Messages

Great to see Alec back in the gym at Valpo.  This has got to be a big plus to these kids to show that a Valpo grad can make it in the pros!

the false premise that they do not want decisions about women's bodies determined by old white men. If the allusion is to the Supreme Court, recall that Roe v. Wade was made law by seven older men on the court, and only one was non-white.

Actually, I wasn't referencing the Supreme Court but rather State Legislatures where old white men dominate the discussion increasingly because of gerrymandered districts or otherwise a lack of female/people of color representation. Which isn't necessarily the Old White guy's fault, just facts.  So states like Ohio, where the legislatures is trying to raise the percentage of votes necessary to change the state constitution because they recognize that most voters (witness Kansas) prefer some level of legal abortion and are trying to stop it. A couple of examples are Indiana, where 24% of legislators are female while the state wide population is slightly more female. In a even more conservative state like Tennessee, it is even worse, where 16 of 100 legislators are female while again, the state wide population favors women.

As for the old white men statement, in 2015 the makeup of the Indiana legislators was 71% Baby Boomers or Silent generation.  Tennessee also had the same demographic breakdown.

There is just some form of panic showing up across the nation by those whose views may be different than current demographics.  My answer: put it to a state wide vote and leave the legislations out of it for obvious reasons stated above.

would you consider abortion-on-demand an "extremist" view, or just an "extremist" result?

Yes, as would having a bunch of white haired men decide the best medical course of action for women.

Don't think this has been posted.  Here is where Matt Bowen landed.

https://uslbmfoundation.org/

Matt is Executive Director-Community Relations Manager

What is a "big Coby"?

Which brings me to my question:  With an emphasis on 'athletic,' going back (or even way back) can anyone recall a Valpo team's roster composition quite like this one? What I mean is does this team remind us of any previous teams? If so, which one(s)?  Just curious cuz I don't have the knowledge........
 

I don' think there are many.

One possibility:

http://www.valpoathletics.com/mbasketball/roster/2003-04/

The class of 2022 had all of 55 kids who identified as Lutheran.

Again, not sure where this information is coming from.

This data, from Valpo's website, for Fall of 2022, shows 340 students identifying as Lutheran.  That's 11.5% of the 2964 students.  I have asked the question many times about Lutheran recruiting.  What ever effort is being done is failing. Concordia Chicago, as  an example, has a significantly less white student enrollment yet claims 17.1% of students identify as Lutheran.

https://www.valpo.edu/institutional-effectiveness/files/2022/09/Denominations_All_Students_FA22.pdf

So I just took a look at the faculty around campus and only counted Professor, Assistant or Associate Professors.

What I found is the College of Business is by far the most diverse with 10 of 15 qualifying as "diverse"

In the College of Engineering, just the opposite:  Only 4 of 23 in this category.

The College of nursing and Health Professions was even worse at 4 of 30.

In Christ College, all of the nine permanent faculty are white.

Arts and Sciences was too big a task but at least two of the four listed as Leaders were people of color.

So of the people I counted the total is 20 of 81 or 25%.  No doubt the total in Arts and Sciences would reduce this number back into single digits.

Great article about Coach Powell's philosophy and challenges going forward.  Interesting to read that apparently the departure of Ibra Bayu was based on academics not a desire to move on.

From the News-Gazette in Champaign:

https://www.news-gazette.com/newsletter/content/sports/illini_basketball/roger-powell-jr-facing-new-challenges-at-valpo/article_3eb8954a-4153-5401-a343-041f65cbc0c4.html?utm_campaign=blox&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

I'm getting the idea that most people on this board and elsewhere just assume VU is not doing a good job of bringing in diverse freshman classes. But is that actually true? Honest question here.

Paul

Here's the demographic breakdown:

The enrolled student population at Valparaiso University, both undergraduate and graduate, is 70.6% White, 10.9% Hispanic or Latino, 5.61% Black or African American, 3.07% Two or More Races, 2.4% Asian, 0.128% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 0% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders.

The U.S. is 58% white, so nationally we are lagging some.  However, understanding that historically the enrollment was driven by Lutherans, until more recent years, from a diversity standpoint, Valpo started with one foot tied to the floor.

I greatly dislike the Ivies and wokeness.

Well, there's a shock!   

Wasn't Madison Soliday Director of Football Operations last year?

Yes she was.  She is now a Meeting Event Planner for Elevate Management Company in Minnesota.

Valpo gets $750,000 grant:    https://www.valpo.edu/news/?type=post&site=239&id=13420t: 

with my leftist colleagues (which is to say the vast majority of faculty). I was worse off after. Life is simply too short for fighting unwinnable battles

Perhaps you might open your opinions, just slightly, to hear a different approach to these difficult issues though I fully understand the bull headedness of intrenched thinking. GO BEACONS!!

I am against considering attributes such as race (a poorly defined concept anyway), sex, gender, ethnicity etc...in any professional setting for which these attributes are irrelevant.

I'm confused by those who would write that "attributes" are irrelevant when obvious discrimination has/is occurring to this day in spite of new (relatively) laws protecting women and people of color etc. These "woke" laws have had a great and very positive effects even on old white guys like me.  Though it is, "government intervention", things the Jim Crow laws would no doubt still be in effect failing these laws/rulings.

Though not related to race, let me explain two situations that actually happened in my life.  The first happened shortly after graduating from Valpo at one of my first professional jobs.  I got a raise which I shared with a female employee who did THE EXACTLY same job with the same length of experience.  When she asked the boss about a raise if was explained to her that I needed to earn more money because eventually I would be supporting a wife and family.  This was out in the open, nothing subtle about it.

