Mess at U. Mass

In his seven years as dean of the School of Education at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, expansive, flamboyant Dwight Allen, 44, worked miracles (TIME, Dec. 21, 1970). Demonstrating a genius for fund raising, he brought in a total of $15 million in federal and foundation grants. With a flair for innovation, he transformed the small, conservative segment of the state university into a flourishing but controversial school that concentrated on urban education and minority problems and encouraged a "do your own thing" attitude among students and faculty. Wearing colorful custom-tailored African shirts, he toured the country, making as many as 400 speeches a year, preaching the free-wheeling education theories that he practiced on campus.

Although the rest of the university is functioning normally, Allen's empire is falling apart. Last week a federal grand jury subpoenaed the School of Education's financial records for most of Allen's reign. The FBI and the state attorney general have been investigating the possible misuse of federal funds at the school, and Allen and three other deans have resigned.

Academic Retreats. The financial problems were first uncovered by then Assistant Dean Bob Suzuki while he was reviewing the school's books. After he sent memos to the university administration about the possible misuse of funds, somebody smashed three windows of his home and stuck a note on the garage door warning, "Lay off, or next time it's you." Suzuki called the police, who have not yet caught the culprit.

Among the school's unusual fiscal practices that have surfaced, part of a $1.4 million federal grant for a University of Massachusetts-sponsored teacher-training program in Brooklyn seems to have been spent on "academic retreats" in Montreal hotels. Two checks were made out to "consultants" who apparently did not exist. The checks had been cashed by Cleo Abraham, an assistant professor, who subsequently handed in his resignation.

As the investigations got under way, university officials called Allen, who has been on a sabbatical since September setting up a teachers' college in Lesotho, an independent black nation in the Republic of South Africa. Allen flew home, surveyed the growing scandal and promptly resigned as dean, although he retained his tenured position as a professor on the U. Mass faculty.

No one has accused Allen of misusing the funds himself, but he is being held responsible for a variety of other sins. "Dwight is an operator, a wheeler-dealer," says Professor Robert Wellman. "But he is a very poor administrator." Adds Professor Albert Anthony: "He's a P.T. Barnum type. He knew damn well he couldn't make the school rank in the top two or three in a few years by scholarly rigor. So he went into all of the innovations that were hot in the late '60s --all the things that were the beneficiaries of federal money."

Under Allen, the School of Education earned a reputation as a diploma mill. In the past three years it granted more than 387 doctoral degrees. Some doctorates were awarded to students who had no undergraduate degrees. The writing in many doctoral theses was barely at high school level.

Allen has now taken to wearing dark suits and acting with restraint. "The programs of this school are secure," he says. "A bank isn't considered a failure because one of its cashiers is caught with his hand in the till." What should U. Mass look for in picking Allen's successor? "Someone who will continue my programs," says Allen, "but someone with a different style."

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