@valpo95 Wouldn’t it be more logical to install a new president at the beginning of the 2025-26 academic year rather than wait for the mid-year?
At the end of the day, they need to find someone who is going to facilitate healthy relationships between the board and the faculty. A large reason, from my outside perspective, on why Padilla failed as a president despite having a healthy resume is that he alienated the faculty. I understand that drastic measures needed to be taken, and I supported a large amount of these measures, however the letter from the staff was that these decisions would be made and they would have to just sit back and watch. I think if staff had a lot more feedback on why these decisions occurred, the pushback could have been softened.
@david81 I don’t know, David, if there will be any kind of rising-tide-floats-all-boats effect here that might help with the transition to a new president, but recently released DOE figures indicate that we are experiencing an upswing in college enrollments nationally this year which, hopefully carries over to this coming Fall.
@vulb62 yes, a bigger pool cannot hurt. Perhaps it reflects some of the young folks who delayed college during the pandemic and those caught up in the FAFSA mess who opted out for a year or two???
But it's really on VU to select the right leader and -- as we've talked about soooooo much on this board 😀 -- whether the university can more effectively sell the marketing message with VU's genuine strengths to the potentially receptive applicants.
@valpo95 Wouldn’t it be more logical to install a new president at the beginning of the 2025-26 academic year rather than wait for the mid-year?
I agree with you, having a new president by August would be good. That said, unless there is an internal or known candidate, it will take some time; time moves slowly in academia especially if the president-elect is under contract somewhere else. In addition, if it is an outside candidate, that person needs some time to get to know the institution, the key leaders, the students, the donors, etc.
Whether the candidate starts in August or January, one key is for the new president to have a good relationship with the board and board chair. It wouldn't be good for there to be division in the board about whom to hire, then have the supportive board chair retire soon after. Having the incoming board chair involved with the presidential search is one way to improve the outcome.
I like the idea of an academic start in August. In reality August is the true start of an academic year, and you have the summer to make the transition, get Padilla out and the new person in.
A mid-year start is something of a lost year, IMO, though I've noticed that for both admin and faculty moves, it has become more common over the years.
There's something about the opening fall build-up on a university campus that tells me that I'd want my new prez on board at that point.
