Thursday, August 6, 2015
Runnerup debate: some badly thrown walkoff wild pitches
Having just suffered the hyped Fox "presidential 'debate" from Cleveland for the Republican candidates who didn't make the cut, I would say it didn't quite rise above the walkoff wild pitch that cost the Indians another game the day before. So where was the debate?
UA Trustees: Take a walk instead of striking out
The absolute ruie in baseball is, three strikes and you're out. Unfortunately, university governance is not baseball and the current regime at the University of Akron may well already be at four or five strikes. But the umpires, which include the Board of Trustees and local editorial pages, forever tilt in favor of the ones who fouled off several pitches before an out call, which may never arrive anyway.
Even the former regime of Luis Proenza is getting a half-million dollar salary after leading the school into a swamp of red ink. And his succssor, Scott Scarborough, another near-half-million dollar man, laid down a sacred text that made matters worse. All the while the gatekeepers for many millions in public money, the Board of Trustees, might just as well have phoned in their approving votes.
As a journalist for more than a half century, I never thought I would be driven to write such acidic words about a university where people are usually taught to think. But, folks, it's your money, too, that was so scandalously ignored (Did you read that a painter told the BJ that the crew was told to lower speakers two inches in the million-dollar makeover of the new president's home, tearing up walls that had to be repainted? The painter was among those who lost his job in the budget cuts.)
Did I say three strikes? In launching its hunt-and-peck "plan" to reduce UA's $60 million debt., the front office (1) first announced that it would not change the school's name, and then proceeded to do so; (2) moved to add a $50 levy on every upper range credit hour before rescinding it after a campus uproar; (3)declared that it would all but close E. J. Thomas Hall by ending all non-academic performances there, and then say never mind, it will be business as usual at the area's finest culture center.
We await word from the regime's hall of smoke and mirrors regarding the shutdown of the UA Press and transferral of its now- director-less operation to the campus library. In an letter from the UA Press Board (Published by Grumpy Abe) a spokesperson noted that the Association of American University Presses requires a fulltime director and three employes to earn recognition as a "legitimate academic publisher." _It is protesting the closure at the deep-thinking Board of Trustees next meeting on Aug. 12.
C'mon gatekeepers. It's not that unrealistic to expect you to read the fine print. Instead of striking out, it might be better instead if you simply took a walk.
As I've asked before: When does a university stop being a university?
Even the former regime of Luis Proenza is getting a half-million dollar salary after leading the school into a swamp of red ink. And his succssor, Scott Scarborough, another near-half-million dollar man, laid down a sacred text that made matters worse. All the while the gatekeepers for many millions in public money, the Board of Trustees, might just as well have phoned in their approving votes.
As a journalist for more than a half century, I never thought I would be driven to write such acidic words about a university where people are usually taught to think. But, folks, it's your money, too, that was so scandalously ignored (Did you read that a painter told the BJ that the crew was told to lower speakers two inches in the million-dollar makeover of the new president's home, tearing up walls that had to be repainted? The painter was among those who lost his job in the budget cuts.)
Did I say three strikes? In launching its hunt-and-peck "plan" to reduce UA's $60 million debt., the front office (1) first announced that it would not change the school's name, and then proceeded to do so; (2) moved to add a $50 levy on every upper range credit hour before rescinding it after a campus uproar; (3)declared that it would all but close E. J. Thomas Hall by ending all non-academic performances there, and then say never mind, it will be business as usual at the area's finest culture center.
We await word from the regime's hall of smoke and mirrors regarding the shutdown of the UA Press and transferral of its now- director-less operation to the campus library. In an letter from the UA Press Board (Published by Grumpy Abe) a spokesperson noted that the Association of American University Presses requires a fulltime director and three employes to earn recognition as a "legitimate academic publisher." _It is protesting the closure at the deep-thinking Board of Trustees next meeting on Aug. 12.