The next actually happened to me while applying for my first job at a major bank in Chicago.  I was given the job initially but then was asked if I had any systemic illnesses. When I explained that I was a diabetic, the job offer was withdrawn.  I even offered to race the staff doctor around the block but to no avail.

These results seem unimaginable in today's world but so in integration to some old souls in the deepest south.

https://www.valpoathletics.com/athletics/news/2022-23/22168/valpo-athletics-invests-in-facility-upgrades/

I just came across this 20 minute video of Lual Manyang doing a workout.  Watch his use of the left hand.  Would love to have a basketball guy like FWAlum give us an opinion on his potential.

Remember, this video was taken November 30, 2020!!  Going on THREE years ago!  We may have something great here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dn9uF3XX1IM

this might additionally inhibit universities like VU from race-based considerations in financial aid packages

I was wondering the same thing.  One of my granddaughters is getting a scholarship from Fordham in part because she has a Columbian grandmother, thus making her a latina.  I presume the high court's ruling will outlaw this sort of thing. As usual these sort of decisions add more questions than they remove.

[Build to our Future — Evaluate the construction of a new building for the College of Nursing and Health Professions and a facility for a nationally competitive NCAA Division I athletics program.]

is a new basketball arena in the works or just upgrades as discussed earlier?

Not sure where 78 got that other than the fact that the hiring of Roger Powell and the President's comments about the new arena at that time. 

The actually Strategic Plan states the following with no priority per se:

Build to our Future — Evaluate the construction of a new building for the College of Nursing and Health Professions and a facility for a nationally competitive NCAA Division I athletics program.

https://www.valpoathletics.com/athletics/news/2022-23/22167/valpo-athletics-announces-plans-for--july-coaches-bus-tour/

Great writeup about Sherman Weatherspoon signing: (love what he said about the coaching staff!)

https://www.valpoathletics.com/mbasketball/news/2022-23/22166/sherman-weatherspoon-iv-joins-valpo-mens-basketball-program/?fbclid=IwAR0K-4XVjphdwCnOTdkye3ROo4z6z7dX9kwdgS8gpHR78-nos-C0QYCI21k

[Why Not Use Those Large Endowments To Save Colleges?]

Without knowing what their total student enrollment is, $34M is just a number. Whatever the amount (large or small, relatively), when a university is teetering on the edge of disaster, its endowment is not going to save it from financial ruin. It might provide limited temporary relief; however, if declining tuition and housing revenues fail to cover expenses for a long enough period, the university is doomed to failure. Insolvency results from expenses exceeding revenues over time, during which the university depletes available assets, can no longer borrow, and literally runs out of money to operate. I've attached a link to a Forbes article that explains why university endowments by design cannot save a university from insolvency.

Why Not Use Those Large Endowments To Save Colleges?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidrosowsky/2020/06/01/why-not-use-those-large-endowments-to-save-colleges/?sh=685fd933f0a9

I think the key number used by colleges is endowment per student.  The sited enrollment for Cabrini is 1500 so an endowment per student of $22,667.  Valpo's 2022 endowment is listed at $365 million with stated enrollment of 2,939 in 2022 for an endowment per student of $124,192 or almost 5.5X bigger than Cabrini.

It certainly isn't a "everything is coming up roses" number but on the other hand it is an indication of the overall financial stability of an institution.

Of the colleges and universities that I've seen who have closed their doors, none had endowments anywhere close to Valpo's.

Another one bites the dust: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/business/financial-health/2023/06/26/cabrini-university-will-close

https://cabriniuniversitylegacy.com/cabrini-2/info-updates/

Cabrini University is closing at the end of this year

Their endowment stood at $34 million in 2022.

I asked this on another, non-facility string as kind of an tack-on question. No one responded. So I'll try again here:

Why, since it opened in 1984 (39 years ago), haven't the ARC's south side wood bleacher seats been upgraded to retractable chairbacks to match the north side? 

I'm pretty sure it would only reduce capacity a bit, but insignificantly IMO. It would require no significant renovation or construction while improving the arena's appearance with minimal investment. So, why not add better quality seating that appeals to season ticket holders and also creates a bowl-like atmosphere that helps a bit to differentiate the arena from its biggest criticism — that it's just a big HS gym?

I'm guessing the cost.  I did a quick look on the internet and found cost run from $100-$500 a seat, plus demolition and installation.  So, if there are 1500 seats that's $150,000-$750,000.

[Will there be more?]

   Geez, it like herding cats trying to keep up with all the 2025 offers going out.

According to PO's Twitter site this appears to be the list so far:

Jason Jakstys
Jack Stanton
Jaymen Townsend
Nick Allen
Phoenix Gill
Braylon Mullins
Angelo Ciaravino
Davis Bynum
Jack Bailey (4*, contacted)

Is that it?  Anyone else?

And......  the staff is on the road again this weekend to:

Appleton, WI,
https://basketball.exposureevents.com/202408/boys-wiaa-wbca-june-jam--scholastic-event

Romeoville, IL
https://romeovillelive.com/event/4663-certified-romeoville-live-summer-shootout

and Indianapolis, IN (guessing on this one)
https://basketball.exposureevents.com/200891/summer-classic

 
Will there be more?

It's certain.  What happens is that as they get the first guys the offers start getting pulled.  Obviously, none of these qualify for walk-on status and there aren't very many spots.