Martha Coakley Withdraws Herself from Suffolk Presidency Job

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Former Attorney General Martha Coakley announced Tuesday that she is not in the running to be the next president of Suffolk University.

“I would like to clarify that I am not a candidate for the role of president of Suffolk University nor will I be and I look forward to continuing my law practice at Foley Hoag,” said Coakley in a one sentence statement to Boston.

Suffolk has been mired in controversy since news broke last week that the school’s board of trustees wants to oust its current president, Margaret McKenna, after acting in the role for less than a year. As news of the acrimony spread, Coakley’s name was quickly floated as a possible replacement for McKenna by board members in the media. Members of the board have publicly accused McKenna of poorly managing the school’s finances and having an “abrasive” manner as president.

McKenna is pushing back against the the board’s push to oust her, describing it as an unprofessional smear campaign in the press.

“I will not stand by while this board fabricates reasons to justify my termination—with a relentlessly public campaign, no less. To do so is unfair to me, but as importantly, extremely detrimental to Suffolk University,” McKenna wrote in a letter to the board.

The board is expected to meet on Friday to decide McKenna’s future at the school.

McKenna’s ouster is inevitable, the Herald reports, quoting a source: “The writing’s on the wall.”