I just wish Padilla would just go away as if I could swat a fly.
Maybe they should have a dunk tank at Homecoming. Charge $18.59 for a pitch at the prez.
As this seems to be a closed search, Valpo will not be releasing any names until a deal is reached with the new President. There are good and bad points about closed (and open) searches, but a closed search seems appropriate as it likely attracts more and better candidates.
While I like that Jon Steinbrecher sends updates, I don't think the degree of religious implication in the updates is appropriate - nor does it come off as professional. The most recent email comes off as looking for divine intervention as they work through the process, when it will all come down to good and qualified people gathering and debating information on which candidate best fits with Valpo's mission and can lead Valpo through (and out of) this difficult period.
I respect VU's religious affiliation and believe that it contributes significantly to the school's values orientation. I also hope that this quality has helped to attract strong, fitting candidates for the presidency. But the repeated, heavy prayer appeals come across to me as being over the top, sounding almost desperate.
@david81 - agreed, but I hope Steinbrecher knows what he is doing. This selection is very important and we need all support and guidance possible.
@david81 - agreed, but I hope Steinbrecher knows what he is doing. This selection is very important and we need all support and guidance possible.
@usc4valpo, we on this board may not agree on everything, but I think we share a consensus that this appointment may determine whether VU survives & thrives, or slowly (or not so slowly) circles the drain. I hope that the search committee has approached their task with the same sense of urgency.
For support and guidance, they could've done a lot worse than to read through the hundreds of comments posted to these topics over the past 4-5 years. I fear that search committees and their hired search firms typically don't get it at this granular level. I hope it's different with this situation.
@david81 - totally agree. We don’t know everything and how it all works. However, these, boards and search committees and recruiting companies can tend to stay isolated from reality.
I will also say with passion that it is OK to disagree on issues, and we should not afraid to disagree and express that.
@david81 - totally agree. We don’t know everything and how it all works. However, these, boards and search committees and recruiting companies can tend to stay isolated from reality.
I will also say with passion that it is OK to disagree on issues, and we should not afraid to disagree and express that.
I appreciate how exchanges on this site about VU and its future have tended to be civil even when topics are vigorously debated, informed whenever possible by facts and information.
I appreciate how exchanges on this site about VU and its future have tended to be civil even when topics are vigorously debated, informed whenever possible by facts and information.
Well, we are Valpo grads after all!
This board rules. That being said, at the end of his tenure I find Padilla to be a failure as president and an egotistical schmuck.
It seems like the process has been well-designed and deliberate, which hopefully leads to a good outcome. The Leadership Profile document was outstanding in my opinion.
Probably, the Search Committee is making a recommendation to the Board, and I would guess the Board is meeting sometime over Homecoming weekend. I am assuming that the Board would have to approve making an offer, and it is not clear to me when the negotiations happen - perhaps, the Board has to approve sending out an offer, then there is some negotiation. Or, it could mostly have happened with the Search Committee and the key parameters are all set before the offer goes out. Someone closer to the Board would know for sure.
It is also possible that the leading candidate will take a different job or be retained by his/her present institution, or some other lack of agreement. Hopefully that does not happen, yet it could. As I recall (and I could be wrong), last time after the campus visits concluded, there was no consensus on the candidate, or possibly one of the candidates withdrew from consideration. That is when Colette Irwin-Knott took over on an interim basis, and President Padilla became the leading candidate in the second round of interview.
This board rules. That being said, at the end of his tenure I find Padilla to be a failure as president and an egotistical schmuck.
It's disappointing, to be sure.
I thought he was engaged and personable during his first year. He made some humorous videos where he was poking fun at himself.
His less diplomatic side came out during the contested art sale, and it became more of a norm. He also never got off the ground with other fundraising.
From my sources, he has also been an "isolated leader", spending a majority of his time with others in his administration and minimal time with the Deans of the Colleges.
David81 stands out to me with his reasoned comments on all of this. As all know, I tend to get a carried away even though I bring a lot of facts to the board as a "Realist."
I won't be at Homecoming. So I do remain curious about the role Padilla will play at Homecoming. Is he speaking at length in any forums or taking any Q&A?
I am past feeling any anger at him. I just want Valpo to position itself in the most compelling and positive way it can. Whether Padilla did a fair, poor, or very poor job as President isn't as big a factor as that it just feels awkwardly timed for a celebratory "send off" or final bow.
From my sources, he has also been an "isolated leader", spending a majority of his time with others in his administration and minimal time with the Deans of the Colleges.
If you're not even interacting frequently with your deans, then you may as well govern from a literal bunker.
This next president has to be out there, seen, heard, listening, interacting.
VU's most transformational leaders -- Brown & Kinsey in the pre-Lutheran era, O.P. in the Lutheran era -- had both lofty visions and on the ground presence. VU cannot have a next prez who operates in purely hierarchical, org chart manner.
Some ailing universities could deal with such a leader if they were raising buckets of money. But Valpo needs someone who can fundraise while inspiring people at the ground level.
Gang, whoever becomes president of Valpo also needs to be given some time and space to do what’s right to clean up this mess. There will be some tough decisions to be made, and I guarantee not everyone on this board will be pleased or in favor of these actions.
@usc4valpo Sure, the president is going to need to operate. But insofar as s/he's going to face strictures of time and space, those are not really a function of us and our either gracious or critical musings.
Either this next pres is going to decide to take seriously the fact that they're governing a university (with deans, faculty, students etc.) or they won't, but the higher ed enrollment environment won't give much space to get that wrong.
Either this next pres is going to turn around the desirability of the school or not, but the compounding factors of reputation and enrollment are not going to give him/her much time to turn the ship.
All we can hope is that there IS, in reality, still time and space to recover the situation, withe a hopefully sane enough president to undertake it.
