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General Ohio University Discussion/Alumni Events Topic
Topic: Ohio names 4 finalists for President's job
Page: 3 of 5
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TWT
1/15/2017 9:37 PM
OUPride wrote:expand_more
Also, Benoit is more of a courtesy/window dressing. She's not under serious consideration.
Benoit is plenty qualified. She is a continuation of the McDavis legacy though which is a build up of student support service adminstrators. Nice work has been done to support students and keep tuition affordable and hit enrollment targets. The administration needs to connect better with faculty than what it has so I'd rather go with a more traditional dean type president than an administrative rock star which is becoming accepted as the contemporary model.
Which disqualifies her in my view. McDavis is given a pass around here because of his slavish devotion to athletics (and willingness to create a fiscal sinkhole in pursuit of athletics), but his record to me is one of mediocrity and stagnation. The university needs some fresh air.
Willingness to create fiscal sinkhole for athletics? That is something he just did not do. The Glidden/Boeh regime did that somewhat and had a debt that Jim Schaus was left to have to service. There hasn't been an issuance of bonds to expand the stadium as a few universities at our level are doing.
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rpbobcat
1/16/2017 6:47 AM
DISCLAIMER:
This opinion is based solely on a review of CV's and the summaries of the open forums in The Post.

Based on that,it seems like the president of NDSU would be a good choice.
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OhioCatFan
1/16/2017 11:00 AM
rpbobcat wrote:expand_more
DISCLAIMER:
This opinion is based solely on a review of CV's and the summaries of the open forums in The Post.

Based on that,it seems like the president of NDSU would be a good choice.
I've come to the same conclusion based on the same evidence. However, the former Texas Tech prez seems like a good choice also. I will say that the NDSU guy's email scandal is a little troubling, at least with the limited information that we have about it.
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rpbobcat
1/16/2017 1:34 PM
OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more
DISCLAIMER:
This opinion is based solely on a review of CV's and the summaries of the open forums in The Post.

Based on that,it seems like the president of NDSU would be a good choice.
I've come to the same conclusion based on the same evidence. However, the former Texas Tech prez seems like a good choice also. I will say that the NDSU guy's email scandal is a little troubling, at least with the limited information that we have about it.
I just took a continuing education class on cyber security.

One of the things they showed us was how easy it was to retrieve supposedly deleted emails.
The instructor asked a person for his email address.In a few minutes he brought up 5 years of "deleted" emails.

He also said even using programs like "Bleach Bit" won't necessarily prevent emails from being retrieved,especially if they're "floating" in the cloud somewhere.

I'm thinking if there was anything to the email issue,the AG would have been able to retrieve them.
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catfan28
1/17/2017 7:58 PM
OUPride wrote:expand_more
Which disqualifies her in my view. McDavis is given a pass around here because of his slavish devotion to athletics (and willingness to create a fiscal sinkhole in pursuit of athletics), but his record to me is one of mediocrity and stagnation. The university needs some fresh air.
OK, calling BS here. Athletics is about 2.5% of the university budget. Anyone who thinks that athletics spending is even a BLIP on the university radar is delusional and/or has an agenda. It's a total nothingburger in the grand scheme of things.

Not looking to delve into politics here, but it's akin to thinking that cutting the Department of Agriculture will solve the federal budget deficit. Meanwhile, entitlement programs are over 60% of the budget.

It's a total red herring to think athletics matters in the OU budget. It doesn't.
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AttackU
1/17/2017 9:56 PM
Look at it this way... if Benoit is not selected as Ohio University's President, I think she will pursue other opportunities outside of Ohio University, which she has done several times previously. Imo, this would be a good thing. I am not a fan, for several reasons...
Last Edited: 1/17/2017 10:00:08 PM by AttackU
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OhioCatFan
1/17/2017 11:43 PM
AttackU wrote:expand_more
Look at it this way... if Benoit is not selected as Ohio University's President, I think she will pursue other opportunities outside of Ohio University, which she has done several times previously. Imo, this would be a good thing. I am not a fan, for several reasons...
+1

I'm not a fan either. I believe I explained why in an earlier post. I think she is by far the weakest of the candidates. I'll be very disappointed if she is selected. My original personal favorite was the dude from NDSU, now I'm leaning toward the Texas Tech guy. This, of course, means nothing, since I'm not a member of the Board of Trustees.
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rpbobcat
1/18/2017 7:14 AM
I just read the summary of Ms.Benoit's Open Forum yesterday in The Post.

