Messages

You really don't believe that U of E's NIL money can compete with that of KU or Fightin' Illini.  I doubt that ANY mid-major school can compete with ANY P-5 Conference School in NIL dollars.  If so, I sure would like to know where. While Evansville usually leads the MVC in attendance, they have put out a very poor MBB program in recent years.  I still say there has to be more on this story   I can believe a new hot shot transfer comes in from the OVC.  But the new 4-star guy?  What's up, Doc?

You are right, mid-majors can't compete with the total P5 NIL package. At Kansas he would be one of thirteen, and most likely behind most of the other players, not all players would receive the same compensation. At UE he has a chance to be one of the top guys.


Even at that, you are probably right that there is more to the story or connection to Ragland or UE.

Evansville gets a player rated 3 or 4 stars that turned down Kansas, Illinois among others??  Something doesn't sound right here.  There has got to be more on this story.

I am guessing that because Evansville is extremely isolated, local advertising opportunities are available in a town that is rabid about basketball. Consider that Evansville has been one of the least successful teams in the league since we have been a member, they still averaged over 4500 butts in the seats this last season.

It wouldn't surprise me if UE would lead the Valley in attendance next year with the addition of Cameron Haffner to the roster. His father Scott is one of the most decorated players in UE men's basketball history, a legend to the Aces faithful. He was the first real star in UE's Division I era and the first UE D1 player to have his jersey retired.  I think he may still hold the single game scoring record with 65 points in a game against Dayton. Cameron was the OVC freshman of the year this past season.

Evansville gets a player rated 3 or 4 stars that turned down Kansas, Illinois among others??  Something doesn't sound right here.  There has got to be more on this story.

I am guessing that because Evansville is extremely isolated, local advertising opportunities are available in a town that is rabid about basketball. Consider that Evansville has been one of the least successful teams in the league since we have been a member, they still averaged over 4500 butts in the seats this last season.

The power of NIL.

https://twitter.com/amfkristensen/status/1648356078541844482?s=46&t=cNk7taMAYtxNl1Q0_O79Gw

Appears to be a good get by Evansville! They are one of the teams I have to root for (when the are not playing VU) because my daughter got her archeology bachelors there and I sat on one of their boards for a while.

Will sombody please ask Padilla for clarification on the new arena!!!!

I heard it. He said that the building would start in 2 years North of Brown Field... Seems VERY optimistic.

I think Valpo has some "faculty chairs," whatever those are. 

Are those attractive to star faculty or a good retention tool?   How is a "chair" different than a regular faculty job?

Chairs are usually fully or (more often) partially funded by an endowed gift. The donor will decide that they highly value a specific field - say chemistry - and will setup an endowment that provides money each year to fund a top faculty member in that discipline. Additionally, sometimes a company who benefits from a discipline may fund a chair in that field - for instance, an accounting firm may hire accounting graduates from the college and will fund a chair for a leading accounting professor. For some chairs, there is also an expectation of research or other scholarly work in that discipline.

So yes, that can be a very good retention tool.

Right now, at our institution, a full faculty chair requires an endowment of $2.5 Million dollars. I would expect that at Valpo a chair would require at least $3 Million.

But a chair can be partially funded. The balance is paid as normal salary.

That is true, but for a number of reasons, I won't go into here, we prefer to not to partially fund chairs. Typically if they are partially funded the tend to remain that way.

I think Valpo has some "faculty chairs," whatever those are. 

Are those attractive to star faculty or a good retention tool?   How is a "chair" different than a regular faculty job?

Chairs are usually fully or (more often) partially funded by an endowed gift. The donor will decide that they highly value a specific field - say chemistry - and will setup an endowment that provides money each year to fund a top faculty member in that discipline. Additionally, sometimes a company who benefits from a discipline may fund a chair in that field - for instance, an accounting firm may hire accounting graduates from the college and will fund a chair for a leading accounting professor. For some chairs, there is also an expectation of research or other scholarly work in that discipline.

