Athletic Director Mark LaBarbera is one of the senior members of the university staff who has elected to retire at the conclusion of this academic year.
MLB has given a lot to the university over the years and for that I am thankful. Many things done in athletics seem to have been reactionary and not proactive (does not included COVID issues).
With Padilla's commitment to athletics I am certain we will get someone with similar energy as the president himself who is very results oriented.
Valpo22 - a 200k payout is a drop in the bucket compared to the big picture at Valpo.
reactionary or reactive?
No complaints about MLB's time. He had the courage to leave the Mid-Con, that the previous AD did not, due to family and personal pride ties to the conference. Thank you for your time, MLB!
Quote from: valpo22 on February 08, 2022, 04:56:42 PM
That's big news. The university should be grateful for his service.
Though unfortunately, that's the kind of buy-out retirement that probably costs more than it saves... pay an *extra* year of ~$200K salary for someone who was basically retirement age anyways, and then I imagine the university still has to rehire for the position so they don't actually save on any reductions.
Why do you think he was bought out versus just retiring?
Quote from: vu72 on February 09, 2022, 08:59:42 AM
Why do you think he was bought out versus just retiring?
I think the reference is to the university-wide buy out offer that was discussed in this thread. Pretty sure he would be eligible.
https://www.valpofanzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=4227.0 (https://www.valpofanzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=4227.0)
Quote from: valpo95 on February 09, 2022, 10:58:25 AM
Quote from: vu72 on February 09, 2022, 08:59:42 AM
Why do you think he was bought out versus just retiring?
I think the reference is to the university-wide buy out offer that was discussed in this thread. Pretty sure he would be eligible.
https://www.valpofanzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=4227.0 (https://www.valpofanzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=4227.0)
Paul Oren interviewed MLB yesterday and published the full interview this morning for subscribers only. It was waiting in my inbox when I woke up. He explained exactly why he decided to retire now, what his plans are for the future, etc. Only $5/month (less for an annual) to become the first kid on your block to know everything about everything. I highly recommend it.
Any rumblings or info on Mark's replacement?
Search Firm and committee tight lipped? Probably not going to hire from within current athletic department
That approach is understandable.
The linkin page for Kimberly Smith at DePaul
(99+) Kimberly Smith | LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-smith-09392377/)
I had her CV listed but it came out with all the code. So if you have linkin you can look at it.
President Padilla recently told a group of assembled Valpo Professor retirees that there were 45 applicants including several from Power five conferences. Valpo is down to the final four with campus visits set very soon.
Quote from: vu72 on May 13, 2022, 07:55:29 AM
President Padilla recently told a group of assembled Valpo Professor retirees that there were 45 applicants including several from Power five conferences. Valpo is down to the final four with campus visits set very soon.
Actually, I can report campus visits have already happened. Decision will be made and may be released by end of next week.
Decision should be announced any day now. Could be a woman of color.
May 19th-10:45AM.
I know some of you on here definitely know who the finalists are so since I believe the interviews are over it would be great to hear who we are looking at.
Quote from: NotBryceDrew on May 15, 2022, 11:13:30 AM
I know some of you on here definitely know who the finalists are so since I believe the interviews are over it would be great to hear who we are looking at.
To discuss names of finalists or otherwise identify them without public statement by the university would be unethical and could be harmful to the candidates. There are good reasons the administration conducts a confidential search.
This is an anonymous forum where one of the main points is to discussed this stuff. Evansville hasn't made a single formal announcement to my knowledge of who they are interviewing for HC but it has been widely reported on who the final candidates are (I checked their main pages briefly before posting to confirm and there is nothing). I'm not asking anyone to violate a NDA but if the average person has seen anyone around or heard about them there is absolutely nothing unethical about bringing that up.
Seems to me it depends on the nature of the campus visits. One can imagine that any incoming AD would want to see the campus, the facilities, and meet some of the senior leaders before accepting a job. At some schools, big donors would be in the loop, if nothing else than to keep them happy yet also to see how the candidate might interact with getting future donations. If it was a limited campus visit that happened behind closed doors, then it is appropriate to keep the names confidential.
