Realistically, a lot of the blame fall on high turnover rates in key departments. Marketing and enrollment being arguably the most important department, and yet, is seeing some of the highest turnover rates. I wonder what is going on internally to cause these rates.
On occasion the turnover can be because, say, the director of someone's specific department is hard to work with, but oftentimes high attrition is due to overall impressions of the institution and how that impacts marketing and development. These folks tend to have a keen perception of whether an institution has a good sense of itself, and they tend not to want to be on a ship that seems floundering about.
And if they hear frequent dissatisfaction over the nickname change or the art sale when they're on the road talking to alums, then they know that the narrative they're trying to share is being drowned out.
Financial challenges alone are not necessarily determinative in terms of whether these folks stay or go. For example, I'm on the board of a historical non-profit organization here in Boston that is facing significant financial challenges that stem from the downturn in visitors during the pandemic and the generally lower levels of post-lockdown foot traffic today. This organization's excellent development people have stayed, securing some significant, game-changing gifts, because (1) they believe in the group's mission; and (2) top leadership (executive director and board) has been forthcoming with staff about the money challenges and repeatedly expressed (well-deserved) appreciation for staff efforts.
Beatifully said!
@david81 - be transparent, then you must make a decision and move forward.
Valpo needs better dorms, they are terrible. My daughter in 2019 went on a tour at Valpo and was turned off by the dorms and it influenced her decision not to go there. Female students in particular take residential facilities seriously.
As for Powell, he is doing a great job, but if Valpo doesn't eventually acknowledge and accommodate the success in regards to better salary, upgrades, etc., then in the evolving world of college athletics, he will find an opportunity where they will meet his needs. The free lunches will not continue.
I agree that Padilla, alumni relations and the university in general have been ineffective in engagement with alumni, thus unsuccessful fundraising. However, recent decisions have turned off the old school donors while the new school donors demanding and getting change throw nickels like manhole covers.
@david81 - be transparent, then you must make a decision and move forward.
Valpo needs better dorms, they are terrible. My daughter in 2019 went on a tour at Valpo and was turned off by the dorms and it influenced her decision not to go there. Female students in particular take residential facilities seriously.
As for Powell, he is doing a great job, but if Valpo doesn't eventually acknowledge and accommodate the success in regards to better salary, upgrades, etc., then in the evolving world of college athletics, he will find an opportunity where they will meet his needs. The free lunches will not continue.
I agree that Padilla, alumni relations and the university in general have been ineffective in engagement with alumni, thus unsuccessful fundraising. However, recent decisions have turned off the old school donors while the new school donors demanding and getting change throw nickels like manhole covers.
@usc4valpo, what are those decisions, beyond the nickname change and the art sale? I haven't perceived the campus experience as being a hotbed of controversy, at least compared to many other schools. What are the "old school donors" so unhappy about that they're no longer writing checks, and what are the "new school donors" demanding while they sent a pittance in donations?
On the alumni relations front, I think that relegating the alumni magazine to a totally online format was a big mistake, albeit a decision likely made for financial reasons. It has very likely meant less awareness of what's going on at the university and less engagement with the alumni base (if only because we don't see the alumni notes). The alumni magazine that VU published was a high quality publication, and I would spend time with each issue. By contrast, we are bombarded with emailed newsletters and updates, and on a busy day I tend to overlook many of them.
I agree that Padilla, alumni relations and the university in general have been ineffective in engagement with alumni, thus unsuccessful fundraising.
Yeah I wouldn't say Padilla is a bad fundraiser. That was quite literally his main job at DePaul. I would say that the entire admin dept is not good with marketing and keeping the faculty happy. I disagreed with the no confidence vote on the grounds of him being good for bringing funds in during major fundraising campaigns like Valpo Day.
Valpo Day is one instance, but getting cash is a year round activity.
@David81 - I may be naive here, but I would presume several old school donors, particularly the LCMS donors, are not pleased about the university separation from the church. You kind of feel the changing culture at Valpo in the past decade. Not that I think it is bad or good, but the old school donors may not buy into it, and they generally have the cash.
