Heckler to Retire: New President Search

[vu84v2]

She dated a guy that we went to college with whose last name is Schroeder. She later met and married her husband, whose last name is Schrader.

[vu72]

This is on topic in a way.  The pandemic is hitting close to home with Valpo pay cuts and layoffs.

http://www.valpotorch.com/news/article_019bb758-7da8-11ea-a228-13c4e4bfbf89.html?fbclid=IwAR1VSp2GKLXm6RpNdE0atVdzIMTxT4D1zO42UDOolEmLKtDhgjvF3KouYdY

[David81]

This is on topic in a way.  The pandemic is hitting close to home with Valpo pay cuts and layoffs.

http://www.valpotorch.com/news/article_019bb758-7da8-11ea-a228-13c4e4bfbf89.html?fbclid=IwAR1VSp2GKLXm6RpNdE0atVdzIMTxT4D1zO42UDOolEmLKtDhgjvF3KouYdY

I fear that this is merely a preview of what the rest of the calendar year will look like, if not fully through the 20-21 academic year. Until certain medical/public health advancements (easy testing, treatments, vaccine(s)) are available, I cannot imagine any semblance of normalcy returning in higher ed.

My mid-sized private university in downtown Boston, with an endowment roughly similar to VU's (but without current capacity to do a comparable fundraising campaign), faces similar decisions. We've been 100 percent online since after spring break. I've recommended to central administrators that higher-salaried admins and tenured faculty (I'm tenured at the law school) take the first hits via temporary pay reductions, before furloughs and layoffs of staff. We're not at that decision point yet but probably will be soon.

So...what's happening at VU is part of the new normal at schools across the country.

Good for President Heckler to be leading the way with the biggest pay cut. That's the kind of leadership example we're seeing at some other organizations, and it sends the right message about shared sacrifice starting at the top.

[crusadermoe]

Postponing the hire is probably a good idea.  Just one had a strong business background and he had no teaching tenure.

It's worth noting that Valpo hired a Chief Operating Officer or some such not long ago.   He is probably charged with downsizing the university in a significant way to remove the 11% operating deficit.

Strong candidates are probably telling Valpo that they don't want to start a presidency in that posture let alone deal with whiny faculty and students.   COVID will give Valpo an excuse to make choices they were confronting already.  Keep Mark H. in place as the public face until the tough decisions are engineered by the operations leader.   

[vu84v2]

While there are many critical issues facing universities in terms of remaining sustainable, one of the critical issues (if not the most critical issue, in terms of sustainability) is being able to have students attend in-person in the Fall 2020 semester. I teach at a larger private university and the impact from lost revenue in the Spring 2020 semester is estimated at $15M and would be another $30M if students could not attend in-person in the Fall 2020 semester. Adjusting for Valpo's size, I would estimate the impact is around $6-7M if Valpo cannot have students attend in the Fall 2020 semester. Finding a way to have students attend in-person in the Fall is essential. State and local government decisions play into this, but the biggest issue will be getting parents and students to feel it is safe and valuable.

One idea that I know some universities are considering is moving the Fall 2020 semester up by 1-2 weeks and finishing prior to Thanksgiving (to reduce concerns associated with a possible second wave in late November early December). Finding the best option (assuming it can reasonably be argued that it will be safe) will be a huge challenge for Valpo's administration.

In regards to President Heckler, this was a person who planned on leaving. I don't know whether he was going to retire or do something else - but instead he probably faces the greatest leadership challenge he has had in his career. He should truly be commended for staying the course regardless of how long that might be.

[vu84v2]

I need to revise something in that previous post. I estimate the impact on Valpo in the Spring 2020 semester is $6-7M and would be an additional $12-14M if Valpo cannot have students attend in person in the Fall 2020 semester.

[crusadermoe]

Indeed that would be a massive challenge if Fall is disrupted. 

I would truly hate to see the Fall school routine interrupted anywhere in the country.  That needs to be really carefully avoided if at all possible.  Wait until after Labor Day. But giving up our whole Fall academic cycle across all K-12 and universitiies during football season and peak school spirit would strike a big blow into the American psyche.  Unless you have a HS senior or an endangered job, this March-April-May timing just feels like a long Spring break where the kids' school closed on them for repairs for a few weeks. At least you look forward to summer as the days get longer and warmer. 