To me,she comes off as somewhat "defensive".
Almost like Kevin Bacon's "All is well" in Animal House.

I just don't see her as the right person for the presidency.

After reading OCF's last post,I went back and reread the Open Forum summaries for all the candidates.

I still like the NDSU President best.
But the Texas Tech guy is a close second.

Just like OCF,I'm not a member of the Board of Trustees (yet :-) ) so my opinion doesn't mean squat.
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OUPride
1/18/2017 11:53 AM
Uncle Wes wrote:expand_more
Also, Benoit is more of a courtesy/window dressing. She's not under serious consideration.
Benoit is plenty qualified. She is a continuation of the McDavis legacy though which is a build up of student support service adminstrators. Nice work has been done to support students and keep tuition affordable and hit enrollment targets. The administration needs to connect better with faculty than what it has so I'd rather go with a more traditional dean type president than an administrative rock star which is becoming accepted as the contemporary model.
Which disqualifies her in my view. McDavis is given a pass around here because of his slavish devotion to athletics (and willingness to create a fiscal sinkhole in pursuit of athletics), but his record to me is one of mediocrity and stagnation. The university needs some fresh air.
Willingness to create fiscal sinkhole for athletics? That is something he just did not do. The Glidden/Boeh regime did that somewhat and had a debt that Jim Schaus was left to have to service. There hasn't been an issuance of bonds to expand the stadium as a few universities at our level are doing.
I do stand corrected here. While I think our subsidy is still too high and ultimately unsustainable, I looked into the AD's debt, and it is very low relative to other MAC schools.

That doesn't change my opinion that we need a break with McDavis' legacy and some fresh air in the room.
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OUPride
1/19/2017 12:05 PM
So for those favoring Bresciani (NDSU guy) what are the thoughts that he was the only person at the forum to highlight the "nuclear arms race" in college athletics as a problem? That seems to be a big departure from McDavis' view that the spending, regardless of how red the ink was, benefited the university on the whole.

Benoit was the only one making a positive statement on athletics using the "university's front door" analogy.


BTW, I'm hoping for Bresciani as I believe there should be a percentage cap on athletic subsidies.
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DelBobcat
1/19/2017 1:12 PM
OUPride wrote:expand_more
So for those favoring Bresciani (NDSU guy) what are the thoughts that he was the only person at the forum to highlight the "nuclear arms race" in college athletics as a problem? That seems to be a big departure from McDavis' view that the spending, regardless of how red the ink was, benefited the university on the whole.

.
I don't believe this is an accurate representation of President McDavis's actual view on the subject. We're 94th in total athletic department spending and right in the middle of the MAC, which is itself known for having tight athletic budgets. We also have very (very, very) little athletic department debt. What evidence is there that McDavis had the view that "spending, regardless of how red the ink was, benefited the university as a whole"?
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OUPride
1/19/2017 1:20 PM
DelBobcat wrote:expand_more
So for those favoring Bresciani (NDSU guy) what are the thoughts that he was the only person at the forum to highlight the "nuclear arms race" in college athletics as a problem? That seems to be a big departure from McDavis' view that the spending, regardless of how red the ink was, benefited the university on the whole.

.
I don't believe this is an accurate representation of President McDavis's actual view on the subject. We're 94th in total athletic department spending and right in the middle of the MAC, which is itself known for having tight athletic budgets. We also have very (very, very) little athletic department debt. What evidence is there that McDavis had the view that "spending, regardless of how red the ink was, benefited the university as a whole"?
We're still subsidizing the AD at a level that works out to about 7-8 percent of an in-state student's tuition. It's neither the worst in Ohio or the MAC, but that doesn't mean that it's at a healthy, sustainable level. The low debt is good (and probably a saving grace if the state limits subsidies), but the annual budget is still out of whack. And I think there's plenty of McDavis' statements that the AD spending was a net benefit to the university. Don't have time to google them now, but I'll try later this evening.

So, in the end, McDavis was good in not piling on a bunch of debt (a'la UC and Miami), and (IMO) bad in not enforcing better fiscal discipline to get the subsidy lower.
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TWT
1/19/2017 7:18 PM
Opinion piece from a student who thinks Benoit will ultimately get the nod because the board stood behind McDavis for 12 years.

http://thenewpolitical.com/opinion-duane-nellis-ous-next-... /
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mcbin
1/19/2017 9:59 PM
OUPride wrote:expand_more
So for those favoring Bresciani (NDSU guy) what are the thoughts that he was the only person at the forum to highlight the "nuclear arms race" in college athletics as a problem? That seems to be a big departure from McDavis' view that the spending, regardless of how red the ink was, benefited the university on the whole.

