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In an exclusive interview, Ohio State President Johnson discusses her abrupt departure from the university following an annual review conducted by an outside consultant that raised concerns of a hostile work environment and dishonesty in Johnson’s interactions with the Board of Trustees. Throughout the Q&A, Johnson refuted questions about pressure to resign, noting that it was a “personal decision” to step down and reporting that she does not have another job lined up when her tenure ends in six months. Regarding her management style, Johnson says: “Those statements [from those describing her as demanding and verbally abusive] don't reflect my working relationship with either my cabinet, my staff, my faculty, and my students. I describe my management style as is one of caring, compassion, focus, strong work ethic. I'm a coach, conductor. And I think we've accomplished an awful lot together ... and our record speaks for itself.” Johnson also noted she felt supported by the board throughout her tenure and enjoyed a “great working relationship” with trustees. Johnson: "This has been a tremendous honor. And Veronica, and I really enjoyed being here. I think I would say, you know, we love you. We think this university is on fire. And I can't wait to see what it does next. And it's sad. No, I’m not going to be a part of it. But I'll always be part of it." More. (link)
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SBJ’s Smith reports the NCAA has narrowed its search for a new president with the expectation an offer is made before Christmas. Smith: “...the preferred candidates are a mix of execs from inside and outside college athletics and higher education.” (link); SEC Commissioner Sankey joined D1.ticker/Connect’s Fischer from SBJ IAF to talk, among other topics, the next NCAA president, whom he would encourage to narrow down the job description from six pages to some strategic priorities. “Really what I’m interested in is hearing a vision communicated and then the strategic priorities that inform that vision, and then the ability to draw people in. … I would encourage them to ask a lot of questions, to build relationships, to not just react to pressure points that exist but to identify the real priorities that need to be addressed.” The full interview is now live on Connect. (link)
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The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents approved the system’s 2023-2028 Strategic Plan. President Rothman: “The plan before you is premised on the fact that the status quo is not sustainable. The UW System is positioned and has the responsibility to the people of Wisconsin to address some challenging issues. [...] We have not set targets that are slam dunks. Nor are there necessarily clearly defined pathways to reaching all of our targeted levels; rather, we have challenged ourselves to attain goals that will require substantial effort on our part and will require us to be innovative and creative.” (link)
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Presidents & Chancellors in the News |
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Colorado Chancellor DiStefano, Arizona President Robbins, Ohio State President Johnson and Minnesota President Gabel headlined Day 1 of the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Summit, discussing current research and innovation on their respective campuses, how their institutions were creatively reducing their own carbon footprints and how they’re serving as catalysts for action in their local communities. DiStefano: “Although our universities share similar goals when it comes to climate, we’re all approaching the issue in slightly different ways and bringing different strengths to bear. We can harness that creativity and innovation from our respective campuses to develop new climate solutions and have a strong influence on upholding human rights in the process. .. We all know that higher education is about more than job preparation. It meets students at a critical time and place where they are discovering and homing in on their personal values. So we have a unique responsibility to help them develop empathy, unity, a sense of justice and compassion (for others). Those characteristics are also needed to sustain climate and democracy.” (link)
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Michigan State will unveil the official portrait of former President Simon in a private ceremony hosted by the Board of Trustees on December 19. The commissioning of the portrait was part of Simon’s July 2019 retirement agreement, which also included three annual salary payments totaling $2.45M. (link) |
An analysis of the 15 previous Ohio State presidents conducted by The Columbus Dispatch found each served an average of 8.8 years as compared to Johnson’s three: “When Johnson's 34-month presidency concludes in May, it will be Ohio State's shortest in 141 years. It's the second-shortest in university history, ahead of only president Walter Quincy Scott, who served from June 1881 to June 1883. Regardless of Johnson's accomplishments, her brief stay that followed such an expensive, five-month search process amounts to a "failed presidency,” [per George Mason academic expert Wilde]. Along with money, she said, Johnson's short stint in office also could cost Ohio State a bit of something that's more intangible — it's stature.” Lots more. (link)
