New President named - Jose Padilla

[vu72]

For those unable to join in on the townhall with President Padilla, I thought I would give a brief summary of some of what he said.

Lots of good things about the quality of the faculty.

Only new buildings being considered will be new home for Nursing (currently in three buildings) and possible new building or significant renovation for Business.

Freshman class looks like 630.  He is not happy and told us about the new VP for enrollment who came on board June 1.

The makeup of the student body is about 2/3 on campus and 1/3 commuter. Two dorms are off line.

The Forever Valpo drive will conclude next June.

Big plans for developing a "family atmosphere" at both football and basketball games.  He is a big athletics fan and talked about the new players from the Big 10. 

Plans for old campus are just beginning but he had a couple of ideas, one being to use the law building as a place where locals could come to earn various certificates.  He very much wants to improve/develop relationships with the local community.

Very impressive guy.  We made the right choice.

[vu84v2]

vu72 - Thank you for posting your comments/observations.

A few thoughts:
-A combination of 630 incoming Freshmen and 1/3 students not living in dorms (and two dorms being offline) is very ominous. I had heard a higher number - but that may also include transfers or may have been prior to deposits. That, above all else, must be fixed.
-"Big plans for a family atmosphere at basketball games" is fine, but you must always remember that there are two things (far and above all others) that put fans in the seats - perceived quality of the team and perceived quality of the opponent.
-Certificate programs have become a very common 'plug' when universities' revenues are short of costs. Certificate programs only work when they provide specific skills (including validation of those skills) that employers' value...and then you need to illustrate an advantage of your certificate programs over those offered by other universities. With many such programs available online, that is really difficult. They are worth exploring, but you need to really do diligent work to make sure that there is a supported business model.
-I know that my comments may sound negative, but it is very good that the new President is putting himself out there and having sessions/dialogs with various people in the Valparaiso University community.

[Pgmado]

vu72 - Thank you for posting your comments/observations.

A few thoughts:
-A combination of 630 incoming Freshmen and 1/3 students not living in dorms (and two dorms being offline) is very ominous. I had heard a higher number - but that may also include transfers or may have been prior to deposits. That, above all else, must be fixed.
-"Big plans for a family atmosphere at basketball games" is fine, but you must always remember that there are two things (far and above all others) that put fans in the seats - perceived quality of the team and perceived quality of the opponent.
-Certificate programs have become a very common 'plug' when universities' revenues are short of costs. Certificate programs only work when they provide specific skills (including validation of those skills) that employers' value...and then you need to illustrate an advantage of your certificate programs over those offered by other universities. With many such programs available online, that is really difficult. They are worth exploring, but you need to really do diligent work to make sure that there is a supported business model.
-I know that my comments may sound negative, but it is very good that the new President is putting himself out there and having sessions/dialogs with various people in the Valparaiso University community.

Valpo in the best conference it has ever been in. Every single Valley game would've been a pack the rafters Bracket Buster game in the days of the Mid-Con. The sooner fans figure that out, the better. The sooner Valpo figures out how to market being in the Valley, the better. The sooner Valpo starts winning these games, the better.

[valpopal]

Valpo in the best conference it has ever been in. Every single Valley game would've been a pack the rafters Bracket Buster game in the days of the Mid-Con. The sooner fans figure that out, the better. The sooner Valpo figures out how to market being in the Valley, the better. The sooner Valpo starts winning these games, the better.

[crusader05]

This is a bit off topic but I wonder if this NIL ruling may help increase the investment in the student athletes themselves in getting community and students involved. Can't brand your name if noone knows it. You want local businesses to sponsor you, you need local people to attend. 

Back on topic:

I liked that he seemed pretty straightforward and didn't sugar coat issues. I also liked that he made it clear he wants a stable enrollment vs some pie in the sky grow to 6,000.
I also liked  his focus on working more with the community and the local area. His story about Valpo students bussing out to  tour Notre Dame cause someone at Valpo said no to their tour was rage Inducing.

[Just Sayin]

Judge rules for city in VU parking suit

Nwitimes, July 5,2021:

"My hope is Valparaiso University will now focus its energy on helping our community workforce instead of more needless litigation," Murphy said.

"President Jose Padilla recently spoke about building bridges and consensus within the Valparaiso community," Murphy said. "This would be a good opportunity to start."

[vu84v2]

pgmado - I fully agree....note that i used the word perceived - which means Valpo needs to market being in the Valley. However, I do not think that you can generate excitement for the program when your first home game that generates interest is the first home Valley game.  And as you point out, winning is essential.

[crusadermoe]

Basketball attendance is a passion and a puzzle for many of us.  However, the overall VU financial picture overwhelms any other issue. 

Two more questions about that revenue for Pres. Padilla:

1)  What will be the net tuition income from the freshmen and sophomore classes compared to prior years?  Body count is only half the story.

2)  What will be the retention of last year's freshman to new soph class after all the disruption?...and what were trends in room and board income?

[wh]

For those unable to join in on the townhall with President Padilla, I thought I would give a brief summary of some of what he said.

Lots of good things about the quality of the faculty.

Only new buildings being considered will be new home for Nursing (currently in three buildings) and possible new building or significant renovation for Business.

Freshman class looks like 630.  He is not happy and told us about the new VP for enrollment who came on board June 1.

The makeup of the student body is about 2/3 on campus and 1/3 commuter. Two dorms are off line.

