If the MAC Commissioner is currently the guy then I think the search committee is in good hands. Despite some, shall we say, less than ideal performances in sports. The MAC has its fair share of successful schools and programs.
@vuindiana - buyout when it makes sense. The Lottich buyout makes sense. I didn’t know Heckler got a buyout. As for bagging faculty, that is a procedure used by business so who knows.
my question is if a buyout just for Padilla makes in these dire circumstances.
Until the university creates value for students to want to come and enroll , it will be a continuous revolving door.
other than us who have deep ties to the university, No one sees a value in going to the university. Your money is best spent elsewhere. If that wasn’t the case enrollment wouldn’t be an issue.
I think it’s too far gone to recover. I just don’t see how you can turn the ship around realistically.
Looks like our discussion in the Valpo News item about President Padilla's status, the impact of the No Confidence vote, etc., was more immediately relevant than we imagined.
To be honest, I'm surprised it came this early...in fact I was planning on posting something to the effect that if it happens, it won't be until after the end of the academic year. But despite the Board's initial expression of support for Padilla after the NC vote, it's clear that they wanted to move more quickly. Although Hansen's statement was appreciative of Padilla's contributions, board deliberations were accelerating, which must mean that concerns were growing.
I wish Padilla well. But this next hire is probably for all the marbles in terms of VU's future.
@usc4valpo I don't know what the deal was with Heckler. He ceased to be president in 2020, but was still getting full salary in 2021, 2022, etc. For the year 2022, the VU's 990 form says Valpo's top three payees were:
- Jose Padilla (President): $525,434 Compensation, plus $25,666 Other
- Mark Heckler (President Emeritus) $518,151 Compensation, plus $10,475 Other
- Matt Lottich (Head Coach Men's Basketball) $331,843, plus $16,529 Other
I don't know why Heckler was still raking in over half a million dollars a year, two years after his presidency ended.
Re Lottich, I was pissed out the cost of the buyout, but in retrospect (with the popularity and clear hard work of Powell) I do grant that one may have made sense and panned out worth it.
I suppose for Padilla now, whether it makes sense would depend on the cost and how fast the Search Committee can realistically get someone good into place.
The school is still salvageable. You need to get someone who can gather some sort of stability in the key departments. Marketing and enrollment being the major hole that is constantly a revolving door.
Do we know what was the cost of the Lottich buyout? If he was under contract for two years (and both had to be fullfilled as part of the buyout), that would be a cost of $331k *2 or $662k.
No matter the cost on the Lottich buyout, it is important to put that into some perspective. If only six more students come to VU in one year because the basketball team is winning (and pay an average net tuition of $25k/year), that would be revenue of 6*$25k*4years = $600k in added revenue. (Of course, there are additional marginal costs associated with those students, yet let's keep it simple).
Now, imagine that six students come to VU each year because of that - it would be $2.4M in added revenue if Powell were to stay for four years. The comparison I'm making here is something like 600 new students per year under Lottich, 606 new students per year under Powell. Naturally, winning basketball is only one factor, yet would that make a 1% difference in the number of incoming students? I think it probably is more than 1%, yet we'll never know for sure.
Looks like our discussion in the Valpo News item about President Padilla's status, the impact of the No Confidence vote, etc., was more immediately relevant than we imagined.
To be honest, I'm surprised it came this early...in fact I was planning on posting something to the effect that if it happens, it won't be until after the end of the academic year. But despite the Board's initial expression of support for Padilla after the NC vote, it's clear that they wanted to move more quickly. Although Hansen's statement was appreciative of Padilla's contributions, board deliberations were accelerating, which must mean that concerns were growing.
I wish Padilla well. But this next hire is probably for all the marbles in terms of VU's future.
Yup. No do overs on this one.
When I wrote the following back in October, I believed Padilla would likely retire in about a year. As I stated elsewhere on the forum, the Board's language did not dispute, deny, or address the specific complaints raised in the faculty resolution. That is known as recognition by omission and signified those issues were still under observation by the Board. Beyond expressing current confidence in Padilla, the Board unnecessarily went further and encouraged him to "move the institution forward to ensure the success of Valparaiso University and preserve its Lutheran identity." This didn't need to be included and was basically a probationary caution that the Board was expecting to see obvious signs of success in the near future. Note it doesn't say "further success," a phrase normally added to recognize already reached achievements. Additionally, the unnecessary directive to "preserve its Lutheran identity" seemed an odd comment.
"I was not surprised by the Board's statement of support for Pres. Padilla. I do not believe they had another option. If they expressed agreement with the faculty, Padilla would need to resign immediately. Notably, the Board's statement was generic and did not dispute or even address any of the issues raised by the faculty. Since the faculty vote was "overwhelming," as described in news reports, with 84% of those who did not abstain (131-26) voting "no confidence," and given the ongoing contentious relationship between Padilla and the faculty, highlighted by media coverage, one might think an eventual Padilla exit is not out of the question unless conditions change dramatically in the future. In fact, the Chicago Tribune article below pointedly makes a comparison to the "no-confidence" faculty vote at Purdue Northwest in December 2022 for their Chancellor with almost identical numbers (135-20). He left about a year later."
It seems curious that Pres. Padilla's retirement decision was not announced by Padilla himself. Normally, I would expect him to be given the courtesy to make that announcement. As others suggest, the next year will be crucial for VU: the selection of a new president must be a home run. The transition needs to occur smoothly and successfully, accompanied by positive publicity. Moreover, with the retirement of the university president and the Board of Directors chair, combined with a turnover at the top position in admission, the danger of further erosion in enrollment is present for the upcoming fall semester.