C'mon gatekeepers. It's not that unrealistic to expect you to read the fine print. Instead of striking out, it might be better instead if you simply took a walk.
As I've asked before: When does a university stop being a university?
Kasich linked nationally as in charter school scandal
With Gov. Kasich beginning to levitate in the stretch before the "debate", the national media are finally taking a closer look at his dark side back in Columbus. Until now they have offered the short course of the governor's overwhelming reelection without mentioning his phantom opponent. .
But the Huff Post Blog, as well as the Washington Post, riddled his image with a piece exposing to the rest of the nation what we have been talking about for a long time - his deference to major Republican contributors in Ohio's messy billion-dollar charter school industry.
Kasich's total lack of honesty in his promises to bring more accountability and rein in charter schools is being described as "scandalous". Indeed, despite the wretched charter record in Ohio, Team Kasich actually increased its state funding.
The Huffington Post article's author, John A. Tures, a political science professor at LaGrange College in Georgia, pointed to the heavy influence by leading Republican donors.
"During the 2014 election, three of Kasich's top donors were charter school operator David Brennan and his wife, Ann, and Brennan's company CEO, all of whom donated thousands of dollars," Tures writes.
For those of us back home, that comes as no surprise. Brennan not only has emerged as the biggest Republican donor in the state, he has even reminded by personal letter the Republican legislature of their need to satisfy his grip on the charter school system. Brennan has built his company White Hat Management into a commanding political behemoth.
Tures also drew upon the Washington Post reference to Kasich's generosity in pleasing donors, slashing public school funding by a half billion dollars, so that the state now pays more for each charter student than it does for a public school student.
It gets even stickier. How much will our governor have to say about the husband of Beth Hansen, his former chief of staff and current campaign manager? Hubby David, former agency director of school choice, resigned after it was discovered that he was omitting charter test scores for the poorest students so they didn't weigh on the total score of the school.
I can see Kasich's opponents in the race taking ample notes on the Wunderkind space shot from Buckeyeland. Clip and save.
But the Huff Post Blog, as well as the Washington Post, riddled his image with a piece exposing to the rest of the nation what we have been talking about for a long time - his deference to major Republican contributors in Ohio's messy billion-dollar charter school industry.
Kasich's total lack of honesty in his promises to bring more accountability and rein in charter schools is being described as "scandalous". Indeed, despite the wretched charter record in Ohio, Team Kasich actually increased its state funding.
The Huffington Post article's author, John A. Tures, a political science professor at LaGrange College in Georgia, pointed to the heavy influence by leading Republican donors.
"During the 2014 election, three of Kasich's top donors were charter school operator David Brennan and his wife, Ann, and Brennan's company CEO, all of whom donated thousands of dollars," Tures writes.
For those of us back home, that comes as no surprise. Brennan not only has emerged as the biggest Republican donor in the state, he has even reminded by personal letter the Republican legislature of their need to satisfy his grip on the charter school system. Brennan has built his company White Hat Management into a commanding political behemoth.
Tures also drew upon the Washington Post reference to Kasich's generosity in pleasing donors, slashing public school funding by a half billion dollars, so that the state now pays more for each charter student than it does for a public school student.
It gets even stickier. How much will our governor have to say about the husband of Beth Hansen, his former chief of staff and current campaign manager? Hubby David, former agency director of school choice, resigned after it was discovered that he was omitting charter test scores for the poorest students so they didn't weigh on the total score of the school.
I can see Kasich's opponents in the race taking ample notes on the Wunderkind space shot from Buckeyeland. Clip and save.
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Time to go to bat for the UA Press
From the mailbag by UA Press Board member Kevin Kern:
Dear Mr. Zaidan,
As you may have heard, the President and Board of Trustees at the University of Akron have chosen to lay off the director and staff of the University of Akron Press. They later claimed that they were not closing the Press, and that Press operations were going to be transferred to an already understaffed library. But because the Association of American University Presses requires that its member presses all have a director and at least three employees, this policy would mean the end of the University of Akron Press as a legitimate academic publisher, compromising any titles that might be published by it.
