This is not personal against Padilla. But he is an unpopular lame duck. No Homecoming speaking roles at this point in time should feature Padilla.
Roger Powell could fill that role and generate serious good will. He is a new enough figure to the wider alumni base after just one year, and his impact on the school and region is wider than basketball. He knows Bryce and Homer personally, the two national icons from Valpo. Even 28 years after "the shot" and the Sweet 16 VU is seen as likable and successful because of the Drews. The finances and art news don't have the compelling images of March Madness. The Valpo HC weekend sits on the cusp of hoops season. There is no downside to Powell. But there is a vibe-killing downside to Padilla speaking to the alumni in the fall 2025.
And at that point, would he even want to perform these functions? There’s nothing more electrifying than a host and emcee who doesn’t want to be there.
@kreitzerstl Yes. He would. Why? Because if he was more introspective and cognizant of public opinion, he’d realize that he should have relinquished his functional role to an interim prez, stepped aside into an advisory role until a new prez was selected, whereupon he’d lead a seamless transition and handoff. At this point, that final step, IMO, should be his one and only major obligation that he has to perform going forward.
I wasn't planning to attend this year's Homecoming activities. That said, when I received various invitations to activities that weekend and read that the current president would be playing a role in them, it was something of a letdown. Look, I'm sure he has given this job his all, and I had high hopes for him based in his initial presence on campus. But his performance has fallen well short of the mark.
Padilla is a complete egomaniac. It is a shameful that he cannot let go of the spotlight and allowing his selfishness to diminish Valpo. For homecoming, Valpo needs a strong, empathic leadership speaker like Patrick Lencione than Padilla spewing out BS.
The search committee chair (and forthcoming University board chairman) sent out an update that the committee was now moving to the second interview stage ("airport interviews") and that they expect to have on-campus interviews in mid-October and an offer extended by the end of October. I like the aggressiveness here, but (1) finding the right person is far more important than meeting a deadline and (2) this timeline seems VERY optimistic for any number of reasons.
Agreed. It's either a blind rush to a self-imposed deadline. Or......there is a heavy favorite and they feel confident he/she will emerge and accept an offer. I suspect and hope it is the latter case.
@realist77 @vu84v2 , in my opinion, it is not an especially aggressive deadline, for two reasons:
First, the key factor now is how much new information can be gained during the vetting process, and it can move relatively quickly at this point: A lot of work has been done with creating the profile, processing the initial applications, and completing the online interviews. The new information is what was gained in the online interviews, but it is easier to process this because presumably all of the online interviewees met the initial hurdle. VU's hiring committee probably has blocked several possible calendar days already, so the scheduling gets simpler. Once the airport interviews are done, the new information could be the references of the leading candidates. Once the finalists are selected, there won't be too much new information beyond the campus visit itself - once those are completed, the committee can move fast to identify their preferred candidate.
Second, once that candidate is selected (say mid to late October), it still could take some time before we know the result, so it won't seem like a rush. There will be some back and forth with the candidate, the search committee, and possibly the extended Board of Directors to finalize the offer. That leading candidate may also negotiate with his/her current employer. In academia, there also other considerations - the leading candidate could be a college president or VP and have institutional deadlines and prior commitments, such a homecoming celebration, accreditation visit, or even teaching commitments through the end of the semester. All of this could delay the time between an offer is made and it gets publicly announced. This of course assumes that the leading candidate accepts the job at Valpo rather than somewhere else.
valpo95 - All of what you say is generally true, but nonetheless there are many searches that fail because of failed negotations on contract terms or the search committee deciding they do not want to hire any of the candidates after the on-campus interviews. From what I have seen 25-40% of searches fail in their first attempt and almost all happen late in the process. Look, no one wants the search committee to reach agreement with a great candidate in the timeframe they state more than me...I am just being realistic.
Ever facet of work is going to have a deadline. Whether it be self imposed or not. Deadlines help ensure a process is running smoothly. If a stakeholder decided they didn't want deadlines for a BA product that I might be producing, work would never get done for the project. Deadlines are there to keep work running smoothly and to keep accountability
@vu84v2 I get what you are saying, and I think you and I agree on most points. I was pushing back a little on the notion of it being "VERY optimistic" or that somehow this is a "blind rush".
As noted, there are any number of reasons that still could delay the process of actually naming the president and even then, it is possible that the next president won't start the position until next summer.
valpo95 - Agreed. I will add that they need to appoint an interim president if the next president does not start until the summer of 2026.
If Padilla is even near the campus on January 1, 2026, that would be a failure. This process should have started in the late winter after Padilla announced his retirement.
Hindsight is 20/20, but...an interim should've been lined up to start this past summer, with the understanding that the search process would be designed to yield a successor starting as early as Jan. 2026 and as late as next summer.
Hindsight for sure, but Keeping Padilla around is cancerous.
