Higher ed is no exception. It’s like people really do not understand what qualities make a good leader.

https://www.insidehighered.com...ent-under-fire-quits

This particularly struck me:

quote:

-In 18 months on the job, he went through four provosts.

-A memo from the board chair to Shoureshi in November 2017 expressed serious concerns about his leadership and said he needed to either improve or leave.

That was 16 months ago! He got an ‘improve or leave’ letter from the board after two months on the job?

Typo, should have been 2018.

I will recuse myself from further discussion, for obvious reasons.

However, I must also add that the U Oklahoma president announced his resignation as well.

Coincidentally, the OU President just resigned. He'd been in office ten months.

https://www.tulsaworld.com/new...b6-54b79a2a4811.html

He'd replaced David Boren (former Democratic U.S. Senator), who had been at the university forever. And it seemed that much of what he had done was deliberately designed to wipe away Boren's work. The pettiest act was when he got rid of most of the landscaping department, which had been a pet project of Boren's wife. He was also pushing a sexual misconduct investigation against Boren.

The weirdest and nastiest act was when there was a dispute about the university's finances while Boren was still President, but during the interregnum when Gallogly had been appointed to succeed him but hadn't taken office. So, at that time, Gallogly had no official position ... yet. Boren tried to write a rebuttal about how the university's finances weren't that bad. Remember, at that time, he was still President. Gallogly instructed the head of PR at the university not to issue Boren's rebuttal, and told them that they were not permitted to issue anything about the university's finances without the specific permission of either Gallogly or the head of the Board of Trustees. So Boren just issued the press release himself. And then, the day after Gallogly took office, he sacked the head of PR.

I will be interested to hear the backstory. It wouldn't surprise me if he was frustrated. He comes from a corporate background. He was used to people doing exactly what he told them to do, and to having complete control due to his ability to fire anyone and everyone. Needless to say, that's not how a university works.

It's not how government works either, as Tillerson found out.

quote:

He was used to people doing exactly what he told them to do, and to having complete control due to his ability to fire anyone and everyone. Needless to say, that's not how a university works.

Hmmmm... sounds a lot like Individual 1.

On that note, when can we jettison Betsy deVos? While several other utterly incompetent cabinet members have left or been fired, she remains. Perhaps, she has not be as publicly corrupt as, say, Zinke or Pruitt. I've always thought deVos was Individual 1's trial balloon. She was the first cabinet member to go through confirmation. She was obviously completely unqualified and had a personal agenda, but she got confirmed (by the republican-controlled Senate). I've always thought that deVos was Individual 1's test case to see how horrible, vile, and incompetent someone could be and still get confirmed. And from there, the floodgates opened.

Pet project of the wife thing bothers me. I know nothing of this particular project, but spouses of University presidents should not have expensive pet projects when so many schools are facing serious budget issues. The school hired the president, NOT the spouse. You would not believe the **** that people get to do because they are somehow related to, or a buddy of the president or the provost, and sometimes there is money involved. It’s totally unethical and it happens so much more than you think. After the things I’ve seen via Mr. Jodi’s jobs, I’ve pretty much lost faith in humanity. We are a bunch of greedy @ssholes.

It was before I arrived, but I think the president's wife may have gotten donors to fund the campus beautification stuff and also donated some of their own money.

Of course, the donors might have donated to something else, so it's kind of a money shell game. Nevertheless, striking back at her husband by gutting the landscaping budget has come back to bite him. The usually beautifully landscaped campus looked just horrid this week during graduation when donors and future donors are on campus. There were expanses of mud where flowers usually are, and the Twittersphere was brutal about posting before-and-after pictures.

The landscaping staff people that he laid off AT CHRISTMAS must be thinking that he has been hoist on his own petunias.

quote:

Originally posted by pianojuggler:

quote:

He was used to people doing exactly what he told them to do, and to having complete control due to his ability to fire anyone and everyone. Needless to say, that's not how a university works.

Hmmmm... sounds a lot like Individual 1.

Indeed. He seemed, from my lounge chair perspective, quite vindictive.

quote:

His announcement listed various accomplishments, such as the launch of a fund-raising campaign and new academic centers, and made no mention of the various controversies he has faced. As to why he is leaving, Shoureshi said only that "the time has come for me to focus on my family first." The board's statement also did not reference the controversies.

wouldnt it be refreshing if these people started actually being frank about what is really going on?

academia is so dysfunctional in general. i feel further vindication of choosing another path. those of you who are in the middle of it have more fortitude and better strategic skills than i can muster.

"Strategic" is a strong word for my approach of quietly doing my job, keeping my head down, and hoping not to be hit by flying shrapnel.

quote:

Originally posted by Mary Anna:
"Strategic" is a strong word for my approach of quietly doing my job, keeping my head down, and hoping not to be hit by flying shrapnel.

ha! you make my point for me. i've never been very good at that.

quote:

Originally posted by jodi:
https://www.insidehighered.com...llege-dean/red-flags

The problem often is that the people who selected the awful President are still selecting the next one. Counting on the trustees to have learned their lesson can be a recipe for disappointment.