We, the members of the UA Press Board, believe this decision ought to be reversed. To do so, we are asking for your help. As an author published by the UA Press, you can speak from a unique position in advocating for the restoration of the Press. This would include—but is not limited to—sharing the Save The UA Press Facebook page with your friends and social media, letters to the editor, op-eds, comments on stories online, and especially letters to the president, letters to the trustees, and a willingness to come to events. We believe that the President and the Board of Trustees did not fully understand the significance of the Press or the potential ramifications of their actions when they made their decision. We would like your help in explaining to them and to the public about why reversing it is in the best interest the University, the community, and the wider academic publishing world.
There will be a protest in front of the Board of Trustees meeting on August 12. The more media attention, letters, and editorials that we can generate by then, the stronger the argument will be for them to restore the Press.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. Thank you for your time and any efforts you may be able to spare on behalf of the UA Press.
Sincerely,
The University of Akron Press Board
Dear Mr. Zaidan,
As you may have heard, the President and Board of Trustees at the University of Akron have chosen to lay off the director and staff of the University of Akron Press. They later claimed that they were not closing the Press, and that Press operations were going to be transferred to an already understaffed library. But because the Association of American University Presses requires that its member presses all have a director and at least three employees, this policy would mean the end of the University of Akron Press as a legitimate academic publisher, compromising any titles that might be published by it.
We, the members of the UA Press Board, believe this decision ought to be reversed. To do so, we are asking for your help. As an author published by the UA Press, you can speak from a unique position in advocating for the restoration of the Press. This would include—but is not limited to—sharing the Save The UA Press Facebook page with your friends and social media, letters to the editor, op-eds, comments on stories online, and especially letters to the president, letters to the trustees, and a willingness to come to events. We believe that the President and the Board of Trustees did not fully understand the significance of the Press or the potential ramifications of their actions when they made their decision. We would like your help in explaining to them and to the public about why reversing it is in the best interest the University, the community, and the wider academic publishing world.
There will be a protest in front of the Board of Trustees meeting on August 12. The more media attention, letters, and editorials that we can generate by then, the stronger the argument will be for them to restore the Press.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. Thank you for your time and any efforts you may be able to spare on behalf of the UA Press.
Sincerely,
The University of Akron Press Board
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
President house rebranded into catbird seat
About that house: The University of Akron's obsession to rebrand itself leads me to rename the president's home as the Catbird Seat. It is a dream of wish fulfillment accorded more and more to university presidents these days. With so much money - nearly a million dollars - spent on renovating the UA property, you'd think the president of the United States was moving in with his family. UA President Scott Scarborough walked away from his job interview with a colossal deal, from spiffy quarters for his inlaws to a $556.40 olive jar while the UA leaders were pleading poverty.
Along with other questionable payouts, the school's spending spree exposed the servile Board of Trustees not only as rubbery stamps but also as a a useless cancelled postage stamp, serving at the will of a president that it somehow decided to hire, despite a rickety track record .
Some faculty people say it was either Scarborough or Jim Tressel, so there really wasn't an option But it does raise another question as to how a campus that was so free to offer a new president $450,000 and endless perks failed to draw a standing- room-only crowd of applicants from academia. Was it because UA ranked so low on the collegiate scale that folks simply wanted to enhance their careers elsewhere?
So Scarborough got what he wanted, even if the generous trustees with a top-heavy Republican majority blindly acted as if their school's destiny lay solely in his hands.
You don't hear that very much from the brain trusts on the Beacon Journal's editorial page It has become an apologist for the new regime and its latest editorial to that effect appeared under a pleading headline: UA has a good plan. It really does. The "really does" part weakly suggested that it needed a bracing modifier to support the "good plan".
