Embattled Roxbury Community College president agrees to step down

By Adrian Walker, Globe Staff

The embattled president of Roxbury Community College agreed to step down today after meeting with the school’s board of trustees, according to chairwoman Anita Crawford.

Terrence Gomes, who had led the 2,000-student school for nine years, retired in the wake of a series of questions about his leadership including alleged underreporting of campus crime, lengthy delays in distributing financial aid, and his rejection of a job training program pushed by the business community.

RCC is currently the subject of a wide-ranging audit by the US Department of Education. In addition, the state auditor’s office recently found questionable allocations in a review of financial aid records.

Crawford said an interim president will be named by the state’s Board of Higher Education, in collaboration with the RCC board.

Gomes has spent much of his career as a community college administrator. He was a dean at RCC in the 1970s before assuming a similar post at Massasoit Community College, where he steadily climbed the ranks of management. He returned to RCC in 2002 as vice president for academic affairs before assuming his current post in 2003.