Colleges in Dire Financial Straits

[Hibush]

And at what point, after someone has had their incompetence pointed out, does their continuation in a particular course of action essentially become malfeasance?

This malfeasance is a sure road to dire financial straits. When a school suffers from that kind of leadership, would the it have a better chance of survival if the resolutely malevolent administrators were arrested, or personally sued if it's a civil offense?

The current path leads to a loss of accreditation when those leaders are unable and unwilling to fix things. Can the malfeasance be caught and remedied early enough in this procedure that the school is not in an unrecoverable financial pit by the time reliable administrators are in place.

[jimbogumbo]

Speaking of possible malfeasance: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2024/04/03/university-arizona-president-step-down

[Hibush]

Speaking of possible malfeasance: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2024/04/03/university-arizona-president-step-down

In this case the president and the regents are in trouble. The Board of Regents chair and the Executive Director are both out as well. The governor is outlining the malfeasance.
The poor Faculty Senate chair was sued by the regents president for suggesting his company was part of the problem.

At least this flaghsip university has the governor as an ally: Hobbs said, "I cannot be more clear: because of Chair Duval and the Board's actions, university employees are going to lose their jobs. Attacking faculty is not, and never will be, the answer."

[lightning]

The president of the beleaguered University of Arizona is only stepping down. He is not resigning. He's going to get paid (and probably paid his presidential salary until 2026). Robbins will be a lame duck doing jack squat, making a university president's money for at least a year and a half. The pitchforks need to come out.

[methodsman]

The president of the beleaguered University of Arizona is only stepping down. He is not resigning. He's going to get paid (and probably paid his presidential salary until 2026). Robbins will be a lame duck doing jack squat, making a university president's money for at least a year and a half. The pitchforks need to come out.

The pitch folks belong to Arizona State University. So perhaps the governor should make U of A a branch campus of ASU now.

[Hibush]

The president of the beleaguered University of Arizona is only stepping down. He is not resigning. He's going to get paid (and probably paid his presidential salary until 2026). Robbins will be a lame duck doing jack squat, making a university president's money for at least a year and a half. The pitchforks need to come out.

The pitch folks belong to Arizona State University. So perhaps the governor should make U of A a branch campus of ASU now.

The way ASU has been expanding, they wouldn't even burp after swallowing UofA. /s

The comments of the Faculty Senate Chair Leila Hudson have familiar elements of a school in distress without a plan.

Multiple full-time tenure or tenure-track faculty that have left are being replaced with a single visiting professor, and that some staff support roles in colleges are being reduced from three full-time employees to one part-time worker.

Labor, money and hopes were invested in many searches that have been cut short, and the effect of pulling back offers that have been made or rescinding open positions that people have applied for is terrible for our reputation. In short, morale is terrible and the personal stories of staff and faculty who have been terminated or anticipate terminations are painful to read.

Programs are being cut, especially interdisciplinary programs, which foreshadow the future of the academy. Small classes and studios are turning into large lecture classes as well.

[apl68]

According to an article I saw at IHE, during the departing head's watch they administratively loaned $55 million to the university's athletic program.  That money not being paid back as fast as it was supposed to be is apparently one factor in the budget debacle.  Seems like that gives the lie to the notion that athletics can be a cash cow, instead of a drain of resources from a university's true mission.

[spork]

[. . . ]

Can the malfeasance be caught and remedied early enough in this procedure that the school is not in an unrecoverable financial pit by the time reliable administrators are in place.

When the malfeasance is public, no one is "caught":

President and trustees of Mercyhurst decide to put the institution they lead on the path to bankruptcy by joining NCAA Division I.

[Hibush]

[. . . ]

Can the malfeasance be caught and remedied early enough in this procedure that the school is not in an unrecoverable financial pit by the time reliable administrators are in place.

When the malfeasance is public, no one is "caught":

President and trustees of Mercyhurst decide to put the institution they lead on the path to bankruptcy by joining NCAA Division I.

Division I schools can exploit athletes pretty badly, but offering them as sacrificial lambs is pretty extreme. Is that in keeping with the teachings of the Sisters of Mercy?  For increased revenue "Mercyhurst...expects to benefit from game guarantees, payments typically made by larger schools to smaller Division I opponents that travel to play them, most often in football and basketball."

[jimbogumbo]

[. . . ]

Can the malfeasance be caught and remedied early enough in this procedure that the school is not in an unrecoverable financial pit by the time reliable administrators are in place.

When the malfeasance is public, no one is "caught":

President and trustees of Mercyhurst decide to put the institution they lead on the path to bankruptcy by joining NCAA Division I.

Can't any of these people read? The financial data on D1 Athletics is consistently awful.

[onthefringe]

[. . . ]

Can the malfeasance be caught and remedied early enough in this procedure that the school is not in an unrecoverable financial pit by the time reliable administrators are in place.

When the malfeasance is public, no one is "caught":

President and trustees of Mercyhurst decide to put the institution they lead on the path to bankruptcy by joining NCAA Division I.

Can't any of these people read? The financial data on D1 Athletics is consistently awful.

Why would Mercyhurst not be one of the 8% of NCAA division 1 schools that have a net positive revenue? (/sarcasm)

[selecter]

[. . . ]

Can the malfeasance be caught and remedied early enough in this procedure that the school is not in an unrecoverable financial pit by the time reliable administrators are in place.

When the malfeasance is public, no one is "caught":

President and trustees of Mercyhurst decide to put the institution they lead on the path to bankruptcy by joining NCAA Division I.

Can't any of these people read? The financial data on D1 Athletics is consistently awful.

SO: it's just crazy enough to work!

[Ruralguy]

Everyone thinks they can be the exception, and at 8 % odds, some think the odds aren't all that bad!

[Wahoo Redux]

Everyone thinks they can be the exception, and at 8 % odds, some think the odds aren't all that bad!

My undergrad was saved by football.  It would be too much to say that it would have closed, I think, but their fortunes certainly changed and I think the campus would be a much different, much poorer place but for a series of bowl bids and some basketball prominence. They had a very successful season and a bowl bid and they just kept building the program.  I remember that the first bowl year the applications increased by something like 17% even though they lost.  There is a certain student who wants to attend a school with a big exciting sports profile, and of course some alumni are more inclined to donate, not to mention the national exposure a top sports program gets. 

This was what they used to call the Pac 10, so that might make a difference.

[larix]

Everyone thinks they can be the exception, and at 8 % odds, some think the odds aren't all that bad!

About the same odds as getting an NSF proposal funded, so why not