As for Padilla, he has a tough job and should have been more empathic and transparent to faculty concerns. I mean, I still can't grasp the drop in pay compared to similar private schools.
I agree that Padilla, alumni relations and the university in general have been ineffective in engagement with alumni, thus unsuccessful fundraising.
I'm glad that Valpo Day has been increasingly successful, but such fundraising events at universities are typically about maxing out on the number of givers, with average donations being on the smaller side. I'm a monthly donor (slowly but surely working towards funding the modest scholarship I'm creating for students who wish to study abroad), but I give essentially a bonus payment on Valpo Day.
VU needs more 6, 7, and 8 figure donors. To put it in elbow grease terms, a $1m donation, given in one fell swoop, leaves in the dust all of the staff time and energy required to get 1,000 $1,000 donations.
@David81 - I may be naive here, but I would presume several old school donors, particularly the LCMS donors, are not pleased about the university separation from the church. You kind of feel the changing culture at Valpo in the past decade. Not that I think it is bad or good, but the old school donors may not buy into it, and they generally have the cash.
As for Padilla, he has a tough job and should have been more empathic and transparent to faculty concerns. I mean, I still can't grasp the drop in pay compared to similar private schools.
@usc4valpo, yes, good point about the separation from the Missouri Synod. I confess that during my student days, I thought the Synod's influence limited VU's ability to be at least a bit more cosmopolitan. (Among other things, my Chapel visits were modeled after the frequency of Chicago Cubs postseason appearances.) However, with a bit more maturity under my belt (and a WS championship!), I do believe that VU should find a way to welcome all of its traditional stakeholder groups, under what I would hope is a somewhat bigger tent than the scene circa 1980.
Many people here also have noted the decline in recruiting efforts at Lutheran high schools. Even if those Lutheran H.S. student numbers have dropped, VU should have some appeal to the kids who are at those schools. I hope those efforts have been stepped up.
I wonder what is going on internally to cause these rates.
I will say it again for the folks in the back: this will be President Padilla’s FOURTH vice president of enrollment. That will create insurmountable instability in an office.
The fundraising office has also seen significant turnover, but they haven’t had as many leadership changes during Padilla's tenure.
@kreitzerstl - thank you for getting us back on the heavy hitter topic. This is an unstable and currently very important department that need to be addressed and well resolved, hopefully without the fluff we usually get from the university.
Again from the outside, it appears as though the department is unstable and I agree with all that more stability would be beneficial.
What we do not know are the reasons behind the departures - Ray Brown was an interim VP of Enrollment who had the job when Padilla took office - it was clear Mr. Brown would be replaced with a permanent hire. Brian O'Rourke (joined in June 2021) and Jill Schur (joined February 2023) are the two people hired by President Padilla. It doesn't seem that O'Rourke was a good fit for Valpo, and he left relatively quickly - President Padilla owns his hire for sure, yet it is possible to either make one mistake in hiring, or find that relocating someone (from California?) to NW Indiana to a tough job is more difficult than expected.
So, the major question is why did Schur leave? If it is something unrelated to her job performance or fit with VU, that is one thing (imagine a major health concern, needing to be close to elderly parents, or her spouse getting a new job on the West Coast - these are innocuous reasons for a resignation). If it was a fight with the VU administration, poor performance or similar, that is something else. Those of us on this message board may never know the reasons behind her departure. However, if I am on the Board of VU, I want to find out exactly why she left.
Finally, I hope VU finds the right person to lead Enrollment for the long term!
The best enrollment directors are fierce advocates for their school because they believe in the overall institution and its mission. They are, in themselves, value added factors in terms of increasing applications and improving yields. And the most committed ones stay, rather than have their eyes open for the next best opportunity to come along.
Against this ideal, accountability for the revolving door at VU has to start with the President.
Someone has some explaining on how they are going to resolve this and a plan to move.