Although some articles in the paper, along with Bob Dyer's column, have pointed out the gaps in the regime's armor back at the catbird seat, the ed page advises the readers that there are good things going to happen now that Team Scarborough is on the scene with a plan for the "university moving forward in a credible and promising way."
It's unkind and nitpicking, I know, but I keep thinking of that olive vase adorning the House of Scarborough. Good luck on that, campus. But first you must behave yourself.
.
Along with other questionable payouts, the school's spending spree exposed the servile Board of Trustees not only as rubbery stamps but also as a a useless cancelled postage stamp, serving at the will of a president that it somehow decided to hire, despite a rickety track record .
Some faculty people say it was either Scarborough or Jim Tressel, so there really wasn't an option But it does raise another question as to how a campus that was so free to offer a new president $450,000 and endless perks failed to draw a standing- room-only crowd of applicants from academia. Was it because UA ranked so low on the collegiate scale that folks simply wanted to enhance their careers elsewhere?
So Scarborough got what he wanted, even if the generous trustees with a top-heavy Republican majority blindly acted as if their school's destiny lay solely in his hands.
You don't hear that very much from the brain trusts on the Beacon Journal's editorial page It has become an apologist for the new regime and its latest editorial to that effect appeared under a pleading headline: UA has a good plan. It really does. The "really does" part weakly suggested that it needed a bracing modifier to support the "good plan".
Although some articles in the paper, along with Bob Dyer's column, have pointed out the gaps in the regime's armor back at the catbird seat, the ed page advises the readers that there are good things going to happen now that Team Scarborough is on the scene with a plan for the "university moving forward in a credible and promising way."
It's unkind and nitpicking, I know, but I keep thinking of that olive vase adorning the House of Scarborough. Good luck on that, campus. But first you must behave yourself.
.
The GOP debates: Martians land in Cleveland
Lock your doors. There will be a Martian landing in Cleveland Thursday night. In clown capsules. It must be the real thing this time because Orson Welles has been dead for nearly 30 years.
I refer to the arrival of the hysterically heralded Fox "debate" of the people's choices for the Republican presidential nomination. These things used to be so simple. Lincoln vs. Douglas. Kennedy vs. Nixon. Obama vs. McCain. Blah blah blah. Today, anyone with a Photo ID can run in a Republican primary. Unfortunately, many do.
They'll be at The Q., the great hall where LeBron James, who needs no Photo ID, holds forth on many nights. The opening bell will ring on the sold-out on-stage gathering of mostly eager white guys in black suits who will appear as a lengthy bar graph. Each has already carefully prepared the zingers for not only the others in the phalanx but also for Barack Obama, whom they have yet to discover isn't running.
For Cleveland, and the media, the public attention couldn't have come at a better time and the city is making the most of its newly found existence. After all, the Indians have already clogged their season and reside in last place. And the Browns are consumed by turning a quarterback into a wide receiver while the coach assures us that Terrelle Pryior has a good work ethic. (Some in the high command say it might even work.) And then, of course, there is the algae curse, the debate notwithstanding.
The media have been exercising their own work ethic with extraordinary attention to an election that is more than 15 months away. There was even some published advice to the candidates on what they must do to help their cause in the debate. Filler material, we used to call it in the biz, to assure the reader that we're payng attention.
C'mon. Can you imagine Donald Trump and John Kasich bowing gratefully for the concern for their future, particularly with Trump running like Sea Biscuit with a flowing mane, and Kasich now all the way up to 3 pct popular approval? Besides, Kasich insists that he never reads newspapers anyway.
So what this all tells us is that the 2016 presidential race will be 97 pct. of media-kneaded speculation on the contest and a three percent evaluation of Terrelle Pryor.
You may want to find something to do on Friday because most of the pundits will be eager to tell us who "won". Won?
I refer to the arrival of the hysterically heralded Fox "debate" of the people's choices for the Republican presidential nomination. These things used to be so simple. Lincoln vs. Douglas. Kennedy vs. Nixon. Obama vs. McCain. Blah blah blah. Today, anyone with a Photo ID can run in a Republican primary. Unfortunately, many do.
