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President...

I don't think subordinates ought to pick their boss.
You think this is a corporation or something? University faculties operate on the "primus inter pares" tradition -- first among equals. The president is nominally in charge but he's still just another faculty member. The faculty as a whole govern a university traditionally
 
The younger generation on here won't remember this, hell I only know because I saw a documentary on it, but once upon a time Wisconsin was a huge joke in the big ten, in football and not much better in basketball(I'm sure the Iowa fan that comes on here could vouch for this). The students mockingly wore shirts with an old bucky badger on it that said: "rose bowl in my lifetime" in the late 1980s (I think it was 1987) Wisconsin hired Donna Shalala as their president, she went in with the philosophy that if Wisconsin could be a top university they could be top notch in athletics too, she hired a new A.D then they hired Barry Alvarez which is what turned football around, basketball saw the hirings of Dick Bennett and then Bo Ryan which has led to the sustained success on the hardwood. Moral of the story, don't pick and choose, find a president that is both committed to the academics and athletics and sees the value of performing at a high level in both.
 
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I’m wondering if a potentially great candidate was right under our nose the whole time, and is now the President of the University of Minnesota.....
Bingo; that is why a lot of professors are upset, combined with the fact no women were seriously considered by the BOT.
 
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You think this is a corporation or something? University faculties operate on the "primus inter pares" tradition -- first among equals. The president is nominally in charge but he's still just another faculty member. The faculty as a whole govern a university traditionally
Why do they call the president the president if his position doesn't confer oversight from a higher position?
 
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No offense, but ranking highly in the military is fodder for a politician, not a university president. Impressive resume, but I find it pretty irrelevant, and it feels like red meat for people that don't really know what a university president does. Like discipline and order are going to make USC an internationally-recognized university. It's bizarre.
 
I’m wondering if a potentially great candidate was right under our nose the whole time, and is now the President of the University of Minnesota.....

Bingo; that is why a lot of professors are upset, combined with the fact no women were seriously considered by the BOT.

Not hardly, wrt to the Provost. Most faculty either could care less that she left or count it as a positive. It was a directionless mess of half thought out and haphazardly implemented ideas for 4 years.
 
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Why do they call the president the president if his position doesn't confer oversight from a higher position?

That's as much (or more) the job of the Provost. Besides, your view of 'conferring oversight' is very different from the reality of how things work in a university.
 
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That's as much (or more) the job of the Provost. Besides, your view of 'conferring oversight' is very different from the reality of how things work in a university.
The BOT runs this university, and they operate through the president. Forget the Pollyanna first-among-equals notion.
 
Understanding is not equal to getting your own way. Ah, never mind. You know everything.
Here's what I know. For as long as the University has existed, it has been situated in the state capital. Because of that, it has always been unduly subject to political meddling. Most of the time, it has been less overt than this because it didn't involve a power play by the governor. Haley's removal of Darla Moore from the BOT brought the phenomenon to light to a greater extent than we had seen it before. Still, it has always been there. It probably accounts for our historical athletic mediocrity, as well as our undistinguished academic profile. Whatever happens with this situation, it isn't going to stop because people want it to stop. There's only one way for it to stop and you know what it is as well as I do. You also know it isn't going to happen in any of our lifetimes.
 
Here's what I know. For as long as the University has existed, it has been situated in the state capital. Because of that, it has always been unduly subject to political meddling. Most of the time, it has been less overt than this because it didn't involve a power play by the governor. Haley's removal of Darla Moore from the BOT brought the phenomenon to light to a greater extent than we had seen it before. Still, it has always been there. It probably accounts for our historical athletic mediocrity, as well as our undistinguished academic profile. Whatever happens with this situation, it isn't going to stop because people want it to stop. There's only one way for it to stop and you know what it is as well as I do. You also know it isn't going to happen in any of our lifetimes.

You read my mind. I believe this why we can’t get it right in football historically.
 
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Hiring a certain race or sex should NEVER be a consideration for ANY job must less the President of University of South Carolina. The best person for the job should always be first


Remember that old phrase that America was once so proud to proclaim: ' . . . regardless of race, color, creed or national origin'? Remember that? Well, forget it. Now, it's whatever is politically expedient that determines presidents, judges, cabinet members, governors, congress members, mayors . . . football coaches, etc.
 
