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Thursday, May 8, 2014

Now What?

Scott Scarborough scores at Akron. http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/05/university_of_akron_names_its.html


28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent news! Maybe there's hope yet for our University of Toledo.

Anonymous said...

Here are some novel ideas for the board. Hire an academic at a modest salary to run the university. We can't afford anymore grandiose plans. We need someone who can improve what we have. This includes faculty and staff morale. Hire a qualified provost at an even more modest salary and eliminate some of the vice president roles as attrition occurs during the transition. This would save money on administration. Help the upper administrators by devolving enough power back down to deans so that they can actually do their jobs. Eliminate University Counsel because it adds a useless layer of governance. Sell the hospital and get out of the medical care business...except for educating students. Those things are risky ventures. Stop the risky ventures. Reconstitute the College of Arts and Sciences to save on administrative costs. Stop wasting money on every fad (business incubators, solar energy, the latest piece of technology...). Stop hiring consultants. Improve word of mouth advertising by improving the academic experience. Drop the concentrated focus on marketing UT when the product that we are offering is often marginal at best and poor at worst (Honors College, 4th rate med school, 3rd rate law school, social sciences/humanities/criminal justice woefully understaffed, mass faculty retirements...). Fix the product before you market it.

Anonymous said...

I totally subscribe to the ideas presented by anonymous 9, 2014 at 12:41 AM! Hopefully the board of trustees will be open minded and will finally do something really innovative: hire academics at modest salaries to run the university.

Anonymous said...

Scotty, we hardly knew ya ...

Anonymous said...

It is usually the President leaving first and the after a new President comes, the Senior Staff is either kept or asked to leave. Note the process underway here! Gold, now Scary and then Jake. No one is taking any chances. The rats will be far gone when the truth about what they have done to UT comes to light.

Anonymous said...

There may be hope. At least this may keep Jacobs from anointing one of his minions. Are there any other incompetent administrators around?

BTW, the med school is not 4th rate. MCAT scores and GPA's have it right in the middle of all schools.

Anonymous said...

The fact that Scott is leaving, that Gold has left and that Jacobs is on his way out are all cause for celebration. UT has the opportunity to reew itself---after it picks ups the mess made by these 3 and after we fix everything they have broken. I feel hopeful for the first time in a long time.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 1241, i'd encourage you to come visit the law school before you disparage a program you appear to know nothing about. Not sure how the faculty of the colleges formerly known as a and s benefit from lodging criticisms of faculty in other programs.

Anonymous said...

35 million dollar deficit, financial and hospital scandals, 6 years of decreased enrollments, moral in the tank, faculty bailing.....why would they pick him? Anyway, explains his soft peddling of leadership at the commencement.

Anonymous said...

I agree. There is no need to use the disparaging term "3rd rate" when it is "ranked #140" by the USNews: the rankings of the "Best Law Schools for 2015" is easily accessible online. Say, why not hang a giant banner that reads "Best Again" on the College of Law building? It is not exactly a lie. I marvel at the similar banner that hangs on the Health Science Campus every time I drive by. Thanks, Larry, for all you do.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the invitation. However, I did look up the US News and World Report rankings for both the law school and medical school before making the comment. UT Law was rated but not very highly while the medical school's rank was not reported. We could certainly argue about the validity of those rankings or call me out for bad behavior for because I name dropped those programs. Really though, that seems beside the point when there are very few programs at this university, including its flagship academic programs, that could not be significantly strengthened in terms of (at least one of these): resources, course availability, course offerings, number of faculty, faculty quality, curriculum, research productivity, teaching, and staffing/support. Strong programs would give us something to market and they often speak for themselves.

Anonymous said...

Has UT and any of its colleges ever ranked any other then average in any ranking system, ever? UT is an average mid size public university and the only ranking that really matters is how UT fairs in comparison to our institutional peers and immediate competitors. Also the State controls many aspects of how UT can operate: can not have regional campus, must be open enrollment, state funding cuts and tuition caps. Makes it pretty hard to make many advances with these controls and limited finances in place, regardless of President and Board (although I will agree they have not helped the current situation at all, having also contributed to the current state of UT.

Anonymous said...

#140 on US News is "first tier," according to the magazine's own dubious system of ranking (top 75% of ranked schools). So saying, "first tier law school" would be more accurate than "third rate" assuming you desire to credit US News for some level of accuracy in its ordinal rankings.

The Law school has done better in other rankings/measures.

http://www.utoledo.edu/law/news/2013/0909.html

http://www.utoledo.edu/law/news/2013/0322.html

But I think the law school, like nearly all programs on campus, would welcome more resources dedicated to improving academic quality and maintaining or enhancing affordability.

Anonymous said...

What is interesting is that the Akron faculty supported the selection of Scott as the new President at Akron - do they know something we do not or were they not made aware by faculty here at UT about how he has operated as Provost here?

David Nemeth said...

To Anonymous 5:47,

Interesting but perhaps not accurate. In today’s Inside Higher Education the article “New Hurdles for Tressel” here

https://us-mg6.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=avhg543cde0ce

is accompanied by one reader’s apparently informed and emphatic comment:

“The faculty union DID NOT endorse Mr. Tressel, nor any other candidate. For some reason, the union presidents felt the need to issue personal endorsements, and trust me, members of the faculty union are not happy with that decision. Oh, and the university budget deficit is not $11 million--it's a cooked number the admin floats to media just in time for negotiations, a number they manipulate by shifting reserves around.”

Anonymous said...

Apparently the BOT met with someone from the Attorney General's office again this afternoon in executive session.

Anonymous said...