They'll be at The Q., the great hall where LeBron James, who needs no Photo ID, holds forth on many nights. The opening bell will ring on the sold-out on-stage gathering of mostly eager white guys in black suits who will appear as a lengthy bar graph. Each has already carefully prepared the zingers for not only the others in the phalanx but also for Barack Obama, whom they have yet to discover isn't running.
For Cleveland, and the media, the public attention couldn't have come at a better time and the city is making the most of its newly found existence. After all, the Indians have already clogged their season and reside in last place. And the Browns are consumed by turning a quarterback into a wide receiver while the coach assures us that Terrelle Pryior has a good work ethic. (Some in the high command say it might even work.) And then, of course, there is the algae curse, the debate notwithstanding.
The media have been exercising their own work ethic with extraordinary attention to an election that is more than 15 months away. There was even some published advice to the candidates on what they must do to help their cause in the debate. Filler material, we used to call it in the biz, to assure the reader that we're payng attention.
C'mon. Can you imagine Donald Trump and John Kasich bowing gratefully for the concern for their future, particularly with Trump running like Sea Biscuit with a flowing mane, and Kasich now all the way up to 3 pct popular approval? Besides, Kasich insists that he never reads newspapers anyway.
So what this all tells us is that the 2016 presidential race will be 97 pct. of media-kneaded speculation on the contest and a three percent evaluation of Terrelle Pryor.
You may want to find something to do on Friday because most of the pundits will be eager to tell us who "won". Won?
Monday, August 3, 2015
A UA president's house can become his castle
The cost of house renovations is going up. That's particularly true when it's the University of Akron president's house, as you are about to see.
Karen Farkas of the Northeast Ohio Media Group reported today that the bill has come to $950,000 so far.
University sources say some of the cost was covered by private donations. Oh? OK, let's have it. Who are they? Or in the effort to rebrand, has the leadership forgotten that UA is a public entity.
As Farkas noted, UA officials said the repairs were much needed, having been neglected for 15 years. Somehow, it's hard to believe that former president Luis Proenza, a fellow who always sought the very best, could have suffered such neglect for so long. But he didn't require the conversion of two bedrooms into a master suite for Scott Scarborough's inlaws.
Farkas reported that Taylor Construction and Stathos construction "were paid a total of $375,000 for electrical, heating, plumbing and renovations including the conversion of two bedrooms into a master suite".
Lawrence Burns, the new UA vice president of advancement who, like Scarborough, came from the University of Toledo, attempted to justify the expenditures when the university's internals were awash in debt.. Burns said the work was a 20-year investment. In that case, perhaps the next' president's inlaws would also enjoy the updates without further investment .
Trustees chairman Jonathan Pavloff also approved the heavy spending, saying it would enhance "university fund-raising and relationship building."
Relationship building? Why do I feel that I'm falling well behind in understanding such institutional terms? My world turns on leaky faucets and flickering light bulbs.
Karen Farkas of the Northeast Ohio Media Group reported today that the bill has come to $950,000 so far.
University sources say some of the cost was covered by private donations. Oh? OK, let's have it. Who are they? Or in the effort to rebrand, has the leadership forgotten that UA is a public entity.
As Farkas noted, UA officials said the repairs were much needed, having been neglected for 15 years. Somehow, it's hard to believe that former president Luis Proenza, a fellow who always sought the very best, could have suffered such neglect for so long. But he didn't require the conversion of two bedrooms into a master suite for Scott Scarborough's inlaws.
Farkas reported that Taylor Construction and Stathos construction "were paid a total of $375,000 for electrical, heating, plumbing and renovations including the conversion of two bedrooms into a master suite".
Lawrence Burns, the new UA vice president of advancement who, like Scarborough, came from the University of Toledo, attempted to justify the expenditures when the university's internals were awash in debt.. Burns said the work was a 20-year investment. In that case, perhaps the next' president's inlaws would also enjoy the updates without further investment .