Some hard realities of medical data need to be confronted in terms of true measurable losses to the country from COVID and the disease consequences that are truly direct and truly morbid. There are no easy answers.  What level of risk is acceptable. and who decides it?  And what legal liabilities ensue from companies, schools, and governors authorizing those risks in our tort-crazy country?  If anyone else is old like me on this board you may have had a slight murmur or slight twinge of chest discomfort and gone to the ER.  Once you say that you will be tested for everything under the sun even if the chance is less than 1% you are at risk.  In my case I rocked the tread mill test and was told my heart was one of the healthiest he had seen.   Whew.   

[vu72]

There clearly seems to be a "shake-up" in the top leadership at Valpo.  As we know, Mark Heckler has "asked" to be replaced and now the #2, Mark Biermann has taken the Presidency at a 500 student college. I know that he had been considered for a few other jobs and now finally was selected.  I, for one, am glad that President Heckler has stayed on to make for an orderly transition.  Things are clearly in flux at Valpo.

https://www.sj-r.com/news/20200622/valparaiso-university-provost-will-head-up-blackburn-college

[valpo95]

There clearly seems to be a "shake-up" in the top leadership at Valpo.  As we know, Mark Heckler has "asked" to be replaced and now the #2, Mark Biermann has taken the Presidency at a 500 student college. I know that he had been considered for a few other jobs and now finally was selected.  I, for one, am glad that President Heckler has stayed on to make for an orderly transition.  Things are clearly in flux at Valpo.

https://www.sj-r.com/news/20200622/valparaiso-university-provost-will-head-up-blackburn-college

On its own, it is not especially unusual for a provost to look for a new position with the anticipation of a new president coming aboard. The new president should have the opportunity to select his/her team. That said, the fact that there also are open searches for the dean of the graduate school and business does signal more things in flux than would be typical.

[valpo95]

Some may have seen this, yet earlier this month the search committee announced that a new search firm was taking over the process.

In addition, it looks like the search will be confidential and likely not have the public forum aspects that happened with the most recent candidates.

https://www.valpo.edu/presidentialsearch/updates/686-2/

[vu84v2]

This may sound counterintuitive, but executives transitioning to other companies and organizations seems to be increasing since the COVID-19 pandemic impacts started in March. The suspected reason for this is that it is much easier for them to interview without their current employer knowing (due to no travel for visits, all interviews done remotely from home).

As far as the confidential nature of the new search (generally referred to as closed versus open searches), one could make an argument that you are likely to get better candidates since their current employers are less likely to know. Beyond that, it may just be necessary due to limits on travel.

[VUGrad1314]

Just as long as we get a candidate who moves the university forward and doesn't want to regress us back to the dark ages I don't care where the new candidate comes from. Maintain or increase the academic standards and profile Commit to athletics and continue to modernize the campus with everything done within financially prudent means and I'll be happy. That's all I want in a leader for the univeristy.

[FWalum]

In addition, it looks like the search will be confidential and likely not have the public forum aspects that happened with the most recent candidates.

Very glad to hear of this change to the process.  What happened previously was IMHO not well thought out. I really fear what is happening on many campuses today and the way it has spilled out into our major cities. Would hope that VU would embrace the ideas of diversity of thought espoused by members of organizations like the Heterodox Academy.

[crusadermoe]

Valpo needs to decide who they are before they can appoint somebody to lead them to that destination.

In Alice in Wonderland, she asked one of the characters how to get back to somewhere.  Obviously I can't recall the specifics.  I just recall the answer...........
....If you don't know where you are going then most any path will do."   Farney had the guts to answer the faculty with a Lutheran perspective.  Who knows where that led the process.

[vu84v2]

Is it that Valpo has not decided who they are or that they have decided who they are and you don't agree with parts of it? Frankly, I think Valpo has a pretty good idea of who it is.

[FWalum]

Farney had the guts to answer the faculty with a Lutheran perspective.  Who knows where that led the process.

I really thought that Farney was a good prospect. I know that many on here may not agree with that assessment. This is complete speculation on my part, but the social media campaign by the student government against Farney, in my opinion, helped derail the entire process and did a huge disservice to the university, not just for Farney, but for all of the 3 candidates.  I doubt if any of the "woke" elite in the student government read the man's CV and only searched for progressive bonafides or racist, sexist and conservative things they would find troubling. It wouldn't surprise me to find that candidates pulled their names after the visits to campus. If this was not the case, I would like very much to know why the board felt the need to start the entire process over again. I have only been on the boards of much smaller institutions, but I find it highly unusual that the selection process had proceeded to this point only to completely fail.