However, if a candidate had multiple meetings, met with groups of students, or had any open/public meetings, then there is no expectation of privacy in my opinion. The participant would or should know that his/her name could be out there.
The other side to this is that some people who might be in a position to know might not be in a position to say, especially if it would put their own employment prospects at risk.
Quote from: NotBryceDrew on May 16, 2022, 11:18:05 AM
This is an anonymous forum where one of the main points is to discussed this stuff. Evansville hasn't made a single formal announcement to my knowledge of who they are interviewing for HC but it has been widely reported on who the final candidates are (I checked their main pages briefly before posting to confirm and there is nothing). I'm not asking anyone to violate a NDA but if the average person has seen anyone around or heard about them there is absolutely nothing unethical about bringing that up.
The university and the candidates agreed to a confidential process to protect those who are not selected, including the finalists, from career harm that might occur at the institutions where they remain or other hurtful consequences. I know this because I have been involved in conducting such searches as well. Also, Pres. Padilla has reiterated this in recent comments. There are reasons no names have been revealed to the press or mentioned in open discussions. Anyone who knows the name of a finalist and reveals it without a public statement by VU or the candidate would be undermining that confidentiality and opening the candidate to possible career damage. Some might not see this as unethical, especially if not held to an NDA, but others would view it as an unnecessary form of doxxing. If anyone wants to speculate on candidates that is one thing, as long as it is labelled as speculation. Nevertheless, everyone should know the selected individual on Thursday.
I see the name Kimberley Smith of DePaul brought up, and I am very skeptical of this hire. Ok, she is a Valpo alum, but promoting from the family is usually not a good thing. Second, and this really concerns me, is that she was part of the DePaul athletics program under the most incompetent AD ever, Jean Lenti Ponsetto, responsible for the demise of their flagship basketball program.
For the love of God, take a fresh approach to this decision!
Giving a public talk open to the press yesterday Pres. Padilla revealed that the new AD will be the first African American to hold the position.
Might it be Tiffini Grimes? (Masters and Law degree from Valpo)
https://www.si.com/college/2022/04/21/tiffini-grimes-alabama-deputy-athletic-director-100-influential
Very interesting; deep Indiana roots and a relationship to Eugene Parker. But leave Alabama?
Padilla was at DePaul so he might have zeroed in the DePaul person early.
I hope President Padilla understands that any choice of AD coming out of DePaul athletics crap pool would be a huge mistake.
Tiffini Grimes would be a great selection, and she will ensure the great Eugene Parker is finally selected to the Valpo Hall of Fame.
It's already hitting the internet that its going to be Dr. Charles Small from Iowa State:
Valparaiso will name Iowa State Senior Assoc. AD for Student Services Small as its next AD, per CollegeAD. The Beacons will introduce its next AD at 11am local time. (link)
Everything looks good and promising and I hope that he does well. Don't forget that, beyond Iowa State's turnaround in basketball they have also had major improvements in football. My only concern looking at the new AD's career history is that he does not appear to have a history of raising money–and that is a big part of an AD's job.
That's a good point. But maybe Padilla plans to be the big player with Mr. Small on those key donor visits for athletics. We can only hope. Charles sure seems likable and genuine.
I like the hire and I like a fresh approach to athletics at Valpo. It's time to succeed at a higher level and get out of this funk.
Quote from: valpo22 on May 21, 2022, 01:41:36 PM
The fundraising experiene can be made up for. If the school can get the sports and academics back up into higher quality territory, then the promotional energy and fundraising ease will follow.
I like the hire overall, but I beg to differ on raising the quality of athletics prior to raising money. In reality, the two are complementary. You need to raise some new funding to create resources to improve sports - then (hopefully) the sports improve and you can raise more money....and then repeat the cycle.
While raising the quality of academics should always be a priority, I will again argue that the quality of academics–relative to peers–is high (certainly in business and engineering, with which I am most familiar).