Benoit was the only one making a positive statement on athletics using the "university's front door" analogy.


BTW, I'm hoping for Bresciani as I believe there should be a percentage cap on athletic subsidies.
I have only viewed the webcast of the first two candidates, but I don't think either one (of those two) suggested a % cap, and I'm pretty sure at least one of them used the "university front door" analogy as well. I'll have to re-watch I guess, and want to watch the last two as well.
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AttackU
1/19/2017 10:41 PM
I'm really thinking Saul Phillips must have had a great relationship with the NDSU president and that could very well be why we are seeing him as a finalist. In regards to Benoit, let me put it this way, I have spent a decent amount of time around OU and I have yet to hear one person say they are a fan. I think Benoit may be in the finalist pool as a show of good faith by the BOT, since she is currently second in command. I would be surprised if she is chosen. She has tried to leave OU several times in her tenure at OU and she either did not get the job(s) or withdrew from consideration.


OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more
Look at it this way... if Benoit is not selected as Ohio University's President, I think she will pursue other opportunities outside of Ohio University, which she has done several times previously. Imo, this would be a good thing. I am not a fan, for several reasons...
+1

I'm not a fan either. I believe I explained why in an earlier post. I think she is by far the weakest of the candidates. I'll be very disappointed if she is selected. My original personal favorite was the dude from NDSU, now I'm leaning toward the Texas Tech guy. This, of course, means nothing, since I'm not a member of the Board of Trustees.
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Ted Thompson
1/24/2017 10:28 PM
Ball St. just hired the Northern Kentucky president.
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cbus cat fan
1/25/2017 2:26 PM
As crazy as a coaching search can be, one would think a university president position would bring a spirit of decorum, which isn't always the case. I can remember hearing all the scuttlebutt about who would replace the venerable President Ping.

Perhaps some here could help me understand if President McDavis brought in a lot of research money and new buildings, why were some faculty members so against him? One person I know from another university board said the faculty and staff should be grateful for what they had. In addition, he told me their salaries considering the cost of living in Athens is nothing to sneeze at. Some of you have far more information than me on what the faculty wants compared to what is best for the university. Thanks in advance for any info.
Last Edited: 1/25/2017 2:27:59 PM by cbus cat fan
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catfan28
1/26/2017 12:34 AM
cbus cat fan wrote:expand_more
As crazy as a coaching search can be, one would think a university president position would bring a spirit of decorum, which isn't always the case. I can remember hearing all the scuttlebutt about who would replace the venerable President Ping.

Perhaps some here could help me understand if President McDavis brought in a lot of research money and new buildings, why were some faculty members so against him? One person I know from another university board said the faculty and staff should be grateful for what they had. In addition, he told me their salaries considering the cost of living in Athens is nothing to sneeze at. Some of you have far more information than me on what the faculty wants compared to what is best for the university. Thanks in advance for any info.
The truth? The campus culture among faculty is toxic. Nothing will ever be good enough. They are (largely) a bunch of far-left ideologues that would like to see OU become a "sanctuary university" (I'm serious) among other gems.

No matter how much they have, they want more. And they want it for themselves (not students or the lowly "staff").

The campus has a lot of these types and, thus, continues to attract these types. They would be outliers at other universities. Here, they are the norm.

And this is coming from someone who is faculty - and thankfully, retiring soon to escape the lunacy.
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cbus cat fan
1/26/2017 10:49 AM
Thanks Cat Fan28. I was afraid this might be the case. I bumped into a couple of old profs recently while visiting the campus. They were guarded in their words, but they were insinuating what your are saying and they are hardly profs that anyone would deem conservative. This whole crazy campus leftist culture is coming to a boil, something is going to happen. Just as in 1974, if one had said that 6 years later an old conservative Hollywood actor would be voted in by those under 30, one would have thought you were nuts.

I believe the same might happen down the road with some young people who refuse to follow the pied piper of liberal lunacy. The rising cost of college education is an implosion in the making all by itself, let alone whacked out liberal professors trying to ruin it for students and educators alike who take their profession and future a little more seriously.
Last Edited: 1/26/2017 10:50:33 AM by cbus cat fan
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AttackU
1/29/2017 12:50 PM
+1,000,000 thank you for putting into words exactly my sentiment regarding the overwhelmingly liberal (stating the obvious, I know), entitled, pompous attitude of the OU faculty. It's all about them and what they want. Not what is best for the students or the University as a whole. It's sad.

catfan28 wrote:expand_more
As crazy as a coaching search can be, one would think a university president position would bring a spirit of decorum, which isn't always the case. I can remember hearing all the scuttlebutt about who would replace the venerable President Ping.