Trustees chairman Jonathan Pavloff also approved the heavy spending, saying it would enhance "university fund-raising and relationship building."
Relationship building? Why do I feel that I'm falling well behind in understanding such institutional terms? My world turns on leaky faucets and flickering light bulbs.
Sunday, August 2, 2015
Are UA brass really listening to the outcry?
Seems like a lot of outraged people are having their say about the decline and pall of the University of Akron. Any carefully orchestrated effort to contain the damage by the UA leadership has already failed as the bush league plan to eliminate the school's debt has already gone coastal through the academic grapevine and published out-of-town reports. Never thought that I would hear the two TV guys doing the Cleveland Indians games grumbling about the loss of the school's baseball team.
Team Scarborough badly muffed the situation with a series of sophomoric revisions to campus and city life, not the least of which was the summary execution of E. J. Thomas Hall, a community treasure that belonged as much to the public as it did to UA. Imported hired guns like Scott Scarborough, or course, could not have shared the same hometown attachment to the hall as the arts denizens from all around. But didn't he consider the name on the building, Eddie Thomas, the Goodyear chairman who put up $1.25 million, and John S.Knight, who added $500,000 and later, the Knight Foundation, another million. No, I fear that he didn't. (InfoCision, by the way, will remain the name of the football stadium.)
The thudding blitz on the University turned out to make matters much worse for the new regime that wss rebranding the campus to...what?
The institutional excuse was that the school is in debt - as it has been for more than a decade - and that had priority over all other matters. (Haven't heard anybody denying that it was in debt.) But the various hunt-and-peck responses revealed the costs of the stadium as a metaphor for the hefty UA payrolls at the top. In February, the school hired three administrators - two from Scarborough's former University of Toledo for a total of more than $800,000.
So far, Scarborough has doubtless enjoyed the benefit of Winsocki pep talks from insiders who never seem to relate to human fallout. That would include the editorial page of the Beacon Journal, which credited a quick strike on the debt as the means to avoid "lingering morale problems". Once again the local Ivory Tower resorted to cognitive dissonance, as it does too often with its political endorsements so many times.
The paper declared UA " fumbled the handling in too many ways" - wothout naming names. And it described the building of a new football stadium as a "mistake".. Anybody remember the rockets' glare when the stadium was born, including breathless "WOW's' by former President Luis Proenza and seconded by the town's only daily newspaper. The BJ's brain trust shamefully stressed that the brass did what it had to do. Columnist Bob Dyer showed us the upside of competent journalism.
Finally, about the trustees. They are political appointees, many simply to upgrade their resumes, who have had an "in" with county chairmen who recommend them. They have been eerily silent since they approved of the un-fail-safe plan. If you know any of them, or bump into one at the town's better restaurants, you might ask them about the mess they helped create. Their names appear on the Board's homepage. But I'll save you the trouble of looking them up:
Jonathan Pavloff, chair; Jennifer Blickle, vice chair; Alfred V. Ciraldo; Ralph Palmisano; Roland Bauer, vice chair; Olivia Demas, Warren Woolford, Richard Pogue, advisor to the powerhouse Cleveland firm of Jones Day.
They would prefer not to hear from you. But that doesn't really matter, does it?
Team Scarborough badly muffed the situation with a series of sophomoric revisions to campus and city life, not the least of which was the summary execution of E. J. Thomas Hall, a community treasure that belonged as much to the public as it did to UA. Imported hired guns like Scott Scarborough, or course, could not have shared the same hometown attachment to the hall as the arts denizens from all around. But didn't he consider the name on the building, Eddie Thomas, the Goodyear chairman who put up $1.25 million, and John S.Knight, who added $500,000 and later, the Knight Foundation, another million. No, I fear that he didn't. (InfoCision, by the way, will remain the name of the football stadium.)