So yes, that can be a very good retention tool.

Right now, at our institution, a full faculty chair requires an endowment of $2.5 Million dollars. I would expect that at Valpo a chair would require at least $3 Million.

[Breaking News... this is not true.]

I think there is a lot of doubt as to who's ethics should take president. Should the widely accepted ethical museum practices trump the widely accepted ethical nonprofit Mission Related Investing practices that would dictate that holding a nonperforming high value asset is unethical??? Would the Sloan's, who had some regard and perhaps even love for VU, hold the value of these pieces of art above VU's mission and the potential demise of the university??

It seems your argument comes down to the single premise that some vague mission related investing practice, in which I see no reference to the category of university museum art, should take precedence over very specific art deaccession policies clearly stated in numerous statements by universities, museums, and cultural associations across the country. I'd also like to see a definition of "nonperforming" that would apply to the university museum collection. In fact, if you want to seek precedents, search museum deaccessioning and discover the fiascos created in the few times when such art sales for purposes other than collection enhancement were tried. There is a good reason we don't see any other universities bartering their art collections. Additionally, your premise assumes "the potential demise of the university" if the paintings aren't sold, which is a totally false dichotomy that implies if VU didn't have these three pieces the doors of the university would be closed.   

I almost don't know why I bother. I ask a question and all you do is reword my question in a manner to fit your narrative and then throw it back in my face without nary an answer. MRI is not some vague practice, if it is I spend a lot of time at investment and financial committee meetings discussing this vague practice. I doubt if our auditors think it is a vague practice.

You are correct, I should have called the art an under performing asset, the art in question is an asset that incurs costs such as insurance, security and storage. I am sure those aren't the only costs involved with maintaining a very expensive piece of artwork. The artwork generates notoriety, acclaim, appreciates in value, and lending revenue for VU. I believe that the artwork costs VU a significant amount of money each year, which one can swallow for a time with most assets because there is generally the opportunity to sell an asset at its appreciated value. Because the art only costs the university money and presumably can not be sold, it under performs when compared to other assets the university has prudently invested.

5 years ago we had donors that wanted to give us a significant piece of art, worth approximately 20 times less than the Rust Red Hills, to be hung in our library. There is other artwork in this space, but nothing worth more than $20,000. After researching how much additional it would cost for insurance, security and an appropriate display area we politely declined the donation explaining to the donors that this did not fit our mission of training church workers. It would have actually cost us money to accept the donation and fund raise for an endowment to care for the painting. Eventually they agreed.

I do not believe that VU is in immediate jeopardy of closing its doors, although it seems that a number of people on this forum are sounding the death knell. crusadermoe is asking questions about liquidation. Comments to the Tribune and Times articles wonder who would even attend this basically bankrupt university. Breaking News... this is not true. My point is that most donors with an affinity for an institution would be happy that an asset they donated had risen in value 142,000%, and for that asset to be used to further the mission of the institution. Brauer museum may be part of that mission, but it is not the most important part.

Please answer these questions, is holding on to the art more important than the financial health of the university?? How bad would it have to get before these assets can be used?? If these types of assets had been held by Concordia Selma, Bronxville or Portland they would have been sold to try and save those universities, museum associations be dammed. Have you felt the pain of these types of closures? I can assure you that closing a university is more of a fiasco than anything a museum association can dish out.

So who owns the university?   If it were ever liquidated who receives the money?  Is there a beneficiary in the same manner that a life insurance proceeds goes to beneficiaries? 

At one point there was a rumor that a "Lutheran University Association" owned the university in that name.  Did the charter specify a way to elect the board of directors?  Are they a self-electing board?   The Concordias, to their frequent dismay as managers as administrators, are owned by the Lutheran Church.  The ownership of VU may not be clear to most people.  Does anyone know the charter for governance and any changes along the way?   The "Alumni Association" seems self-electing as well.  States own their universities. Who owns the private ones?