The Forever Valpo drive will conclude next June.

Big plans for developing a "family atmosphere" at both football and basketball games.  He is a big athletics fan and talked about the new players from the Big 10. 

Plans for old campus are just beginning but he had a couple of ideas, one being to use the law building as a place where locals could come to earn various certificates.  He very much wants to improve/develop relationships with the local community.

Very impressive guy.  We made the right choice.

My freshman grandson plans to major in Nursing. I'm sure he'll find that interesting, although he's fine with what he saw. What really caught his attention was Valpo's No. 1 ranking among nursing programs in the state of Indiana. Purdue Lafayette was No. 2. Also, average starting salaries were $4000 higher.

[valpotx]

Judge rules for city in VU parking suit

Nwitimes, July 5,2021:

"My hope is Valparaiso University will now focus its energy on helping our community workforce instead of more needless litigation," Murphy said.

"President Jose Padilla recently spoke about building bridges and consensus within the Valparaiso community," Murphy said. "This would be a good opportunity to start."

I completely understand VU's stance.  The City of Valparaiso has always refused to acknowledge the contribution of the school to the financial health of the city.  The relationship has always seemed one-sided to me, where VU gives more than it receives from Valparaiso. 

[wh]

Judge rules for city in VU parking suit

Nwitimes, July 5,2021:

"My hope is Valparaiso University will now focus its energy on helping our community workforce instead of more needless litigation," Murphy said.

"President Jose Padilla recently spoke about building bridges and consensus within the Valparaiso community," Murphy said. "This would be a good opportunity to start."

I completely understand VU's stance. The City of Valparaiso has always refused to acknowledge the contribution of the school to the financial health of the city.  The relationship has always seemed one-sided to me, where VU gives more than it receives from Valparaiso. 

Actually, I'm having a difficult time understanding the university's position, or maybe more accurately it's intent. There is a critical shortage of Section 8 housing in Valparaiso. These buildings will give hundreds of struggling adults and children a chance in life. It also gives Valparaiso  University a unique opportunity to deploy its considerable social science and health science resources in new and exciting ways to make this initiative a model of success. Nothing I can think of can build bridges better than that. But instead of embracing it and asking for a seat at the table, the university decides to try to stop it -over parking spaces, no less. That's so petty on its face, it calls into question whether there's a hidden reason, like "not in my neighborhood" type reason. Hopefully, that's not the case.

[valpotx]

I don't see them challenging the type of housing.  I see them challenging the parking permits for on-street parking.  Seems perfectly reasonable to me. 

[wh]

From the Valpo Torch:

Uptown East Apartments to serve local community as affordable house
Caitlynn Shipe Feb 26, 2021 Updated Mar 1, 2021

"Uptown East reached out to Valparaiso University regarding leasing or purchasing the parking lot across the street from Uptown East to overcome parking concerns while also supplying Valpo with a new revenue stream. Valpo denied both options," said Larry Gough, an administrator of the Uptown East Apartments."

http://www.valpotorch.com/news/article_047e8338-77f8-11eb-931c-3fdd9159649c.html

Uptown East was a joint venture between the university, the city, and private developers. Former Mayor Costas and President Heckler were the driving forces. Unfortunately, the university's plan to increase enrollment to 6000 students didn't materialize, the law school closed, and the foreign student cash cow dried up. The end result are buildings with few tenants and investors losing money.

While it may seem acceptable to the university system to have dormitories sitting idle, that's a death sentence in the business world. The university's responsibility in this good faith "partnership" was to provide students sufficient to keep occupancy rates at a high level. It is no longer doing that. Knowing that, what kind of "partner" would then play hardball to sabotage an attempt to find other revenue sources to make up for the loss they caused?

Matt Murphy was city planner before he became mayor. He not only knows the history, he played a part in making it happen. He's also measured, reasonable, and a consensus builder with a long fuse. I think he would put up with a lot before making the statement he did.

IMO this would not have happened on either Heckler's or Padilla's watch. Both are far too smart than to get down and roll around in the mud and risk destroying crucial relationships over "parking spots." I'll say this. Your interim certainly put her stamp on the university's image while she was sitting in the big chair. Got rid of the Crusader and sued the City over parking spots. It takes a special talent to stir up that much controversy in such a short time when all she should have been doing is holding down the fort.

[vu72]

Here is the latest on the project:

https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/valpo-plan-calls-for-mix-of-on-site-street-parking-near-uptown-apartments/article_35fcacd9-e3e8-5ce2-9b17-8b83708caf3a.html

[vu84v2]

One point missing here regarding what each President (Heckler, Irwin-Knott, Padilla) would have done  is that they all answer to the board. While I doubt that the board gets involved in too many issues, the President does not have the latitude to do things when the board disagrees. Further, Irwin-Knott was on the board when she became interim President - so it is probably a stretch to say that she was acting solely on her own.

[crusadermoe]

These issues are all deck chairs on the Titanic if the fundamental revenue question isn't squared up.  Does Valpo offer an education that is unique enough to attract enough paid tuition revenue to offset its core repeating expenses?  ......aka balancing its budget without windfall or one-time asset sales ora COVID payout.

Community relations, hoops attendance, and even estate-promised endowment gifts are not at the top of the Moody's bond rating criteria. 

Notice I said "unique enough."  As many universities and the NBA are finding to be true...."Go Woke and Go Broke"!