[wh]

I have served on 5 or 6 executive search teams for NP's. The most successful formula I have found is to seek input from major stakeholders prior to interviewing - focus groups, surveys, open forums, whatever makes sense. Look for common themes among responses and cover them during the interview process. After a candidate is selected and accepts, thank the stakeholders for their input and explain how it was used in the interview and selection process. Most people are looking for 2 things - an opportunity to share their ideas, issues and concerns and to know they have been given proper consideration.

[vu84v2]

Farney had the guts to answer the faculty with a Lutheran perspective.  Who knows where that led the process.

I really thought that Farney was a good prospect. I know that many on here may not agree with that assessment. This is complete speculation on my part, but the social media campaign by the student government against Farney, in my opinion, helped derail the entire process and did a huge disservice to the university, not just for Farney, but for all of the 3 candidates.  I doubt if any of the "woke" elite in the student government read the man's CV and only searched for progressive bonafides or racist, sexist and conservative things they would find troubling. It wouldn't surprise me to find that candidates pulled their names after the visits to campus. If this was not the case, I would like very much to know why the board felt the need to start the entire process over again. I have only been on the boards of much smaller institutions, but I find it highly unusual that the selection process had proceeded to this point only to completely fail.

I would guess that the reason why they decided to redo the search was that they felt that they could get better candidates in a closed search. I also believe that they changed the search firm.

I liked Farney's business background. For me, the biggest issue with Farney was that he would be going from a VP position (not provost) to President at a university which was larger than his current university. That is a pretty big leap!

[vu72]

Farney had the guts to answer the faculty with a Lutheran perspective.  Who knows where that led the process.

I really thought that Farney was a good prospect. I know that many on here may not agree with that assessment. This is complete speculation on my part, but the social media campaign by the student government against Farney, in my opinion, helped derail the entire process and did a huge disservice to the university, not just for Farney, but for all of the 3 candidates.  I doubt if any of the "woke" elite in the student government read the man's CV and only searched for progressive bonafides or racist, sexist and conservative things they would find troubling. It wouldn't surprise me to find that candidates pulled their names after the visits to campus. If this was not the case, I would like very much to know why the board felt the need to start the entire process over again. I have only been on the boards of much smaller institutions, but I find it highly unusual that the selection process had proceeded to this point only to completely fail.

I would guess that the reason why they decided to redo the search was that they felt that they could get better candidates in a closed search. I also believe that they changed the search firm.

I liked Farney's business background. For me, the biggest issue with Farney was that he would be going from a VP position (not provost) to President at a university which was larger than his current university. That is a pretty big leap!

If I'm recallig Farney's resume, he also could have probably afforded to redo the ARC!!!

[valpo95]

Farney had the guts to answer the faculty with a Lutheran perspective.  Who knows where that led the process.

I really thought that Farney was a good prospect. I know that many on here may not agree with that assessment. This is complete speculation on my part, but the social media campaign by the student government against Farney, in my opinion, helped derail the entire process and did a huge disservice to the university, not just for Farney, but for all of the 3 candidates.  I doubt if any of the "woke" elite in the student government read the man's CV and only searched for progressive bonafides or racist, sexist and conservative things they would find troubling. It wouldn't surprise me to find that candidates pulled their names after the visits to campus. If this was not the case, I would like very much to know why the board felt the need to start the entire process over again. I have only been on the boards of much smaller institutions, but I find it highly unusual that the selection process had proceeded to this point only to completely fail.

I would guess that the reason why they decided to redo the search was that they felt that they could get better candidates in a closed search. I also believe that they changed the search firm.

I liked Farney's business background. For me, the biggest issue with Farney was that he would be going from a VP position (not provost) to President at a university which was larger than his current university. That is a pretty big leap!

It is true Dr. Farney was not currently a university president or provost. That said, it isn't just that he had some random business background: His resume lists being Managing Director and Global Head of Asset Backed Finance for J.P. Morgan. You don't get to having a job like that without some serious leadership and management skills.  Coupled with his current position as VP for Advancement, Vocation and Alumni Engagement at Wheaton College (and being a scholar in religious history among other factors), he seemed uniquely qualified and capable in my opinion

As I recall, some of those were opposed to his candidacy were troubled by Wheaton's policies and not Dr. Farney per se. 

[NotBryceDrew]

I hope we seriously pursue Dr. Farney or a similar type candidate for the open dean of the CoB. Would be a great and much needed fit.

[crusadermoe]

I think others on this board go to VU in the late 70s, 80s, or early 90s?  In my conversations with alumni of that age, the business major was big.  Careerism and pragmatism ran deep in the student culture.   