I can only make an educated guess, based on the fact that many of the same people/congregations were involved with the Lutheran University Association's purchase of VU as were involved with the establishment of Lutheran Hospital here in Fort Wayne in the early 1900's. When Lutheran Hospital was sold in 1995 for 137 million the money went back to the founding congregations, forming the Lutheran Foundation. The Lutheran Foundation is governed by a board elected by delegates from the congregations. I believe that LUA owns the university. This is pure speculation based on how a similar/related group was organized.

[greatly]

In regards to your first paragraph, I would want to see the document (i.e., the Sloan Agreement) and who from the university signed the agreement. Signed with specific terms is binding. However, one group (museum directors, etc.) is not authorized to set or unquestionably interpret university policy. I am dubious that the Sloan Agreement has specific terms and was signed by the university president or board chairman because no one has produced the document. If I were making that argument, I would publicly show the agreement and point to the relevant passages.

In regards to your second paragraph, Valpo is not obliged to follow practices at other universities or set by outside bodies (i.e., the museum associations).

In regards to your first paragraph, I have already reported the agreement was signed by Paul Brandt of the Valparaiso University Association. I don't know all the exact language in the agreement, but I don't care because I am sure it is porous and not airtight, since neither Brandt nor Percy Sloan could ever imagine the university selling artworks as assets to fund dorm renovations. I know the university's lawyers could easily find verbal ways to get around the spirit of the agreement. That is why I have never made a legal argument and have made the case on ethical grounds, where there is little doubt. The historical context over the past 70 years—as seen in the practice of the Brauer Museum's directors and the members of the university's art collection committee, as well as the national history of deaccession at university museums—clearly indicates the art sale is unethical. The various professional oversight organizations have all condemned the sale as unethical. The university's faculty senate has issued a resolution declaring the sale as unethical. Padilla's own policy as General Counsel at DePaul stated art deaccession could only ethically be used to enhance a collection.


Consequently, the university will stand isolated, but you are correct that there is no legal obligation "to follow practices at other universities or outside bodies" (or the guidelines of the campus community groups, for that matter), if the administration is comfortable standing alone on a limb as an outcast (despite the VU's emphasis on ethics in its mission) with hands over ears to block the criticism of being unethical, much like when I spoke to a senior official in a conversation about the university administration's practice; he responded that they euphemistically "don't use the word 'unethical' and prefer to call it 'nuanced.'"     

I think it is interesting that in the previous post you seemed to emphasize that the Sloan Trust was irrevocable. That sounds impressive, but the irrevocable part generally refers to the fact that the grantor has received some benefit (most generally a tax benefit). Here is the legal definition of an irrevocable trust:

An irrevocable trust is a type of trust typically created for asset protection and reduced federal estate taxes. They are designed so the creator of the trust (the grantor), can designate assets of their choosing to transfer over to a recipient (the beneficiary).

Once established, irrevocable trusts can't be changed or canceled by the grantor (hence the "irrevocable" in their name). The grantor forfeits ownership and authority over the trust and is unable to make any changes or amendments to the terms of the trust without permission from the beneficiary or a court order. A third-party member called a trustee is responsible for managing and overseeing an irrevocable trust.

I don't know that the trustee has ever been revealed, I am guessing that VU is the beneficiary and that the LUA board may now be the trustee because named trustees may all be deceased.

I still would like to hear views on why the ethical stance of other third parties is more ethical than the widely accepted ethical practice (backed by legal requirements) that nonprofits, especially education nonprofits, should engage in Mission Related Investing. I would prefer that VU not have to sell the art, but lets face facts, these are assets held by VU that are, for the most part, nonperforming assets and as you stated:

neither Brandt nor Percy Sloan could ever imagine the university selling artworks as assets to fund dorm renovations.