Perhaps some here could help me understand if President McDavis brought in a lot of research money and new buildings, why were some faculty members so against him? One person I know from another university board said the faculty and staff should be grateful for what they had. In addition, he told me their salaries considering the cost of living in Athens is nothing to sneeze at. Some of you have far more information than me on what the faculty wants compared to what is best for the university. Thanks in advance for any info.
The truth? The campus culture among faculty is toxic. Nothing will ever be good enough. They are (largely) a bunch of far-left ideologues that would like to see OU become a "sanctuary university" (I'm serious) among other gems.

No matter how much they have, they want more. And they want it for themselves (not students or the lowly "staff").

The campus has a lot of these types and, thus, continues to attract these types. They would be outliers at other universities. Here, they are the norm.

And this is coming from someone who is faculty - and thankfully, retiring soon to escape the lunacy.
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bornacatfan
1/31/2017 4:01 PM
catfan28 wrote:expand_more
The truth? The campus culture among faculty is toxic. Nothing will ever be good enough. They are (largely) a bunch of far-left ideologues that would like to see OU become a "sanctuary university" (I'm serious) among other gems.

No matter how much they have, they want more. And they want it for themselves (not students or the lowly "staff").

The campus has a lot of these types and, thus, continues to attract these types. They would be outliers at other universities. Here, they are the norm.

And this is coming from someone who is faculty - and thankfully, retiring soon to escape the lunacy.
That's funny from my view. You could substitute Ball State and Muncie in place of Athens and OHIO and make the same statements. My job lets me listen to the head of the local Faculty Senate and others in the Education of our Undergrads talk while I work. Fascinating little insulated world they have over there....especially when the head of the local Autoworkers union is listening in the next room. Then I get to hear the other side ...
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OhioCatFan
1/31/2017 7:59 PM
catfan28 wrote:expand_more
The truth? The campus culture among faculty is toxic. Nothing will ever be good enough. They are (largely) a bunch of far-left ideologues that would like to see OU become a "sanctuary university" (I'm serious) among other gems.

No matter how much they have, they want more. And they want it for themselves (not students or the lowly "staff").

The campus has a lot of these types and, thus, continues to attract these types. They would be outliers at other universities. Here, they are the norm.

And this is coming from someone who is faculty - and thankfully, retiring soon to escape the lunacy.

+1

I have to be careful how I state this, and I will of necessity be vague. But I have friend who is a younger, tenured member of the faculty here. She teaches in a humanities area, and has said essentially the same thing. The family likes Athens but not the culture at the university. She is highly regarded locally as both a scholar and a teacher, and nationally in her field as a rising star. If we keep her it will be primarily because of the very tight job market in her discipline, not because of what she calls the "hippy culture" at our dear olde OHIO.
Last Edited: 1/31/2017 8:57:18 PM by OhioCatFan
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cbus cat fan
2/1/2017 10:42 AM
Ohio Cat Fan, very interesting assessment. You guys are more in the loop than me. However, from what I gather some of the sane faculty members wouldn't mind if these hippie faculty members were more in line with Jerry Garcia. Unfortunately, it seems some of these leftists are more in line with Bill Ayers circa 1971 than Jerry Garcia circa 1967!
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Alan Swank
2/1/2017 1:20 PM
cbus cat fan wrote:expand_more
Ohio Cat Fan, very interesting assessment. You guys are more in the loop than me. However, from what I gather some of the sane faculty members wouldn't mind if these hippie faculty members were more in line with Jerry Garcia. Unfortunately, it seems some of these leftists are more in line with Bill Ayers circa 1971 than Jerry Garcia circa 1967!
I think it's more of "if only the world was as special and smart as I am" thinking. Not really hippies in my mind.
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cbus cat fan
2/1/2017 4:06 PM
Alan, that's what I was thinking. I have always tried to separate easy going hippies with more nefarious characters. The idealist in me (although I am a conservative idealist) has never minded true hippies. I knew a few in Athens and enjoyed their company, which is why I used the Jerry Garcia example. Although, I don't believe their economic views work, they mean well and I have no problem if they don't become radical. It is the radicals (i.e. Bill Ayers) and those who think, as you stated "I am smart and special" that bother me.
Last Edited: 2/1/2017 4:06:36 PM by cbus cat fan
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