Is it Time to have the Schlissel Discussion? (Beyond Football)

I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt the good people of Ohio definitely want Shlissel out.  For good or bad he is being painted as the undisputed leader of the "no football" B1G President's club and again, for good or bad, it is thought down here his motivation for the closure is not really player safety (because Michigan is conducting in-person classes) but rather:

1. Political

2. To avoid Michigan getting curb-stomped by OSU yet again

This feels like a situation where people are complaing about the response to problem, when what they are really mad about is the problem itself.

Covid sucks. For everybody. There are no "good" options here - only bad options and worse options. But right or wrong, mad people are going to look for somebody blame.

I have lost all faith in him as a leader. The campus is in crisis for all the reasons you mentioned, and all he does publicly is post happy videos of himself on Twitter telling people to wear a mask.

The people who defend him seem only to point to the fact that he's exceedingly smart and that we just need to trust him.

He's just as poor a fit for Michigan as RichRod was.

I don't know enough to say with any certainty that Michigan is doing better than any other university in America, but this whole situation has definitely made me consider the question of the value of a four year degree if its all going online to begin with. Especially a Michigan degree.

I've got about 17 years before I have to worry about stroking a college tuition check for any one of my children, but I know if my kids were going to college right now, I'd be hard-pressed to drop 50K for one year of out of state tuition for an online education that is probably comparable to what they'd get down the road at Georgia State (we live in Atlanta) for 10-20% of the cost. I know that would be extremely hard to tell my kids, as I don't want them to have to settle on a school, but dropping 200k for a four year degree even in normal times is difficult to think about. Even with us contributing to a 529 every month. And we plan on having more than one kid. What the hell is tuition going to be in 17-18 years? Barring a dramatic shift in this country's thinking on education, tuition is only going to go up. 

I think you're going to see a big rise/return to trade or vocational schools in the coming years. Too many kids coming out of school racked with debt, with degrees that don't teach them any real-world applicable skills or anything that they'll actually need "on the job." Go to trade school to be an electrician, or be in IT, you're done in 1-2 years, minimal student debt (if any) that can be paid off in a few years, you learn real world skills that are directly translatable to the job, and you're making good money a few years out of school. 

I think Schliss is great, and Michigan is lucky to have him. He's the best we've had since Bollinger. Communication around COVID-19 decisions within the University (including with respect to the football team) has been poor. That's not entirely on him though. 

No. 

I lost all respect for Schlissel after it was revealed that he knew about earlier sexual misconduct allegations against Provost Philbert but decided not to act on them. There's really no excuse for such a cover-up. Surprised he hasn't resigned or been forced out yet.

#schlisselknew

Social media is a cancer. Why does everyone have to have an opinion about everything? 

GSIs seem to go on strike every couple of years, but RAs striking seems like a new thing.  To what extent Schlissel is responsible for that, I don't know, but I really don't see him getting out in front of these issues, as a university president probably should.

He also has his head football coach leading protests and telling reporters that Schlissel hasn't communicated with him once since the pandemic started, not even by text.  (Say what you want about Jim Harbaugh, but most agree that he's a pretty honest guy.  I don't think he'd make that up.)  Where is our university president?   

This is a man whose job consists to a substantial degree of getting in front of crowds and convincing them to give us money.  Where is that Schlissel now?  

Even if you agree with what he is doing (or is allegedly doing) . . . don't you think it would be a good idea for him to be a public presence right now?  

I get the sense that, like the man he fired (Dave Brandon), Schlissel fooled us at the outset with his "pimp hand."

He promoted an accused sex offender and claimed to not know about the issues. Either he lied or did very poor background checking.

He made a dumber decision than MSU did. That's, I mean, come on.

And this, which I've not seen posted here before, but I could easily have missed.

https://www.michigandaily.com/section/opinion/op-ed-university%E2%80%99s-summer-lies

Anyone who claims that playing football and opening colleges for in-person instruction isn't about putting money first is lying to themselves or others, or both.

It's time to pull the plug on Schlissel.

This guy comes from a series of Ivy League schools and just isn't prepared for some of the issues related to a Big Ten school and I state this even before Covid and Covid related cancellation of sports and Covid related issues with the Grad student union (none of which were handled well). He's run into trouble on a lot of issues with various segments of the student body already and he has to be called to task on the hiring (or failed hiring) of Provost Martin Philbert despite several already documented accusations of sexual malfeasance.  He's in over his head and should return to a smaller school.  

Now the faculty was preparing a no-confidence vote against Schlissel's administration.  Things are pretty screwed up and the Regents are going to be hesitant to act because most of them handpicked Schlissel.

He is in a difficult position, but trying to please everyone will end up pissing off everyone. He should make his mind what is more important, faculty/staff or students/alum.  

Things are coming apart at the seams for Schlissel. He's got many fires to put out, not just the lack of communication with Warde and Harbaugh. There are the strikes going on so I imagine the Regents have some serious thinking to do in the near future.

I don't feel sorry for Schlissel.

The U has changed greatly since I put my four years in.  The change happened over decades and several presidents.  I don’t like much of what I see now.

Yes, you were prescient.  Now is the time.