Because in their wildest dreams they would have never foreseen that the value of just the O'Keeffe would increase at least 142,900%. These paintings were purchased by VU using money given to the university. They are unique in that they are both academic and monetary assets that have greatly increased in value.

I know the university's lawyers could easily find verbal ways to get around the spirit of the agreement. That is why I have never made a legal argument and have made the case on ethical grounds, where there is little doubt.

I think there is a lot of doubt as to who's ethics should take president. Should the widely accepted ethical museum practices trump the widely accepted ethical nonprofit Mission Related Investing practices that would dictate that holding a nonperforming high value asset is unethical??? Would the Sloan's, who had some regard and perhaps even love for VU, hold the value of these pieces of art above VU's mission and the potential demise of the university??


One other note, I don't believe the endowment could purchase the art because the art is already owned by the university. The endowment could buy the Strongbow property because it must be deemed a prudent investment and obviously was not already owned by VU.

Some data from what Valpo reported to the US Dept of Education for 2021-2022 academic year

-Men's Basketball: Revenue: $2.576M; Expenses: $2.599M; Gain (Loss): ($23K)
-Football: Revenue: $1.272M; Expenses: $1.221M; Gain(Loss): $51K
-Baseball: Revenue: $1.076M; Expenses: $1.226M; Gain(Loss): ($150K)

From what I understand, tuition paid by any student-athletes on the team counts as revenue and costs include a pro-rated cost for delivering classes to the student, housing, etc. Obviously, the numbers also include revenues and costs directly associated with the programs. Capital spending is not included in expenses.

Does the football revenue include the large $ buy game at New Mexico State on December 3, 2022?

That game occurred in the 2022-2023 academic year so it would not be reported.

Rumor is now confirmed. It appears that Brandon Newman has entered the transfer portal. Is there any possibility he could come back to the region if we can get a decent coach in place quickly?

I have used this quote from O.P.'s address many times when speaking to and about our Lutheran schools here in Fort Wayne.

Only the school with a Christian orientation can today stand before the rising generation and say: We have something to offer you which you can find nowhere else. Others may try to make men scientific; we must do that-and make them wise. Others may give men knowledge; we must give them that-and understanding. Others may try to make men useful; we must do that-and we must make them noble. We are not asking you to come to an ivory tower to escape from the realities of life or to a market-place where the voices and minds of men are confused by the immediate and material things of life. We are able to give you the fellowship of men and women whose respect for Truth is not vitiated by doubts concerning its reality and permanence. We are able to offer you a school which recognizes the supreme dignity and worth of the individual human being. We are committed to the principle that the destiny of a Christian University lies in the quality of the men and women who are graduated from its halls rather than in quantitative production. Our future lies in the development of men and women, perhaps relatively few in number, whose quality will be so high that they will exert an influence on society which cannot be measured in terms of numbers.

I don't think it can be said any better!

• Hey, can I get some insights from those of you who follow all levels of college hoops? I'm looking at the Indiana Wesleyan 2022-23 roster (Greg Tonagel's NAIA school), and their roster includes a sprinkling of big men, including a 7-footer who started and led the team in scoring. [/q][/q]