The thudding blitz on the University turned out to make matters much worse for the new regime that wss rebranding the campus to...what?
The institutional excuse was that the school is in debt - as it has been for more than a decade - and that had priority over all other matters. (Haven't heard anybody denying that it was in debt.) But the various hunt-and-peck responses revealed the costs of the stadium as a metaphor for the hefty UA payrolls at the top. In February, the school hired three administrators - two from Scarborough's former University of Toledo for a total of more than $800,000.
So far, Scarborough has doubtless enjoyed the benefit of Winsocki pep talks from insiders who never seem to relate to human fallout. That would include the editorial page of the Beacon Journal, which credited a quick strike on the debt as the means to avoid "lingering morale problems". Once again the local Ivory Tower resorted to cognitive dissonance, as it does too often with its political endorsements so many times.
The paper declared UA " fumbled the handling in too many ways" - wothout naming names. And it described the building of a new football stadium as a "mistake".. Anybody remember the rockets' glare when the stadium was born, including breathless "WOW's' by former President Luis Proenza and seconded by the town's only daily newspaper. The BJ's brain trust shamefully stressed that the brass did what it had to do. Columnist Bob Dyer showed us the upside of competent journalism.
Finally, about the trustees. They are political appointees, many simply to upgrade their resumes, who have had an "in" with county chairmen who recommend them. They have been eerily silent since they approved of the un-fail-safe plan. If you know any of them, or bump into one at the town's better restaurants, you might ask them about the mess they helped create. Their names appear on the Board's homepage. But I'll save you the trouble of looking them up:
Jonathan Pavloff, chair; Jennifer Blickle, vice chair; Alfred V. Ciraldo; Ralph Palmisano; Roland Bauer, vice chair; Olivia Demas, Warren Woolford, Richard Pogue, advisor to the powerhouse Cleveland firm of Jones Day.
They would prefer not to hear from you. But that doesn't really matter, does it?
Saturday, August 1, 2015
Ready for a coaching job? No, not Tressel's
For any of you who enjoys reading fine print, this is from Trust Navigator's proposal to UA on successg coaches. God knows, I couldn't have written it.. It's exciting campus life ,possibly with Zip football tickets included.
14. Describe how the project will be implemented and the timeframe met as described herein.
See the enclosed one‐page Success Coach Implementation timeline, Appendix Exhibit B. The biggest challenge is staffing, training and process integration from July through December. Hiring criteria has yet to be finalized with the University as well as many processes that simply cannot be determined without cooperative discussion and some trial and error. The short runway before orientation emphasizes prioritization that cannot be determined without more discovery. While not knowing exact budget considerations, the potential of limited resources and limited preparation means more focused measurements and timelines need to be agreed to and accelerated in this partnership. Accountable and ongoing expectations are the TrustNavigator objective in Success Coaching and the more global program that can be developed at the University of Akron with this initiative. Much further discovery, cooperation and integration of resources are the next steps to satisfy an honest implementation plan.
15. Cost
TrustNavigator expects to pay each Success Coach $28,000 plus an approximate 30% benefit allowance. Based on a 40 hour week and other responsibilities the average Success Coach can work with 150‐225 students if meeting with them monthly for a half hour. This is defined by hours available to allow for 50‐60 appointments per week. This is a heavy workload and most probably stretching the limit of burnout risk. Student Ambassadors to help with scheduling and organizing logistics and other activities is a way to make this potentially feasible. Getting to 20 coaches with a full time commitment of an HR staff member and a great deal of University assistance and cooperation takes a minimum budget with some supervisory allocation to approximately $70,000 a month but more likely higher as the full staff is assembled. We will work with the University to understand how any additional expenses can be shared as well as equipment, technology and soft costs.
Plusquellic's back, and good for that!
"I'm back!" the animated man in a loose-fitting patterned shirt and jaunty hat exclaimed with a broad smile. As I approached him on the sidewalk outside the Uncorked Wine Bar downtown, he repeated: "I"m back in my city."