Call that culture what you will.  But it didn't go deep into thoughts of invalidating centuries of American and world history.   The university even dared to call the Christ College honors freshman year core course, "Western Civilization."  Horrors!!  That was changed several years later.   Why on earth should you learn in depth the history of your family and its nation, and the common law ancestry underneath it, warts and all?  Surely 18 year olds should be ready to throw all of that under the bus. 

We were in danger of not keeping up with the "Joneses" at the secular or liberal private schools.  Hillsdale has done just fine financially without government money and has unapologetically focused on logical reasoning skills and knowledge of the constitution and in western studies.  Emotional viewing of history is nice, but not ultimately helpful.

Is it possible that the faculty and students of the last two decades have convinced themselves that our next leader should be someone who thinks like them.  Have they considered the fund-raising success ahead when the new leader encounters large numbers of pragmatic and even conservative alumni? 

If so, we are at a fork in the road or even needing to re-trace  a few steps back to that fork.

[crusadermoe]

I would accept any president who will allow full intelligent debate of all topics from all viewpoints and to "follow the truth......wherever that might lead."   

Sometimes 2 plus 2 equals 4 even if you "feel like" it should equal 5. 

[valpopal]

New Interim President Named: Colette Irwin-Knott


Effective Sept. 1, 2020, Colette Irwin-Knott '81, a member of the Board since 2009, will serve as Interim President-Elect. President Heckler will transition leadership responsibilities to Ms. Irwin-Knott during the month of September and will become President Emeritus after the completion of academic program review matters currently in process. As President Emeritus, he will continue active fundraising efforts for Forever Valpo: The Campaign for Our Future and assist in presidential transition matters. Ms. Irwin-Knott will become Interim President at the time President Heckler becomes President Emeritus.


Colette Irwin-Knott graduated from Valparaiso University with a bachelor of science in 1981. She spent her career in the field of public finance with HJ Umbaugh & Associates in Indianapolis, Indiana, retiring as a partner in the firm in 2014. She worked closely with educators throughout Indiana on hundreds of school and library projects involving the issuance of municipal bonds. She has been an instrumental leader at local, state, and national levels of public finance, and has represented independent financial advisors at the federal level as regulations were developed for this industry. While at Umbaugh she began a women's initiative for career development, and she has mentored numerous young women and men in their respective professions. She has been active in ministries assisting inner-city teenage youth in Indianapolis. Her interests have also included the arts and serving on the Board of the Indianapolis Public Library Foundation. Among her many professional and charitable activities, the Indianapolis Business Journal recognized her as a "Woman in the Lead for Financial Services."


Currently, she serves on the Executive Committee of the Board, chairs its Finance and Administration Committee, and serves on the Campus Life and Presidential Search Committees. She and her husband, Gary Knott, are the parents of two adult sons, Aaron and Stefan.

[vu72]

New Interim President Named: Colette Irwin-Knott


Effective Sept. 1, 2020, Colette Irwin-Knott '81, a member of the Board since 2009, will serve as Interim President-Elect. President Heckler will transition leadership responsibilities to Ms. Irwin-Knott during the month of September and will become President Emeritus after the completion of academic program review matters currently in process. As President Emeritus, he will continue active fundraising efforts for Forever Valpo: The Campaign for Our Future and assist in presidential transition matters. Ms. Irwin-Knott will become Interim President at the time President Heckler becomes President Emeritus.


Colette Irwin-Knott graduated from Valparaiso University with a bachelor of science in 1981. She spent her career in the field of public finance with HJ Umbaugh & Associates in Indianapolis, Indiana, retiring as a partner in the firm in 2014. She worked closely with educators throughout Indiana on hundreds of school and library projects involving the issuance of municipal bonds. She has been an instrumental leader at local, state, and national levels of public finance, and has represented independent financial advisors at the federal level as regulations were developed for this industry. While at Umbaugh she began a women's initiative for career development, and she has mentored numerous young women and men in their respective professions. She has been active in ministries assisting inner-city teenage youth in Indianapolis. Her interests have also included the arts and serving on the Board of the Indianapolis Public Library Foundation. Among her many professional and charitable activities, the Indianapolis Business Journal recognized her as a "Woman in the Lead for Financial Services."


Currently, she serves on the Executive Committee of the Board, chairs its Finance and Administration Committee, and serves on the Campus Life and Presidential Search Committees. She and her husband, Gary Knott, are the parents of two adult sons, Aaron and Stefan.

Very Interesting. Clearly the idea is finance driven given the current state of affairs.  I would expect the final replacement to hold significant academic credentials.  Lots going on!