https://iwuwildcats.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/2022-23 How close are the best NAIA players to D1 caliber? Are we talking mega light years difference -- as in Not Even Close -- or possibly something close to standout D2 players? In my time as an NAIA coach, we had several players that could have started for 70% of DI teams and many others that could have been on DI rosters. In many cases there were circumstances, including grades, mental health, legal, homesickness and other serious issues that caused a DI to not offer a scholarship or release a player. Examples: Young man, who as a freshman at a DII school, was the leading scorer when his team beat a P5 team in an exhibition game. Got caught up in a legal issue and was accused of stealing at this school. Head coach told us that he believed this young man was not involved but was in the wrong place at the wrong time. 6'4" with a Steph Curry type build, best pure shooter I have personally coached. Was a model citizen for us and graduated with a business degree. Went on to be the MVP of a second tier European League then moved up and had a very good career in the German A league. Player that was on Ohio First Team as a senior, second in voting to Lebron James for Ohio Mr. Baskketball, had a full ride to USC but never made it on the roster because he came back home after a short time in California. Went JUCO in Ohio and was the league MVP, but stopped going to class after the BB season. We agreed to give him a second chance but he had to sit a year to get his credits straighten out. Played one season with us and was our leading scorer and first team all conference. Verbally abused a professor after receiving a lower than expected grade in a class and was released from the school. He went on to play two years at another NAIA program and played in Europe. Major Indianapolis HS player that was released by a P5 team because of some behavior issues. Head Coach (initials BP) vouched for him and hoped that he could get himself straightened out closer to home with the hope of returning to his team. Was a very strong physical player with tons of potential.... however, his behavior issues turned out to be a drug problem. Super athletic player who I believe had a depression problem, played according to his mood. One game he was an all american, disappeared completely the next game. Went on to play in the G-League for a couple of years and then professionally around the world in countries such as  Israel, Thailand, Hong Kong & throughout China. Was a super star in Hong Kong and now has a basketball academy there. So to answer your question, there are DI players at the NAIA level and Greg has had his share of them.

Very nice answer.

But also points out that players in these circumstances wouldn't be helpful to Valpo.

This is really the crux of the matter. There are many talented players out there. Recruiting is very subjective when it come to talent, but JD24 is right to say that they wouldn't be helpful to Valpo because the fit isn't there. DI talent moves down to NAIA all the time, and I mean really talented players, but it rarely goes back the other way. Remember Clay Yeo? Came in with perhaps the most talented class in VU history. Was the best outside shot on that team, shooting 45.5% from 3. Never thought he would transfer back to NAIA but it just wasn't the right fit. There is some flaw either of the players making or just happenstance.

David81 to your point this old article (2018) touches on all your points you just made.  Tonagel is growing on me.

https://www.news-sentinel.com/sports/2018/03/14/tom-davis-indiana-wesleyan-coach-greg-tonagel-just-keeps-winning-and-being-ignored/

Greg would check all of the boxes for me now. I thought back in 2013 that he still needed some seasoning. However, agreeing with Tom Davis just makes me sick because he is such an ass.

[extremely]

Concordia's (at least Concordia-Wisconsin) follows a model very different than Valpo for many of its areas. Take business, for example. They are not accredited by the top accreditation body (AACSB). On their webpage, they list their faculty - and they probably have 10 adjunct faculty for every professor. Why does this matter? Simple...their graduates get less pay because companies do look at reputation and accreditation when hiring new graduates. Note that this does not apply to all areas within CUW - specifically, physical therapy and pharmacy.

This is absolutely correct, many of my colleagues get upset when I tout the superiority of my VU education.  All of the Concordia's follow similar models.

The Concordia's are extremely tuition driven and, in my opinion, in denial of their continued viability. Maybe working in conjunction with institutions that should be in much worse shape is why I don't truly believe VU is in the dire financial crisis being stated on this board.

I totally understand what you are saying about the differences between Wash U & Valpo but $15M is $15M and I just wish Valpo had someone wanting to give to Valpo that kind of money from a place like Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

There was a $15 million dollar pledge near the end of the Forever Valpo campaign.

https://www.valpo.edu/forevervalpo/2020/02/06/historic-gift/

I have to note that this is a "deferred" gift, meaning that VU will not get the money until the will is executed and will only get that amount of money if the estate supports the gift at the time the will is executed. Our institution was just informed this week of the death of a donor in who's will we are to receive a multi million dollar gift. We will only get the full amount of the stated gift if it is supported by the value of the estate. Don't count your chickens before they are hatched!

Also, the 30% less salary for Valpo staffing seems to be exaggerated. Overall, is Valpo 30% below average or are we competitive?

