Tucked away off Emmet Street and partially hidden by foliage, the Federal Executive Institute cuts an austere and stately figure, a landmark of many students’ drives back to the University. However, Feb. 10, President Trump signed an executive order dissolving the FEI, a leadership development college for public sector senior management and a Charlottesville mainstay for close to six decades. The institute was founded by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968 to function as an in-house college for the federal government, with a focus on leadership training and interagency collaboration. While Trump claims that it did little beyond bolstering the managerial class, the FEI was locally significant, representing a point of pride for the community and employing scores of Charlottesville locals. Its loss will be felt by both the University and the broader Charlottesville community.
Since its inception in 1968, over 30,000 senior federal employees have been trained at the FEI, and the overwhelming majority consider it an experience that improved their capabilities as a leader. Classes offered at the FEI include Leadership for a Democratic Society, a four-week course to create more conscientious leaders, with an emphasis on constitutional values. Other classes include training on crisis leadership, efficacious project management, and team development, all integral skills which we should hope that our governmental leaders have.
The benefits of the FEI go beyond enhancing the leadership aptitude of the federal workforce. One alumni praised the inter-agency connections the Charlottesville institution cultivates, establishing robust social and professional networks that create an enhanced positive impact on the careers of attendees. The presence of the FEI in Charlottesville transformed the city into an important destination in the careers of thousands of high-ranking civil servants.
It also established a quasi-pipeline between Washington, DC and Charlottesville that has since been somewhat hamstrung. This pipeline was especially relevant for many students because the FEI’s proximity to the University fomented a fruitful and productive relationship. The existence of a federal leadership school in Charlottesville created a connection between the University and the FEI, and, by extension, the federal government. The relationship between the two has been highly beneficial for the University, establishing pathways into the federal service from Charlottesville.
In particular, the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy had an intimate connection with the FEI. One connection between the two is Andrew Pennock, associate professor of public policy. Pennock is a part of the Leadership for a Democratic Society course, teaching workshops on topics such as Systems Changes, which enables FEI attendees to better understand the organizational structures that they participate in, and how to extract the most out of them. Pennock’s real-world experience has been a boon to students, providing them with a litany of experiences and insights that cannot be found in a textbook.
The partnership between Batten and FEI extends beyond Pennock, with the two organizations hosting networking dinners that allowed Batten students to learn from the professional acumen of FEI attendees. The relationship also created an internship pipeline wherein several Master of Public Policy students would intern at the FEI’s center for leadership development. As such, the shuttering of the FEI will deeply and negatively impact many aspiring University students, reducing their networking and learning opportunities.
The fallout of the FEI’s closure extends beyond the classroom. Somewhere between 50 and 100 employees have been offered the “Fork in the Road,” wherein employees could choose between resigning with nine months’ worth of pay or relocating to the Office of Personnel Management’s headquarters in Washington. Regardless of which option an employee chooses, they are placed under an immense amount of stress. While this is deeply concerning, it is important to note that career bureaucrats are not the only ones affected by the shutdown. The upkeep of the FEI required the diligent work of those such as Charley Burton, manager of the 18-person janitorial team at the FEI. It is easy to handwave the consequences of the shutdown as overpaid bureaucrats getting their just desserts, as the language of the Executive Order does. Yet, this is a disservice to the 50 contracted staff whose dedication and hard work has been repaid with a less than ceremonious goodbye.
The departure of the FEI from Charlottesville represents the severing of a constructive accord between the government and Charlottesville. Students have been deprived access to an invaluable network of academics and career professionals, educators have lost an outside source of scholarly knowledge and dozens of Charlottesville residents have had their lives thrown into disarray.
Conall Castagno is an opinion columnist who writes about politics for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at opinion@cavalierdaily.com.
The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Cavalier Daily. Columns represent the views of the author alone.
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