Murky departure redux: ex-Forest City Ratner executive Stuckey leaves NYU job "abruptly;" school claims health reasons but doesn't issue public thanks

Jim Stuckey's murky, swift departure from New York University's Schack Institute of Real Estate, as described by The Real Deal, seems somewhat akin to his swift resignation from Forest City Ratner in June 2007, when the company cited "personal reasons and a desire to pursue new challenges."

That meant Forest City's Atlantic Yards point man was succeeded by MaryAnne Gilmartin.

The Real Deal reports today:

School representatives told about two-dozen teachers and staff about the resignation in a meeting Monday morning that Stuckey had left for health reasons and would not be coming back, referring to his resignation Friday as an "incident," according to someone present at the meeting. No one asked questions about how he left.

Unlike with the Forest City departure, capably managed by Howard Rubenstein, the city's premier p.r. fixer, this resignation--from an institution with a broad constituency--comes with a bit more potential for public discussion.

So we learn, from the article and comments, that Stuckey both stirred the pot productively in his two years at Schack but also antagonized some people.

Well, that happens in high-profile jobs, but it doesn't typically lead to such a swift departure, nor in the midst of an academic term, nor without any thanks.

Health issues?

One commenter noted:

There has to be more to him leaving than just health issues. He was just at the Monopoly event and he looked pretty healthy.

He has faced some health issues, but tweeted July 3 that "It's a testament to modern medicine and great doctors that I could play a round of golf 10 days after heart surgery."

He hasn't tweeted since September 17, however.

(Update: Indeed, Stuckey, left in photo, looked reasonably healthy at the Schack Institute's 19th Annual Evening of Monopoly, held on September 27. Photo from Bisnow.)

One commenter stated:

if you would be ill, why would you be removed from the schack webpag the day after you get kicked out and they say no nice things about you in the press release?

Fighting old battles

Stuckey has been a sometimes pugnacious presence on Twitter, as with a sequence I wrote about in April and the below tweet from August:

Maybe it's Orwellian, almost, that we don't quite know why he's left two jobs.

Appointment three weeks ago

On 9/15/11, the school announced that Stuckey had gained a prominent role in Haitian reconstruction. Scroll through the Scribd document below.

Stuckey Appointed to Haitian Presidential Council Chaired by Former President Clinton | New York University...
Stuckey's NYU web page

Below is the now-disappeared web page at NYU-Schack.