Reality check 101. Jacobs hasn't been fired publicly and it's entirely possible he is leaving for health reasons. Anything that's been happening behind closed BOT doors has, thus far, remained there. His minions, far from being the professional losers described here, are going off to bigger and higher paying jobs, and by their advancements professionally getting the last laugh. The BOT and Columbus remain the same, with the distinct possibility of a Columbus mandated workload looming. And Toledo remains nothing but the sideshow of a sideshow in the greater struggle occurring nationally over the future and makeup of American public universities.

Anonymous said...

Pretty much sums-up what we're dealing with in the BOT.

http://swampbubbles.com/20140508/ut-board-rivals-board-elections-incompetence

Anonymous said...

Yes Anonymous 7:25, as it is entirely possible that monkeys in tutus will be flying out of Larry Burns' butt before long. The record shows that academic quality at the University of Toledo was uphill but consistently improving until Jacobs Inc. arrived on the scene, triggering eight long years of reversal of fortune. Now the glass is again half full and its heady brew can be on the rise once more. The two notorious legacies of gross maladministration by Jacobs Inc. will be 1) the infamous and unpopular logo switch and 2) the vindictive and systematic destruction of Arts and Science College. Both shameful events can be reversed now that Jacobs Inc. is kaput (kapoor?). UT is on the road to recovery. Rejoice!

Anonymous said...

The logo switch? That's your example of the notorious legacy of gross maladministration? And isn't Larry in charge of the logo? You guys make me sad

Anonymous said...

Right about Arts and Sciences. Logo? Not so much. There's still the University seal.

UT needs to hire a president that the faculty respect.

Anonymous said...

I liked the old logo, but that hardly makes the top two. Jacobs's support for Senate Bill 5 should definitely be in there.

Anonymous said...

I was opposed to the breakup of Arts and Science, but now I would be equally opposed to merging the various colleges. UT needs stability not more change. Whatever we would gain by merging the colleges would be more than offset by the chaos yet another reorganization would create.

Anonymous said...

examples of maladministration are so numerous that I will not hold any citations against anyone. Anonymous 7:25 is perceptive, not "only in academia" but "especially in academia, losers tend to go on to better things, but UT still needs new leadership to bring it back to an earlier level of "poised-for-respect". the elements of such an effort are clear: reduce cost and arrogance of administration; restore pride and respect to faculty and front-line staff; recognize that cost drivers in higher education and STEM-of-nothing emphasis is miss-guided.

Bloggie said...

UT also needs to hire a president who respects the faculty

Anonymous said...

The beauty of this blog is that it archives for the uninformed and the conveniently forgetful all past debates about University of Toledo issues involving maladministration deemed significant by our main campus faculty and others concerned with the downward spiral of the UT academic mission under Jacobs Inc.

Take the notorious logo switch for example. It was anything but trivial if you are mindful of the devious use of the power of propaganda in the hands of tyrants.

On November 28, 2009, in this blog, Mr. Jeff Odelot wrote in earnest:

"In order to restore faith in our academic community, the entire University of Toledo community needs to take back our official university seal. This seal is the emblem that you see in the middle of Centennial Mall, in the 3rd floor hall of University Hall, or at UT events such as graduation (perhaps the blog monitor might post a picture of our seal for all to see?) Currently, this seal is reserved strictly for presidential use at the University, an abhorrent abuse of power in my humble opinion.

This great seal, UT's rococo and romantic emblem of academia, is a beautiful representation of what university education should stand for. The seal's use of Old Spanish --Coadyuvando El Presente, Formando El Porvenir--is unique among America's major universities. The seal's very use of an archaic language ascribes a certain value and beauty to the prospect of liberal education -- what economic worth does the knowledge of old Spanish bring to 21st century America? Absolutely nothing.

But with knowledge of Old Spanish, one can begin to see the bigger picture of our world. Questions begin to flow "Why is our motto in Spanish?", "What is Toledo's relationship to Spain?". The questions originating from our seal don't stop with Spain, but are ever increasing in scope. “Why have universities?”, “What is our mission in the world” Are not questions the basis of an academic community?

Therefore, I believe a formal return of the seal to the university community will help bring UT out of its current nebulous malaise. I am not asking for the president to give up his office's use of the seal; no, I am simply asking for the democratic return of the seal for the entire community's use."

Anonymous said...

I'm looking at the opening remarks of the March 25 Faculty Senate meeting. Can we have Linda Rouillard replace Jacobs? We need someone with the right vision for this place.

Lafcadio said...

The highlights of Linda's opening remarks are powerful, eloquent and a clear call for immediate faculty action:

"Shortly before that meeting, it was announced that Dr. Jacobs will step down as President in June 2015, a year before his current contract extension ends. I speak now not as FS president, but as a 13-year member of this community.

This is the lowest point I’ve seen at UT: in terms of morale, enrollment, and academics. The Jacobs’ leadership has shown a decided lack of integrity, a disregard for academics, a disdain for faculty, and a willingness to treat students as cash cows.

This leadership adopts fads rather than research and evaluate methodologies, or invest in full-time faculty and faculty development. This leadership believes in no administrator left behind. Its chronic re-organization of the institution has provided window dressing resulting in damage to academic programs and to our reputation. Regular budget shortfalls are followed by stellar spending, the SIM center, paid for out of institutional reserves recently being the most egregious.

While we, as faculty dedicated to our students and to our profession, work to assure responsible stewardship of our university, this president has stifled the vaulty voice at every turn.

It is time re-assert the faculty role and responsibilities in program development rather thans allow administration to organize academic programs in the shadows in an effort to find the wealthiest students.

It is time to re-assert the faculty role and responsibilities in financial and budgetary decisions. It is time for faculty to have direct two-way communication with the Board of Trustees. It is time for full disclosure."