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One major issue I feel is Caslen’s age. He is 65...he retired from his last job! We need someone who will be at Carolina at least for 10 years. That person will be working with YOUNG people.
 
Hiring a certain race or sex should NEVER be a consideration for ANY job must less the President of University of South Carolina. The best person for the job should always be first


Agree. But to get the best person, you have to seriously consider people of each sex and race.

If you always end up with white men, you aren’t necessarily getting the best qualified and maybe your search process is flawed.

In our case, the man who scored the highest in the public meeting portion (by far) was the only black candidate. I also heard his comments. He was very impressive. https://artsci.wustl.edu/faculty-staff/william-f-tate

William F. Tate IV is the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. He currently serves as Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost for Graduate Education. He directs the Center for Study of Regional Competitiveness in Science and Technology
 
I love it when people who have no clue continue to keep on digging....
That's a rather generalized statement. It might or might not prove relevant in this instance. Actually, it's going to prove irrelevant. The University of South Carolina has never and will never operate according to the idealized paradigm some are championing. This episode won't change that - not in the long run. I believe the selection might now veer away from Caslen, either due to pressure or the desire to have an end to it. Really, if I were he, I'd get out emphatically. But in any case, the machinations that characterize the oversight of this university will continue. To think otherwise would be naive.
 
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I can stand the affront, but it is regrettable that a discussion, especially one on this topic, has deteriorated to this degree.

Your sense of humor, like your understanding of this topic is severely lacking. Every time you type your opinion...yet again... you look a little more foolish. You are arguing with people who work at the university, (there are three or more in this thread). At least some of them are connected in one way or another to the administration, and yet you continue to posit that you know more than those in the system. That is by definition foolish.

The fact that you that can’t let it go, no matter how many times people who actually understand the system from the inside say that you don’t understand the way things work in a university, says something even less admirable about you.
 
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Your sense of humor, like your understanding of this topic is severely lacking. Every time you type your opinion...yet again... you look a little more foolish. You are arguing with people who work at the university, (there are three or more in this thread). At least some of them are connected in one way or another to the administration, and yet you continue to posit that you know more than those in the system. That is by definition foolish.

The fact that you that can’t let it go, no matter how many times people who actually understand the system from the inside say that you don’t understand the way things work in a university, says something even less admirable about you.
Are you one of those people?
 
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Are you one of those people?

Yes I am, but there are several others involved in this thread who have tried to help you understand. Of course, you completely dismissed their opinions, because you think you know more about the university than they do. Did you attend USC?

I tried to stay out of this, because it is difficult to be polite to people who are so obstinately stubborn and unwilling to learn from others who have more experience and knowledge than they do. I know Michael Amiridis well, and would love for him to come back to us. Unlike one of the other posters, I also think highly of Joan Gable. These were our two most recent Provosts, and either would be light years ahead of Caslen. Just out of basic philosophical considerations, the Army works on a top down command basis, where orders are followed. Academia will never function like that, and for good reason. Academic freedom is an essential part of the value of higher education, though that kind of freedom would not work well in the military. Different institutions, different needs. Perhaps Caslen could adapt to the way academia functions, but his last job at UCF is not a positive for me. I know enough about that institution to know that it is a long way from being on a level playing field with UofSC. UofSC is a R1 Carnegie research university. UCF is an upstart institution (founded in 1968) more focused on gaining student body numbers than anything else. It's very large in student body, but it is a second (or third) rate institution. We are not.

Beyond that, to hire Caslen without the stated requirement of a PhD, would be illegal and open to all kinds of lawsuits, that I am certain would ensue. The university does not need this kind of publicity or turmoil. For the governor of the state to try to insert himself into this process is reprehensible. When Furman was cut loose by the Southern Baptist convention, it was because the SBC tried to control the university at a level that was inappropriate. Lawsuits were threatened by both sides, and Furman lost a lot of support temporarily. Outside interference will never fly well with a university of any standing, and it shouldn't.
 