It is real but, as I said, in comparison with the mean salaries of our peer institutions. And it is pretty accurate (distilled to the level of college, rank etc...) It is as close to apple vs. apples. Now, of course, if we change the peer list this difference may change up or down (who knows). Let's have a list made of bottom of the pit schools for purposes of salary comparison and another peer list with the most prestigious ones for purposes of demands on the faculty.


Also, about having 200 days off a year. That's not how this works. But I don't blame people thinking this way it is a common perception. It's just that it will take too much time to explain and I did it too many times on other occasions. Let's just say I should be so lucky. Hey, I might get a second degree and a second job in a more lucrative field.  Pretty much everything needed to actually promote from assistant to full professor will fill in those days no worries.


Put it differently: people would kill to earn 60K for working less than half year no?


But this does raise a valid point: what is the fair salary compared to how much is demanded from faculty? I am going to speak for my field only (which I won't disclose for now). LOng time ago I knew an insider at Colby College. I learned about their tenure process and also about a tenure denial. Altogether, I came to the conclusion that more is expected from a typical Colby faculty than VU faculty at least in my field. Especially if you want to earn tenure (which you have to in order to stay on the job). I think I could have earned tenure at Colby but only because I did far more than I needed to here at VU (and feel stupid for it now).


However, Assistant Professors  at Colby earn on average 90K or so (at least according to Glassdoor). I don't know about full profs but for sure is 6 figures. I can assure you they don't have 200 day off. But it does raise a question about whether VU faculty is paid enough for what they do. Of course it varies (some did far more others the bare minimum) but maybe the solution is to find a different peer list not just for salaries but also for other expectations. For example many teaching colleges have a 4-4 teaching load but next to no research expectation. Here at VU you need research to promote and get tenure on top of excellent teaching. What for? So that you advance to high ranked and be told you are a burden?


You might be surprised but 5-6 years ago, a certain Provost said we need to increase the pay bump for promotion because we have too few full professors and that does not look good. This now sounds like a joke. So, maybe if we drop the research expectation (too late for me  but maybe for the newcomers) and just ask for efficient teaching then maybe the current salaries will be justified. As I said before, you just can't make high cuisine with MacDonalds ingredients

Sorry, I have not been keeping up, I guess I have board burn-out with all of the negativity lately. Was catching up yesterday on this thread and have to chime in. I work on the development/money administrative side of Lutheran higher education. I do not mean in any way to demean or devalue anyone's opinion regarding this topic. I do not know what the salaries are at VU because they do not report information to the LCMS. I can tell you that Lutheran higher ed has a history of underpaying faculty, and I can also state that many Concordia University System professors would love to make what profs make at VU. The highest endowment in all of the LCMS CUS schools is Concordia Wisconsin coming in at $109.3 Million. VU's endowment is more than the combined endowment of all of the CUS schools.


Do the salary numbers everyone is quoting include benefits and other perks? Are the numbers gross or net? I find that those not working on the financial side of things don't always state true compensation accurately. I also wanted to point out that comparing Colby College to VU is not exactly apples to apples. Colby has a FY22 endowment of $1.122 Billion compared with VU's FY22 endowment of $326.7 Million. I am sure they have many more endowed faculty postions than VU.

   

• 
  Hey, can I get some insights from those of you who follow all levels of college hoops? I'm looking at the Indiana Wesleyan 2022-23 roster (Greg Tonagel's NAIA school), and their roster includes a sprinkling of big men, including a 7-footer who started and led the team in scoring.
  
  [/q]

https://iwuwildcats.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/2022-23

How close are the best NAIA players to D1 caliber? Are we talking mega light years difference -- as in Not Even Close -- or possibly something close to standout D2 players?


