will continue to be the priority,” she tells 11 Investigates.
That request did not sit well with parents of former students, including Cynthia-Grace Devine-Kepner. Her son was just shy of graduation, but is now years behind because his credits didn’t carry over.
“The escrow fund for the students should only be for the students,” Cynthia-Grace Devine-Kepner tells 11 Investigates. “It saddened me that Dr. Harvey did not recognize how it affected and impacted 1,000 students. If I could have seen some empathy and compassion for the students.”
With Dr. Harvey-Smith’s request, the judge is now asking for a new outline of how money will be distributed to students.
This should not affect how much students are paid.
The judge did not make a final decision about Dr. Harvey-Smith’s claim.
There are also millions of dollars tied up in the real estate of the campus and the surrounding land.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Former faculty, staff at PTC working together to create new technical college
The main campus is very close to being sold. There are two letters of intent - one for the vacant land and another for the dorms.
Nothing will be approved until it is signed by a judge.
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