Yes I am, but there are several others involved in this thread who have tried to help you understand. Of course, you completely dismissed their opinions, because you think you know more about the university than they do. Did you attend USC?

I tried to stay out of this, because it is difficult to be polite to people who are so obstinately stubborn and unwilling to learn from others who have more experience and knowledge than they do. I know Michael Amiridis well, and would love for him to come back to us. Unlike one of the other posters, I also think highly of Joan Gable. These were our two most recent Provosts, and either would be light years ahead of Caslen. Just out of basic philosophical considerations, the Army works on a top down command basis, where orders are followed. Academia will never function like that, and for good reason. Academic freedom is an essential part of the value of higher education, though that kind of freedom would not work well in the military. Different institutions, different needs. Perhaps Caslen could adapt to the way academia functions, but his last job at UCF is not a positive for me. I know enough about that institution to know that it is a long way from being on a level playing field with UofSC. UofSC is a R1 Carnegie research university. UCF is an upstart institution (founded in 1968) more focused on gaining student body numbers than anything else. It's very large in student body, but it is a second (or third) rate institution. We are not.

Beyond that, to hire Caslen without the stated requirement of a PhD, would be illegal and open to all kinds of lawsuits, that I am certain would ensue. The university does not need this kind of publicity or turmoil. For the governor of the state to try to insert himself into this process is reprehensible. When Furman was cut loose by the Southern Baptist convention, it was because the SBC tried to control the university at a level that was inappropriate. Lawsuits were threatened by both sides, and Furman lost a lot of support temporarily. Outside interference will never fly well with a university of any standing, and it shouldn't.

Excellent summary-well said.
 
Yes I am, but there are several others involved in this thread who have tried to help you understand. Of course, you completely dismissed their opinions, because you think you know more about the university than they do. Did you attend USC?

I tried to stay out of this, because it is difficult to be polite to people who are so obstinately stubborn and unwilling to learn from others who have more experience and knowledge than they do. I know Michael Amiridis well, and would love for him to come back to us. Unlike one of the other posters, I also think highly of Joan Gable. These were our two most recent Provosts, and either would be light years ahead of Caslen. Just out of basic philosophical considerations, the Army works on a top down command basis, where orders are followed. Academia will never function like that, and for good reason. Academic freedom is an essential part of the value of higher education, though that kind of freedom would not work well in the military. Different institutions, different needs. Perhaps Caslen could adapt to the way academia functions, but his last job at UCF is not a positive for me. I know enough about that institution to know that it is a long way from being on a level playing field with UofSC. UofSC is a R1 Carnegie research university. UCF is an upstart institution (founded in 1968) more focused on gaining student body numbers than anything else. It's very large in student body, but it is a second (or third) rate institution. We are not.

Beyond that, to hire Caslen without the stated requirement of a PhD, would be illegal and open to all kinds of lawsuits, that I am certain would ensue. The university does not need this kind of publicity or turmoil. For the governor of the state to try to insert himself into this process is reprehensible. When Furman was cut loose by the Southern Baptist convention, it was because the SBC tried to control the university at a level that was inappropriate. Lawsuits were threatened by both sides, and Furman lost a lot of support temporarily. Outside interference will never fly well with a university of any standing, and it shouldn't.
I am traveling and not in possession of my laptop. Since I don't prefer working on a cell phone, I will respond to your thoughtful post in due course.
 
Nothing wrong with the characteristics above except for the military experience doesn’t translate everywhere. I served, I know. We need a forward thinking individual, with experience running a Fortune 500-sized major research institution, and to keep moving it well into the 21st century. And I respect military discipline, customs, etc....but I’d venture to guess that’s not what any State U is looking for in a President. People trying to knock USC for that, that’s just ridiculous. Students at West Point, Annapolis, Colorado Springs, yes. That style fits. Plus, and don’t get it twisted because even at 46, I already see age discrimination, so age doesn’t bother me at all, BUT, if we find the right person, it’s probably better they’re 35-50, not 65. Just my $0.02
 
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Hiring a certain race or sex should NEVER be a consideration for ANY job must less the President of University of South Carolina. The best person for the job should always be first
Considering people from various backgrounds is ESSENTIAL to making an informed choice.
 
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