Interim Valparaiso President Colette Irwin-Knott - Impact on Valpo Basketball?

[VU2014]

The new interim President of Valparaiso University was named. Does anyone have a gauge for her level of commitment to Valparaiso Athletic's flagship Athletics Program?

Her level of commitment and support will be key for the future of the program. She has been on the Board of Directors since 2009. I've heard that some board members view Athletics as more a priority than others.

It's very interesting that she has a background in public finance and municipal debt. Her expertise in that area was key for the Board of Directors.

https://twitter.com/valpou/status/1300794457793720321?s=21

[NativeCheesehead]

Interim President-Elect?

Sounds like less job security than a Trump cabinet position.

I would love to have been a fly on the wall of the meeting where they came up with this.

[VU2014]

It seems like the University has had a presidential search going on for more than a year. Why haven't we selected a new full-time University president yet?

[sliman]

Some thoughts about the last two questions:
1.  I believe Heckler was to serve until Sept. 1, but Irwin-Knott was selected as interim president prior to that, beginning her service after Heckler leaves, hence interim president elect.
2.  The pandemic has made recruitment of many executives difficult, both for medical reasons and for the uncertainties about the economy.  It's my understanding that the three finalists invited to visit campus in the spring did not sufficiently impress the faculty.  Thus, the restart with a different search firm.  Actually it might be a good time to have an alumna with a background in finance and debt management at the helm.  She also might be more effective in giving an honest overview of the University's finances to presidential candidates.
3.  Not a time to panic.

[crusadermoe]

Oh boy.   Who has ever sufficiently impressed a faculty?   

I think that could be a big plus if were on the board selection committee.  The world has changed.     

[VU2014]

Oh boy.   Who has ever sufficiently impressed a faculty?   

I think that could be a big plus if were on the board selection committee.  The world has changed.     

Does anyone know what objections the faculty had? I'm curious what the major sticking points were.

I understand the need of faculty input on such a big decision but it's interesting that the faculty had so much sway on the outcome.

I'd love to hear Paul Oren and Adam Gibson's opinion as they are much closer to the situation than we are.

[Pgmado]

Oh boy.   Who has ever sufficiently impressed a faculty?   

I think that could be a big plus if were on the board selection committee.  The world has changed.     

Does anyone know what objections the faculty had? I'm curious what the major sticking points were.

I understand the need of faculty input on such a big decision but it's interesting that the faculty had so much sway on the outcome.

I'd love to hear Paul Oren and Adam Gibson's opinion as they are much closer to the situation than we are.

I am very disconnected from the Presidential search process. In a normal year that might not be the case, but with all the COVID stuff going on, it has been the least of my worries.

[vu84v2]

I cannot say that I know all of the details firsthand, but I do know that the first search was "open", meaning that everyone knows who the finalists are and has an opportunity to meet with them (which is what Valpo did). While there are benefits to an "open" search, a big problem is that the overall quality candidates tends to be less. This is because any candidate's current employer knows that they are interviewing. My guess is that this second search will be "closed". This will yield better candidates and the COVID-19 pandemic may further improve the quality of candidates (because they cannot travel and thus can interview and meet more secretly).

[crusadermoe]

Yes, close the search.  Not sure why it is ever open since the judgment of the faculty and student are a bit of a dice roll.  The students are not relevant decision makers as they are term limited at four years or less vs the president's time in the job.  The faculty is tenured for life and they largely lack a comprehension of the pace and risk tolerance needed to affect change.     

Valpo needs a corporate leader, not a pandering idealist who will smoke a pipe and muse over coffee in the faculty lounge.  If I recall generally correctly, the February Torch article quoted the finance VP saying we have  $115 million in annual expenses and we have about $80 million in tuition, room, and board.  Its time to hire a business leader.