In my time as an NAIA coach, we had several players that could have started for 70% of DI teams and many others that could have been on DI rosters. In many cases there were circumstances, including grades, mental health, legal, homesickness and other serious issues that caused a DI to not offer a scholarship or release a player. Examples:
Young man, who as a freshman at a DII school, was the leading scorer when his team beat a P5 team in an exhibition game. Got caught up in a legal issue and was accused of stealing at this school. Head coach told us that he believed this young man was not involved but was in the wrong place at the wrong time. 6'4" with a Steph Curry type build, best pure shooter I have personally coached. Was a model citizen for us and graduated with a business degree. Went on to be the MVP of a second tier European League then moved up and had a very good career in the German A league.


Player that was on Ohio First Team as a senior, second in voting to Lebron James for Ohio Mr. Baskketball, had a full ride to USC but never made it on the roster because he came back home after a short time in California. Went JUCO in Ohio and was the league MVP, but stopped going to class after the BB season. We agreed to give him a second chance but he had to sit a year to get his credits straighten out. Played one season with us and was our leading scorer and first team all conference. Verbally abused a professor after receiving a lower than expected grade in a class and was released from the school. He went on to play two years at another NAIA program and played in Europe.


Major Indianapolis HS player that was released by a P5 team because of some behavior issues. Head Coach (initials BP) vouched for him and hoped that he could get himself straightened out closer to home with the hope of returning to his team. Was a very strong physical player with tons of potential.... however, his behavior issues turned out to be a drug problem.


Super athletic player who I believe had a depression problem, played according to his mood. One game he was an all american, disappeared completely the next game. Went on to play in the G-League for a couple of years and then professionally around the world in countries such as  Israel, Thailand, Hong Kong & throughout China. Was a super star in Hong Kong and now has a basketball academy there.

So to answer your question, there are DI players at the NAIA level and Greg has had his share of them.

Jake Diebler makes a lot of sense. But my gut says Dr. Small will want to get away from the Valpo Coaching Tree.

Something to keep in mind. If the next HC is Jake Diebler or Roger Powell, I think the chances of Coach Gore staying we Valpo rises. Coach Gore is a very good assistant Coach and an excellent Big Man coach! Not only that but he provides a connection to Valpo Basketball Alums for the past +20 years. He's more than an assistant coach. I really hope Coach Gore stays with the program somehow.

https://twitter.com/toddickow/status/1640193799451295745?s=46&t=cNk7taMAYtxNl1Q0_O79Gw

For completely selfish reasons I second this idea. Having Luke there would still give me some connection back to the Homer days and he is a good coach of extremely high integrity and moral  character.

[who was hired in deceptive circumstances]

The following comments are meant as informative

And I assume that you are informing us of your opinion with this statement.

At the museum, they work with the approval of the new director, Jonathan Canning, who was hired in deceptive circumstances and also opposes the art sale.

FW: Yes, that was informational and not opinion. Padilla has admitted he was not fully forthcoming during the hiring process. He did not inform the hiring committee or the candidate that the plan was to sell the museum's most prominent artworks. Also, you omitted the following sentence which gives context for why I included that detail. ("At the museum, they work with the approval of the new director, Jonathan Canning, who was hired in deceptive circumstances and also opposes the art sale. You cannot 'fire' Ruff or Brauer, and I think you would open a whole new can of worms if the administration tried to fire Canning.")

I'm sorry, but it is your opinion, and the sentence you say I omitted has absolutely nothing to do with my point. Are you saying that the Board had already voted last spring or early summer to sell the paintings and that Padilla knew while interviewing director candidates in the spring and summer of last year that the paintings would be sold? Even if that was the case, which I highly doubt, he has no obligation to disclose that information to any prospective employees. As a matter of fact, that would have been reckless. Was Canning guaranteed that the O'Keeffe and the other two paintings would always be part of the collection? Are they not paying him the agreed amount? Is he not getting benefits or perhaps his title is different than what was agreed upon? It might be your perception that he was somehow deceived, but that does not make it so.

[who was hired in deceptive circumstances]

The following comments are meant as informative

And I assume that you are informing us of your opinion with this statement.