Well, yes. Deeply tanned, apparently well-rested from his tortured exit and no longer in his dark mayoral suit, Don Plusquellic was mingling with others , one of whom asked him to take off his hat. When he did, it revealed a brush cut that had replaced his carefully groomed white hair that was a trademark of his Hollywood persona at City Hall. It was then that you came to realize that now out of the office he had occupied for 28 years, he was indeed tailoring hmself for a new life in the city.
Inside the noisy bar, a large crowd had come to the reception for Pete Nischt, the rising young Democratic party executive director who announced his candidacy for the Akron school board. The event was hosted by County Executive Russ Pry, who sat unobtrusively at the rear of the long narrow room to observe the festivities..
Nischt will need all of the support that he can muster in a three-way race involving Debbie Walsh, Alex Arshinkoff's executive director at county Republican headquarters and Ernie Tarle, Plusquellic's nemesis. Need I say more?
Although the former mayor said he might take some time to work for Hillary Clinton in Iowa, his political presence doubtless will be felt in his hometown as well as the University of Akron campus. More than one person remarked that Team Scarborough might have had second thoughts about an amateurish rollout of job cuts that downsized the school's academic credibility had Plusquellic, a feisty soul, been in its face.
No fault of interim Mayor Jeff Fusco, nor interim Democratic chairman Sandra Kurt, both temporary caretakers of city or party business, the dominoes fell quickly in the post-Plusquellic scramble. So the party will need an infusion of kinetic energy for the forthcoming mayoral primary race pitting Dan Horrigan against Mike Williams and Frank Comunale. I'm told Williams, an African American and perennial candidate, is already trying to fashion the contest into a racially acute contest. If he persists, it will create two ugly camps that will divide a city with a progressive reputation in race relations.
The voters need to know the stakes as Akron approaches a critical decision for its future. So welcome back, Mr. Plusquellic. Is there anything you can do about the city that you have long voiced with pride?
Well, yes. Deeply tanned, apparently well-rested from his tortured exit and no longer in his dark mayoral suit, Don Plusquellic was mingling with others , one of whom asked him to take off his hat. When he did, it revealed a brush cut that had replaced his carefully groomed white hair that was a trademark of his Hollywood persona at City Hall. It was then that you came to realize that now out of the office he had occupied for 28 years, he was indeed tailoring hmself for a new life in the city.
Inside the noisy bar, a large crowd had come to the reception for Pete Nischt, the rising young Democratic party executive director who announced his candidacy for the Akron school board. The event was hosted by County Executive Russ Pry, who sat unobtrusively at the rear of the long narrow room to observe the festivities..
Nischt will need all of the support that he can muster in a three-way race involving Debbie Walsh, Alex Arshinkoff's executive director at county Republican headquarters and Ernie Tarle, Plusquellic's nemesis. Need I say more?
Although the former mayor said he might take some time to work for Hillary Clinton in Iowa, his political presence doubtless will be felt in his hometown as well as the University of Akron campus. More than one person remarked that Team Scarborough might have had second thoughts about an amateurish rollout of job cuts that downsized the school's academic credibility had Plusquellic, a feisty soul, been in its face.
No fault of interim Mayor Jeff Fusco, nor interim Democratic chairman Sandra Kurt, both temporary caretakers of city or party business, the dominoes fell quickly in the post-Plusquellic scramble. So the party will need an infusion of kinetic energy for the forthcoming mayoral primary race pitting Dan Horrigan against Mike Williams and Frank Comunale. I'm told Williams, an African American and perennial candidate, is already trying to fashion the contest into a racially acute contest. If he persists, it will create two ugly camps that will divide a city with a progressive reputation in race relations.
The voters need to know the stakes as Akron approaches a critical decision for its future. So welcome back, Mr. Plusquellic. Is there anything you can do about the city that you have long voiced with pride?
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