Article: UVA's Sullivan (not Brandon) leading candidate to replace Coleman as UofM President
Basically just says that UVA's President Therea Sullivan is the favorite to replace Mary Sue Coleman as Michigan's President, not Dave Brandon. There is a contingent that wants to see Brandon in that role.
He might try to change the school colors or something.
Very tiresome. I might be a bit wary too.
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Anyone who pushes for Dave Brandon for president (or thinks he would be a good pick) does not understand academia.
"Understanding academia" means being a creature of the system. Sullivan is that already - no fundamental change will occur on her watch.
What fundamental change do you feel is necessary?
Glad to see I was on point with my Diary last month
The only knock against Sullivan is her age which isn't outlandish (63). It means she likely won't be around as long as MSC was unless she wants to work well into her 70's.
She's the natural top pick.
Sullivan made national headlines last year when she was briefly ousted as president by UV's governing board over philosophical differences but was quickly reinstated after escalating protests by students, faculty and alumni.
Minus one million?
Would be a dark era for the University. MSC already ran UM like a private university - I shudder to think about Brandon in charge, making education even less affordable.
Just look at the absolute dollars the state of Michigan is giving to the University and you will see why it is that way.
That's the party line, but it's far from the only reason. The university has never seriously looked to reign in administrative costs. It has continually passed the buck onto the consumer (the students).
Michigan is 9th of 14 in the conference in administrative spending as a percentage of total.
http://graphics.wsj.com/documents/NONCLASS1212/
It's quite possible that differing definitions of "administrative" play a role in this ranking.
Did anyone actually believe DB was a serious candidate?
Sullivan has made the most sense from the start, moreso since the UVA debacle
I still think he IS...it may not be a big enough support group, but I think there are definitely some supporters.
Especially if those supporters are your Al Glick's of the world, because they've given as much or more than many other people in the University.
I agree that Brandon needs to stay as AD, but I can see why people would want him as President. He ran and was CEO of a multimillion dollar cooperation, he's done a phenominal job with the athletics department, his ties to the State of Michigan (government wise), etc.
It's not a bad choice, I just don't think it's the "right" choice.
"[Brandon's] not a bad choice"
It frightens me that there are people out there with this opinion.
All right, I'll bite. In a limited way, because I'm not sure what you're referring to but I have a feeling some people may not recall DB's experience at the U.
In many ways, he is NOT a bad choice. He was a Regent, a major fundraiser, and now the AD--he has a better view of this university's major operations than most candidates.
That said, in one crucial way he IS indeed a bad choice. That's his background: he's not a PhD with faculty experience. At a school like Michigan, you HAVE to have an academic at the helm.
So he is not qualified on that score and I'd shocked into next week if he were a serious candidate. But outside of this, I think his experience and knowledge of the University are major assets, and that's true even if I am pissed off about curly fries at the Big Chill or uniform shenanigans. Given his experience he might be a good candidate at another university, not that I have any reason to assume he'd be interested in that kind of job.
It's not that I don't recall it, it's that I don't think it's relevant/ he's not an academic. Worse, he comes from a business background. While fundraising is a significant part of the job, a University president is NOT a CEO.
Maybe it's time to put someone in place who has some experience cutting costs and actually managing expenses, rather than "academia". Tuition has doubled in the past two decades... has the education gotten two times better? Put Ron Swanson in charge and attack the University expense report with a dull machete.
and into the REAL world which Dave Brandon could handle masterfully.
"Maybe it's time to get academia out of the clouds and into the REAL world..."
It's frightening to me because people who express sentiments like this are often committed to a particular view on the purpose of undergraduate education that is openly hostile and dangerous to my view (a view that I feel very strongly about). While the people who say things like this typically mean to say something like "we really ought to bring down the cost of education," my point (without getting too involved with the politics of things) is that there are other positions about academia that usually accompany that (very reasonable) position. Also, Michigan is way too high profile an institution to bother risking someone unproven changing fields.
There are many reasons why it would frighten me (too many to list here), but those are the ones that your specific questions/comments bring to mind for me.
enormously successful in whatever endeavor he tried. He was a member of the Board of Regents, has the Athletic Dept. turned around and is a great fund raiser.
Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, a president of a prestigious university must be all the things DB has been or is.
I certainly understand and appreciate the theory that Michigans president must come from academia but I do think he deserves serious consideration.
I wonder how MSC thinks of DB becoming the president!?
You and I read that differently. Where does it say that she's the favorite? All I see is that she's "a favorite of many on the UM faculty."
I've actually read multiple places that she's the "leader" or "favorite"...I just linked this article because of the athletics connect to Brandon.
1st Team:
Lewan
2nd Team:
Gallon
3rd Team
Devin Gardner
Quinton Washington
Frank Clark
Desmond Morgan
4th Team
Derrick Green
Devin Funchess
Michael Schofield
has an undergrad degree from MSU.
Regardless of "supporters," I seriouly doubt anyone involved in selecting the next president considers Dave Brandon a viable option.
I'd rather see Marvin Krizlov, personally.
I have something hard to introduce to the top of their skulls...
If you think coaching searches are run in a tight-lipped manner, you have no idea how guarded this process will be. Interviews will be at undisclosed locations (unrelated to any of the parties involved), any information that the press gets will be misinformation or speculation, etc. I was intimately involved in the 2002 process when MSC was hired, and if you don't believe me regarding the usefulness of these rumors, look back to see what the scuttlebutt was then and how "off" it was.
I was awed then to see the caliber of candidate UM received for its presidency (presidents of other top-flight universities, US cabinet members, etc.) and you can rest assured that any and all athletic directors are off the table, definitely, no ifs, ands or buts.
AD's have about as much business being University Presidents as University Presidents have being AD's.
Besides questioning what lazy numbskull thinks "UV" is the proper abbreviation, I'd have to say I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Sullivan wanted to make this move. Helen Dragas has not stopped being a raging demon-bitch.
By the way, though, the article does not say she is a leading candidate. It says that the U-M faculty thinks she'd be a good choice. I don't think that makes her much more of an actual candidate than Brandon.
raging demon-bitch is accurate from everything I've read about her.
The chances of David Brandon becoming UM President are the same as for Louisville or Cincinnati joining the Big Ten. I disagree with plenty of his decisions, but overall I think he's been a very solid AD. That's where he belongs, not in the President's office.
I do think eventually he'll run for office, though.
It should be obvious Brandon couldn't do this (serve as UofM president.) You have to have a real doctorate, and real University teaching experience, and real University administrative experience, in order to serve as a University President. Brandon doesn't have a PhD, and because of that wouldn't be qualified to teach, and wouldn't be able to oversee an academic institution.
I think that Brandon comes in for more grief than he deserves, but anyone afraid of Brandon being considered as president has succumbted to the tin foil hat hysteria out there.
Brandon can continue as AD, could go back into business, could go into politics, but not academia.
Literally every one, from Monteith to Mary Sue, spent their entire careers in academia as professors, and in several cases upper academic administration. Not a single one came from a business or sports background, and that will not change with MSC's successor. Football (or your favorite sport) may arouse the most passion, but athletics is not the biggest part of the University of Michigan, nor the most important.
"Brandon's response to the chatter on Mackinac? "Dave will not respond to rumors that lack any basis of fact," said UM Athletic Director Dave Brandon."
Sullivan seemed to "win" the public PR battle with the trustees at UVA. Her ouster then reinstatement came off as 0% her fault and 100% their fault. Still, where there's smoke there's fire.... The fact that she looked like the victim in that process, I still would think any school looking at her will have to go all un-Rutgers in the due diligence there.
and will pass with flying colors. Yes, where there's smoke, there's fire...and in this case, the only "fire" was a wealthy regent trying to swing her weight around and morphing into Cthulu in the process. Sullivan tried to do her job well and they tried to burn her for it.
Sullivan was previously at UM in a fairly high administrative role. I want to say she was provost of some sort (off the top of my head). She's got experience working from the academic side.
If you were sullivan, why on earth would you want to stay there?
Sullivan makes sense. She really seemed to relish her time at Michigan as Provost, and I don't doubt she would return here in a heartbeat especially given the tire fire the Board of Visitors put her through at UVa.