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Monday, February 23, 2015

Public Comments on Candidate C. Howard


30 comments:

Anonymous said...

After seeing candidate Howard's presentation yesterday and today, and reading background information about him, I have the following concerns:

1. Other than four years at Oklahoma,mostly as a mid-level administrator, he doesn't seem to have any experience working at a large state institution.

2. His presidency of a small, conservative, private, all-male college in the South, that doesn't have graduate programs, any research to speak of, no unionized faculty or even a faculty senate, appears to in no way prepare him for the job at Toledo.

3. It is a concern that he appears to have no experience as a faculty member or researcher.

4. The Facebook page started by some at his current school, has some disturbing allegations about his job performance. Although anyone can start a Facebook page, there are enough red flags to question his ability, especially for UT as we try to recover from a failed presidency. We can't survive another one.

Anonymous said...

He does have leadership and did not put up slides, not prepared by him. Is that what you want?
Why did you not ask about the Facebook Page?

Anonymous said...

9:30AM -

1. I don't know if any of the other candidates prepared their own slides. Howard, however, read from a prepared script during 90% of his presentation at Doermann yesterday. I found that disconcerting.

2. I didn't ask about the Facebook page because I'm in Columbus until Thursday.

Anonymous said...

Leadership is fine but you also have to have the experience and skill set to manage an institution with over 25,000 staff and students and a $800+ annual budget. Howard at this point in his career simply does not have those and his presentations have been flat and unimpressive, the audience was not interested or engaged, at one point early in the Q/A it looked like there would be no questions, and clearly showed his lack of experience related to the issues and complexity of running a large university in this day and age, especially when compared to the other two finalists. If the Board picks him solely on personality and leadership, and because he comes across in one on one and small groups as engaging, they are failing the University and creating much greater risk of impacting the future of the institution.

Anonymous said...

Beg pardon? Are you objecting to the use of PowerPoint or to the possibility that it was actually typed out by support staff? Is either relevant to a candidate's qualifications?

Anonymous said...

I was more impress with his talk and it is very consistent with his others talks.

Anonymous said...

He stands out and one can see he is I sitting president.

Anonymous said...


He is clearly charismatic. I suspect he would make a terrific ambassador for UT and would probably do very well in fund raising and community involvement. He seemed genuinely humble and I could see people rallying around him. I think he has a bright future in higher education administration. I think his focus on team building and empowerment is a critical need here at UT.

Having said all of that, I think he lacks the experience needed to run a school the size of UT.

Also bravo to the faculty members asking about his involvement in torture in Afghanistan.

Anonymous said...

3{12 PM - Unfortunately one of the criticisms about him at his current school is that he couldn't raise money.

HSC said...

I think he will be good for UT.

HSC said...

UT community, it is embarrassing how we have treated Dr.Howard. The only reason the page was created, because he is a Blackman. He said no and forced the community to deal with issues. This is very difficult for a Southern White Male. This institution is a better place since his arrival.
It is sad that we stoop so low to destroy an individual life. Yet, he is still working and helping students. We will be sad to see him go but will a wonderful addition to your institution.

Anonymous said...

There were a few things I liked about Dr. Howard. First, his wife seems to be a powerhouse that could do some real good in the UT community. Second, I completely agree with his determination that there is a size mismatch between the clinical and academic sides of UTMC. Partnering with a larger clinical operation is badly needed.

That said, I did not like how he was so tied to his notes during the presentation and there were so many speech and pronunciation flubs (maybe just nerves) to represent out university well.

The most bothersome thing to me was that when asked about diversity and Greek statistics, he inflated both. He non-whites at Hampden-Sydney made up 20% now when it is a little over 18%. There was a similar inflation of the Greek numbers. I really do not put the two issues on the same plane, but his inflation for both stats shows a character flaw.

Anonymous said...

His testy replies to both questions about his time in Afghanistan reminded me of Lloyd Jacobs' habitual response to implied criticisms. One would hope that he would be more skilled at dealing with sticky questions; he'd face far stickier ones as UT's president.

Anonymous said...


As a veteran, I, too, might get testy in answering a snarky question about my time in service and how I answered my country’s call in its time of need, especially since there is a 99 percent chance that the question came from someone who never served in the military, never made a commitment to defend this country’s freedom, and doesn’t know the safe end of an M-16, which likely describes the entire UT faculty.

Bravo to Dr. Howard. He doesn’t have to take that crap!

Anonymous said...

It’s too bad that Faber College dean Vernon Wormer isn’t one of the finalists. He’d know the exact percentage of Greek members on campus.

Gimme a break!

Assigning a character flaw to Dr. Howard because he missed Hampden-Sydney College’s diversity number by 2 percentage points is lunacy.

I’m surprised a faculty member didn’t ask him what he would do if a UT fraternity dropped some fizzies into the Student Rec Center pool.

Anonymous said...

The Constitution does not apply to the military but it does apply to public educational institutions.

Anonymous said...