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The City of West Lafayette will rename a portion of State Street as Mitch Daniels Boulevard in recognition of Purdue President Daniels’ decade of leadership. (link) |
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The National College Players Association is calling for UCLA & USC to turn back on plans to join the Big Ten in a letter to the University of California Regents. NCPA Executive Director Huma calls the decision a “short-sighted money grab,” and further, “The Regents should not let a handful of people sell the soul of the UCLA athletics program for TV dollars that will be spent on luxury boxes in stadiums and lavish salaries for a few.” (link)
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Nebraska named Chief of Staff and Associate to the Chancellor Zeleny as vice chancellor for business and finance, effective January 1, 2023 and pending approval by the Board of Regents. (link); Assistant Vice Chancellor for Global Affairs Davis will serve as Chief of Staff and Associate to the Chancellor. (link); Senior Director of Global Affairs and Director of Global Partnerships and Initiatives Stevens-Liska will succeed Davis as interim assistant vice chancellor for global affairs. (link)
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Nebraska announced five finalists for the inaugural role of Assistant Vice Chancellor for Digital and Online Learning: Colorado State Global Provost and Executive Vice President Savory, CSU Global Associate Vice President of Digital Learning Butler, EDUKAN CEO Lahargoue, Cal State Dominguez Hills Professor Choi and EAB Director of Enrollment Strategy Shriner. (link)
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Nebraska Governor-elect Pillen will step down from his position on the Nebraska Board of Regents one day before being sworn in, allowing him to appoint the successor who will serve the remainder of his term. (link) |
New Jersey Governor Murphy appointed RWJBarnabas Health President Manigan as a public member of the Rutgers Board of Governors. Manigan will serve a term that runs through June 30, 2025. (link) |
Wisconsin appointed Office of Strategic Consulting Director of Strategic Initiatives Meyer as interim associate vice provost for strategic initiatives and Office of Strategic Consulting director, effective January 1, 2023. (link) |
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Michigan reports progress on its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with its endowment, with “avoided emissions from U-M investments on track to exceed the total amount of greenhouse gasses produced by the Ann Arbor campus in 2023.” (link) |
Michigan FB HC Harbaugh officially tops $10M in comp this year, thanks to $2.05M in bonuses, $1.5M of which was earned last weekend ($1M for Big Ten Championship win, $500K for CFP semi appearance). He is one of five public school football coaches to reach the 8-digit income mark, though Alabama’s Saban, Clemson’s Swinney and Georgia’s Smart did so in base pay; LSU’s Kelly did so in bonuses. (link)
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Minnesota and FB HC Fleck have agreed to a new seven-year, $42M deal. The new contract increases Fleck’s annual salary by $1M. Further details, including buyout figures, are expected to be available when the contract is presented to the Minnesota Board of Regents for final approval. (link, link)
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The Nebraska Board of Regents voted to raise room and board rates by 3% for three academic years on four campuses. The increase will raise rates on the Lincoln campus from $12,644 for a double occupancy room in 2023-24 to $13,413 in the 2025-26 academic year. (link) |
Penn State President Bendapudi presented an overview of the university’s budget allocation model, set to be officially introduced in July 2023 and part of an effort to achieve a balanced budget by 2025, during a recent town hall. Bendapudi reported that units slated to receive budget cuts will not experience a decrease of over 4% per year in FY24 and FY25 and that there are no plans for mass layoffs or consolidating campuses or colleges. Bendapudi: “This is a data-driven model that was designed with the idea of reducing unpredictability and making sure changes are not abrupt. It’s something that will evolve over the years and help Penn State to advance and grow our mission.” (link)
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Iowa is now accepting RFQs for the $20M Duane Banks Ballpark overhaul, which will include the “complete renovation” of the press box, grandstands and concourse and will expand seating capacity, improve ADA access and improve spectator sightlines. In addition, shelters and turf will be removed and replaced, bullpen areas will be renovated, and field lighting will be improved. (link)
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In an address to the Michigan Board of Regents, President Ono announced plans to initiate the hiring of an architect to design housing specifically for first-year students, the first such project at the university since 1968. The resident hall is expected to house 2,300 students and will be built to, and operate at the highest level of, LEED certification. (link); Regents approved a $6.1M project to renovate 6K-sq. ft. for a new Leinweber Space Innovation Laboratory in the Climate and Space Research Building (link) and authorized construction to proceed on the $10.5M, 11K-sq. ft. Edward and Rosaline Ginsberg Building, which will replace the Ginsberg Center’s current 7,500-sq. ft. home in the Madelon Pound House. The facility will feature collaborative meeting rooms, a resource library and eco-friendly features such as closed-loop geo-exchange heating and cooling system. (link); Among UM's submitted capital outlay requests include a $50M renovation of a facility at 428 Church Street, which will address updates to the Chemistry Building complex as part of a long-term initiative. (link)
