Inspired by the nearly $1 million makeover of University of Akron President Scott Scarborough & Family's new digs, I spent some time over the week end making my office more presentable by emptying files and wastebaskets.
Among the old clippings that turned up was a Beacon Journal piece dated July 19, 2014 reporting the projected cost of the renovation as $375,000. Ted Curtis, UA vice president of capital planning and facilities management, made it all seem worthwhile by saying "it's a great house in a wonderful neighborhood. Very solidly built." Not as solidly built was the rollout of the Team Scarborough's plan to cut UA debt.
Also quoted was Board of Trustees chairman Jonathan Pavloff , who noted that the trustees were "in agreement that the house is an appropriate piece of the presidential package". It was a reminder that the trustees were as useless then as they are now.
As we have come to learn, Curtis missed the mark by a cool half-million dollars, even if you leave out that notorious olive jar...
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Speaking of that jar, it could be reinstated with respect if it were offered as a trophy to the winner of the annual KSU-UA football game, much like the Michigan-Minnesota Little Brown Jug trophy. I know. UA and KSU already have a wagon wheel trophy. But who wants to reach for a wagon wheel to garnish a martini?
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At last week's Akron mayoral debate Democratic candidate Mike Williams, a longtime foe of former Mayor Don Plusquellic, talked of the improvements in downtown Akron over the past decade, sounding self-congratulatory as a city councilman. But he forgot to mention that most of these improvements were produced during the Plusquellic administration.
Showing posts with label Jonathan Pavloff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jonathan Pavloff. Show all posts
Monday, August 24, 2015
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Latest from the Front: Team Scarborough to the parapets! .
There was good news and bad news from President Scott Scarborough surrounding Wednesday's closely monitored meeting of the University of Akron's Board of Trustees. Yes, he said, to his many detractors who already knew it, mistakes were made during the turbulent rollout of the new regime's ill-conceived plan to erase the school's debt.
But as he told Akron Roundtable a year ago, he wanted his audience to know there was good news in the Bible. Quoting Psalm 30:5, he had said:
"Weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning."
He said he was confident "the sun will rise on our great university" - a reprise of Reagan's Morning in America, right? Well, so far, it hasn't.
Biblical or not, that won't be of much consolation to all of the folks who were cut from the ledgers and are now out of work. But a lot of people at Scarborough's pampered level don't seem to connect to those who are left behind when the Top Loaders come calling with big ideas.
When, as in Scarborough's case, you are being paid a half-million dollars with princely perks in the noble cause of debt reduction, you reduce humanity to winners and losers. I mean, when he spoke to the Akron Roundtable shortly after his arrival from Toledo last year, he smoothly rose to the podium with the sternest of advice to his newly acquired faculty with a demand that if they wanted to earn respect as serious-minded educators they must pick up trash.
Although not quite ready for Bartlett's, he explained his odd trash pickup philosophy:
"A person who is too important to pick up trash is probably too important to help a student who is struggling to understand an important concept or practice."
That struck me at the time as the broadest consideration of what higher education is all about with all of those messy career professors on the loose.
In this dark moment of UA history, however, he can rest assured that he has all eight trustees who hired him on his side. From Board Chairman Jonathan Pavloff came a salute that the Board remains solidly behind its hire, and despite those embarrassing mistakes, "We'll do a better job in the future." (Remember, this in the context of higher education, not reform school.)
Still, the focus remains on the board's disengagement during the entire process. Where were these bright lights of the community - six Republicans and two Democrats -political appointees supposedly chosen for their ability to serve as thoughtful gatekeepers rather than ego-serving lines in their resumes. Where have they been for so long during the systemic free-spending spree that embraced the Proenza years, too? And did any of them wonder about the public relations breakdown of half-prepared initiatives that were reversed in a publicity rout? Ask them.
How much confidence should any of us have in their ability to be accountable jurors since they silently ratified the notion that university presidents are also gods, even those with questionable track records? (You won't find that in Psalms.)