Regardless of the questions asked (and with any public forum you never know who is asking and what questions may come up), based on the three candidate forums and presentations Howard is clearly the least experienced and qualified as a President at a very small private exclusive men only college with no research no graduate programs. Nothing he his experience in higher ed prepares him for this job, but watch the Board will hire him as they are sold that he can be a transformational leader

Anonymous said...

Clearly Howard is easily the least qualified of the three. Hiring him would be a mistake. We should hire the most qualified candidate period and it is clear it's not him. I learned even in high school not to just read from my notes. I expect much more from a "leader."

Anonymous said...

Blade reporting March 9th afternoon that Howard has removed his name from search.

UT said...

Dr.Howard withdrew because of his commitment to the Liberal Arts Education. Our sister school is closing, he had a meeting with several of the community and alumni. His commitment, leadership and military integrity is what helped him make the decision. Also, based on the news article and his statement the UT board asked him to apply, thus he had the job!!Thank you for staying Dr. Howard. Good Luck UT.

UT said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Yes the Board called perspective applicants who were clients of the search firm, normal practice in recruiting leadership. I doubt very much that anyone including Howard would take that alone as a sign the job was his as the finalists would also include other very experienced and qualified candidates. Besides he was not a good fit here and welcome to go back to his current small college.

UT said...

Home / News / NY Times
The Success of All-Male Schools
March 10, 2015

New York Times LogoPublished March 10, 2015, in The New York Times
in "Room for Debate"

The Success of All-Male Schools
It is perhaps more important now, than at any time in recent history, to offer multiple, viable paths to young men to help them succeed. Allowing all-male educational options to fall away deprives boys and men of the institutions that may be personally and intellectually right for them.

Institutions solely dedicated to teaching and encouraging males to achieve - when society often expects so little of them - remain important.

Institutions solely dedicated to teaching and encouraging males to achieve - when society often expects so little of them - remain necessary for primary, secondary and undergraduate education. Men fail out of school at a higher rate than women, boys read at a lower level than girls and earn fewer A's and B's than their female counterparts. The number of male high school valedictorians pales in comparison to the number of females who earn that distinction and women graduate at higher rates than men.

But all-male schools have seen incredible success for their students, who have a wide range of abilities, talents and interests. That is why schools such as Chicago's Urban Prep Academy with its 100 percent college placement rate, and Hampden-Sydney College with its strong graduation rate - 11 percent higher than the national average for men - occupy an important space in America's education mosaic.

Colleges like Hampden-Sydney, Morehouse, St. John's University in Minnesota and Wabash afford the sons of an astonishing number of diverse families the opportunity to attend places that are focused explicitly on assisting students with their journey from boyhood, to "guyhood," to manhood. Although it can be a difficult task regardless of the student's circumstances, modern men's colleges and boys' schools have done it well for years.


Christopher B. Howard

Christopher B. Howard is the president of Hampden-Sydney College, a private, liberal arts school for men.

UT said...

He really is a big supporter of the Liberal Arts. I can also confirm he is very positive about UT. Sad how the Blade twisted a few things in the paper today.

Anonymous said...

8:12 I have a feeling there was more-- At the advice of UT’s search firm and with the aim of recruiting talented applicants, a couple of trustees met with potential candidates early in the search process to encourage them to apply. Ms. Speyer talked to Mr. Howard, Mr. Zerbey said. She could not be reached for comment.
He never thought he had the job. I thought that was one of his worse speeches that was the first time he ever used notes. Since the announcement we followed him closely. Something happened... The board, newspaper and past interview was very pro Howard. What happened? I donot believe it is because he was not the front runner, he ejected out of a airplane, had to deal with his racist college. Does not look like someone who would give up.
As an accomplished BLACK MALE I think he is very comfortable and happy.Again. we are shocked because he really wanted the Liberal Arts to be more involved at UT.
He refuses to discuss the situation in VA.



UT said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Given that the majority of public and private comments at UT about Dr Howard clearly indicate that due to his lack of experience (coming from a small budgeted male only college with no research or graduate programs) he was not the best qualified candidate here, I doubt very few here at UT are interested in why he choose to withdraw. As to the press and comments from our Board, seems to be that all three candidates were viewed positively based on their interview experiences here. Those in Richmond interested do not need to be posting here but simply ask him yourself as we have no interest, just glad that he is out of the pool of candidates. Wish him the best of luck in his career as we look forward to our new President tomorrow.

UT said...

We wish you well and very happy Dr. Howard stayed at the tenth oldest school in the USA. I college older than the United States. A place needed in Higher Education. Please look at the graduation rate of men at UT and at the graduation rate of BLACKMEN.
Good Luck!

Anonymous said...

How is it that Dr. Howard has all this free time to post these comments?

UT said...

As a BLACKMAN in VA we have followed this process very closely. With everything going on in this country, we are concern. That is one of the reason we are interested in this story. Based on the questions be received about diversity, the graduation rate and a piece in the New York Times about men and graduations rates.Therefore, as an informed student watching a public search I can asked questions. I'm just stating the facts.
My last post.
Good Luck!