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The Purdue Board of Trustees gave approval to plan, finance and construct renovations to approximately 41K-sq. ft. and multiple floors of the Mechanical Engineering Building, in an effort to accommodate increased enrollment in the College of Engineering. Construction on the $25M project is expected to begin July 2023 for completion in February 2025. Trustees also gave approval for the renaming of Recitation Hall to Helen B. Schleman Hall in honor of Dean Emerita Schleman, with renovations to the facility expected to begin in February 2023 (link)
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The Purdue Board of Trustees gave approval to name the Evan and Sue Ann Werling Comparative Oncology Research Center, the Klipsch Student Success Crossroads within the newly renovated Stewart Center and the Kampen-Cosler Course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex to recognize donors who recently contributed $1M or more. (link)
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A report by academics at Cornell and NC State published in Nature Human Behavior indicates that the racial diversity of tenured and tenure-track faculty in the U.S. is not increasing faster than the diversity of the American public at large and predicts that “higher education will never achieve demographic parity among tenure-track faculty.” As a solution, the report notes: “We estimate the sector could reach demographic parity by 2050 by collectively increasing underrepresented faculty by one percentage point per year—an increase of 0.78 percentage points on the current rate of change.” More. (link)
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Indiana announced development of the Indiana University Science and Technology Corridor in Indianapolis, to advance STEM education and leverage expanded research programs in an effort to expand the talent pool for Indiana employers and position the future IU Indianapolis as a leading urban public research institution. (link) |
Maryland’s test optional application process will remain in effect for undergraduate admissions through Fall 2025. (link) |
Michigan is seeking the support of a state mediator appointed by the Michigan Employment Relations Commission in its contract negotiations with the Graduate Employees’ Organization, including procedural issues such as how meetings will be conducted and how many people can participate in the bargaining process. (link) |
The Nebraska Board of Regents voted unanimously to fire tenured professor Stone for lacking “the professional competence expected of a tenured faculty member,” per Nebraska President Carter, who called for her removal. In her argument, Stone claims she stopped completing the university’s annual activity insight form after experiencing conflict with her department due to teaching loads 2-3 times those of her peers. (link)
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The Purdue Board of Trustees approved naming the Minority Engineering Program in recognition of alumni Don and Liz Thompson, who established a $1M endowment in support of the program in 2018. Trustees also approved changing the name of the Department of Human Development and Family Studies to the Department of Human Development and Family Science as well as the J. William Uhrig and Anastasia Vournas Head of Aeronautics and Astronautics to the Uhrig & Vournas Head of Aeronautics and Astronautics. (link, link)
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The New York Times released a list of the top 25 “Low-Cost College Towns,” based on categories of affordability, demographics, and “fun and opportunity,” including State College, PA (Penn State), Champaign, IL (Illinois), Ann Arbor, MI (Michigan), Bloomington, IN (Indiana), Iowa City, IA (Iowa) and Madison, WI (Wisconsin). Full list. (link)
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The National Labor Relations Board is shifting its focus on college athletics from the NCAA at large to USC FB and basketball student-athletes, per College Basketball Players Association Co-Founder Hsu, who told Sportico the NLRB has communicated it will focus on the NCPA’s charge while the NCAA charge is “in abeyance.” Sportico’s Libit adds context: “The NCPA’s charge included USC and the Pac-12 Conference, and specifically addressed the employee status of football and men’s and women’s basketball players. The charge alleged that by misclassifying them as ‘student-athletes,’ the school, conference and NCAA had ‘interfered with, restrained and coerced’ the exercise of those athletes’ collective bargaining rights. As a private university, USC falls within the purview of the NLRB, which oversees only private sector employees. The NCPA also filed an unfair labor practices charge on behalf of athletes at UCLA, a public university. However, that proceeding would rely on the joint employment doctrine, in which an individual is deemed to be employed by a secondary employer—in this case, the NCAA or Pac-12—if that entity wields significant power over the terms and conditions of the individual’s employment.” (link)
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