The wounds to the school's reputation are deep from this clumsy bush league performance and neither Psalms nor triage will help.
But as he told Akron Roundtable a year ago, he wanted his audience to know there was good news in the Bible. Quoting Psalm 30:5, he had said:
"Weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning."
He said he was confident "the sun will rise on our great university" - a reprise of Reagan's Morning in America, right? Well, so far, it hasn't.
Biblical or not, that won't be of much consolation to all of the folks who were cut from the ledgers and are now out of work. But a lot of people at Scarborough's pampered level don't seem to connect to those who are left behind when the Top Loaders come calling with big ideas.
When, as in Scarborough's case, you are being paid a half-million dollars with princely perks in the noble cause of debt reduction, you reduce humanity to winners and losers. I mean, when he spoke to the Akron Roundtable shortly after his arrival from Toledo last year, he smoothly rose to the podium with the sternest of advice to his newly acquired faculty with a demand that if they wanted to earn respect as serious-minded educators they must pick up trash.
Although not quite ready for Bartlett's, he explained his odd trash pickup philosophy:
"A person who is too important to pick up trash is probably too important to help a student who is struggling to understand an important concept or practice."
That struck me at the time as the broadest consideration of what higher education is all about with all of those messy career professors on the loose.
In this dark moment of UA history, however, he can rest assured that he has all eight trustees who hired him on his side. From Board Chairman Jonathan Pavloff came a salute that the Board remains solidly behind its hire, and despite those embarrassing mistakes, "We'll do a better job in the future." (Remember, this in the context of higher education, not reform school.)
Still, the focus remains on the board's disengagement during the entire process. Where were these bright lights of the community - six Republicans and two Democrats -political appointees supposedly chosen for their ability to serve as thoughtful gatekeepers rather than ego-serving lines in their resumes. Where have they been for so long during the systemic free-spending spree that embraced the Proenza years, too? And did any of them wonder about the public relations breakdown of half-prepared initiatives that were reversed in a publicity rout? Ask them.
How much confidence should any of us have in their ability to be accountable jurors since they silently ratified the notion that university presidents are also gods, even those with questionable track records? (You won't find that in Psalms.)
The wounds to the school's reputation are deep from this clumsy bush league performance and neither Psalms nor triage will help.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
From the campus, more victims from the front
The body count at the University of Akron continues to grow. The UA Press and the Multicultural Center have been shut down. That means five more employes will be looking for jobs. Because of his contract, UA Press director Thomas Bacher will stay on until January. It isn't clear what he will do to fill his day in the meantime.
The Plain Dealer's Karen Farkas quoted Board Chairman Jonathan Pavloff after Monday's Trustees meeting as purring: "The board appreciates the dedication of the employees who are affected by these actions. We know that they have been and remain committed to the success and well-being of our students and that they have served them and the university well."
But apparently not well enough, although I don't doubt that the latest casualties heard the same purring from the leadership on Tuesday.
As these units are shut down, I will ask again: When does a university stop being a university?
From the many people that I've talked to the past couple of days, there is agreement that the damage to the school's reputation has been deep and will hardly benefit President Scott Scarborough's promise to rebrand the university.
As President Clinton once said, when you are in a hole put your shovel down and stop digging.
The Plain Dealer's Karen Farkas quoted Board Chairman Jonathan Pavloff after Monday's Trustees meeting as purring: "The board appreciates the dedication of the employees who are affected by these actions. We know that they have been and remain committed to the success and well-being of our students and that they have served them and the university well."
But apparently not well enough, although I don't doubt that the latest casualties heard the same purring from the leadership on Tuesday.
As these units are shut down, I will ask again: When does a university stop being a university?
From the many people that I've talked to the past couple of days, there is agreement that the damage to the school's reputation has been deep and will hardly benefit President Scott Scarborough's promise to rebrand the university.
As President Clinton once said, when you are in a hole put your shovel down and stop digging.
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