A year after she was ousted from Suffolk University after barely 12 months on the job, Margaret McKenna doesn’t seem to have let it go.
In a recent 371-word Facebook post, the school’s former leader criticized the university’s efforts to reform its board and search for a new president. Real change won’t happen until all problematic board members are removed, she said.
McKenna’s post begins by comparing herself to Reince Priebus, the former chief of staff to President Trump, whom Trump fired last month. McKenna wrote that both she and Priebus were fired on July 28 (she a year earlier than he) and both were replaced by people with the last name Kelly.
“[Priebus and I] have very different values and backgrounds but both of us were hired to do a job and then prevented from doing so by people who put their own needs above good governance,’’ she wrote.
McKenna continued: “We were both subjects of bullying, six months of negative press leaks, learned about our fate from the press, and can point to a slick, egotistic PR guy as a major factor in our ouster.’’
McKenna’s Aug. 4 post refers to the tangled set of circumstances that led to her firing last July after months of friction with board members who were unsatisfied with her leadership and style. McKenna was replaced by interim president Marisa Kelly, the school’s former provost. Trump replaced Priebus with Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.
McKenna’s “PR guy’’ reference appears to refer to Anthony Scaramucci, who served briefly as Trump’s communications director, and George Regan, the Boston public relations specialist who became entangled in the Suffolk situation.
On Wednesday evening, Regan said in a statement, “While I had my issues with Margaret, I hope she gets the help she truly needs.’’
McKenna said although there have been several “encouraging’’ appointments to the Suffolk board, she is concerned that certain trustees remain.
As a result of the Suffolk debacle, Attorney General Maura Healey’s office produced a report that criticized the board for various issues including poor communication between trustees and McKenna, a failure to implement good governance practices, and questionable actions of some trustees.
McKenna also wrote that those trustees have resisted the accrediting agency’s recommendation to make the board more of an oversight body rather than being involved in daily school business.
“There is not a great deal of confidence that real change will come with the Priebus/Kelly transition and there is little indication that much has changed at Suffolk,’’ McKenna wrote.
McKenna was previously the president of Lesley University in Cambridge and president of the Walmart Foundation.
She did not respond to requests for comment.
Suffolk spokesman Greg Gatlin responded to an inquiry about McKenna’s post with a statement. He said the school is committed to the “highest standards of governance.’’
“We continue to make important progress toward achieving that goal, even as we maintain our focus on providing an exceptional educational experience for all Suffolk students,’’ he wrote.
McKenna also mentioned the school’s ongoing search for a new president.
“Finding a new Suffolk president will have challenges because of the history, the continuing overreach of the board, and a board chair, who is in his campus office several days each week,’’ McKenna wrote. “One can only hope that some lessons have been learned at Suffolk and that the revolving door … 6 presidents in 7 years…will end.’’
Gatlin said the search is ongoing. A search committee made up of trustees, administrators, faculty, alumni, and studentsis chaired by trustee John Brooks and working with the executive search firm AGB Search, he said.
McKenna ended her post by saying that Suffolk is important to Boston and should be treated with respect. Without giving details, she said she is now working on a national campaign to increase civic engagement, political learning, and voting on college campuses.
“Suffolk should be the model for such a campus,’’ she wrote.
Laura Krantz can be reached at laura.krantz@globe.com.