At the museum, they work with the approval of the new director, Jonathan Canning, who was hired in deceptive circumstances and also opposes the art sale.

And also the statements that have been made, not only by you, but by others quoted in the media about the terms and restrictions of the funds and endowments that would be completely unknown unless you where part of Advancement or VU's legal team. This is the area in which I work and it always amazes me the misconceptions surrounding the administration of endowments.

I have asked this question before, but have never received an answer. We have heard about how unethical it would be to sell the art and nothing about the ethics of holding nonproductive assets. This has probably not come up in the past because of the general Pre-Covid (pre-law school demise) stability of the university. We have seen posts saying that the paintings are loaned out and that VU gets some compensation and recognition as the owner of the loaned pieces, but unless they are generating at a minimum of $500,000 per year they would be considered nonproductive or at best under utilized assets. I have seen videos from these special showings and never heard VU mentioned. In one case that I saw the print media actually had our name misspelled as Valpariaso.

Nonprofits should be engaged in mission related investing and the prudent management of institutional funds. If VU was just a museum then what they have done, holding these pieces of art, would be part of their mission and therefore probably prudent. VU is not a museum and having an asset that is most likely extremely under utilized and therefore not viewed as a prudent investment could easily be deemed unethical. For exactly that reason my institution has turned down some donations of items such as artwork. The costs of holding these assets is not trivial. From my very limited experience, I would imagine that insurance on the Brauer Museum collection could be hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. Hopefully one of the art endowments covers this cost along with the cost of any special storage areas most museums have for their stored artwork.

Please someone tell me why it is unethical to go against the guidelines of art museum organizations, but not unethical to go against prudent mission relate rules (in some cases laws) for the management of institutional funds, especially if the situation is as dire as some posters think? I truly am looking for conversation not just argument.

The art associations listed above, from what I have read over the last several weeks, would condemn ANY sale of art by a university. In their mind, art has infinite value and thus should never be given lesser priority than ANYTHING else at a university. Who gave them the right to determine what is proper for Valparaiso to do? Valpo should care less what they determine is ethical and unethical behavior.

These are misunderstandings. The art associations have been given the right to judge by all of the museums across the country, and they only condemn sales in which the proceeds are not put into improvement or expansion of a museum's collection. Also, those who suggest just ignoring the associations don't understand fully how this works. The art groups' actions aren't undone if the university ignores them. Padilla and the Board can close their eyes and put their hands over ears, but all other universities, museums, and art buyers, dealers, or donors will not ignore and will care. If the art associations condemn VU and recommend sanctions, it doesn't just taint Valpo in the perception of others and lower the museum's stature (perhaps as if going from D-1 to D-3 in athletic terms); additionally, all of their members could stop cooperating with VU in exhibitions, refuse to loan artworks to the museum, not bid on the works for sale and drive down their prices, warn donors not to gift works to Valpo, etc. The universities and museums across the country would be like a labor union and Valpo would be viewed as a scab. 

This article suggests that vu84v2 is correct. https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/02/10/indiana-university-sell-georgia-okeeffe-painting-deaccession

The AAMD loosened its deaccessioning guidelines during the onset of Covid-19 in 2020, as museums grappled with how to stay financially afloat amid lockdowns. For two years, the group said it would not penalise any institution for using funds from deaccessioning work for the "direct care of collections", instead of restricting the proceeds for further art acquisitions.

However, high-profile deaccessions during that time period still sparked outcry. In October 2020, the Baltimore Museum of Art announced it would sell three works—including an Andy Warhol—to fund a $65m endowment for initiatives like staff pay raises and diversity programmes. While the museum's plan followed AAMD guidelines at the time, the announcement was met with board resignations and industry pushback. The works were pulled just hours before the auction was scheduled to take place.

Maybe the AAMD should recognize the delayed effect that COVID has had on places like universities.