Rocket Nation Recovery Part 4 – thank you for the blizzard of private messages. Your concerns, ideas, questions, and data is amazing! The majority of you are asking “what can be done to quickly turn things around at UToledo?” Great question.
Many of you have stated that the Governor and Chancellor should remove Trustees that are not exercising their oversight and fiduciary responsibilities and/or add people who will. Some of you asked if all of the trustees are qualified for oversight of this type of crisis? Others asked if the board is suited for a country club or crisis management center? I don’t know. Will leave that to the Governor and Chancellor. Are you suggesting that holding the Trustees accountable will help turn things around?
Even more of you stated that Will Lucas and the Trustees should hold senior leadership accountable for their results over the past three years. Some of you asked if UT is better positioned for big wins in the coming years or further declines. You shared that some faculty and students are achieving small wins every day. But you also asked whether those small wins are because of or in spite senior leadership? Are you suggesting that holding senior leadership accountable will help turn things around?
Your messages brought to mind this framework. In short, it appears that you’re ask if UToledo is better positioned today for big wins than it was three years ago? You also seem to be asking if senior leaders and the board of trustees have collaborated over the past three years to:
1. Gain internal alignment on strategic plans for products/services (academic programs), customer profile (students that will thrive at UToledo ), geographic (where students come from), and competitive differentiation (other academic programs)?
2. Work from the bottom up to change work processes and deploy technology that better enables employees and managers to serve students (success)?
3. Work from the top down to gain alignment on assumptions, beliefs and behaviors at all levels of the institution?
4. Develop the leadership knowledge and skills required to turn UToledo into a major academic institution. One that thrives at engaging and developing the next generation of students (customers)?
Is three-years enough time for leadership to lay the foundation for big wins? You asked if senior leaders have given up on UToledo and Toledo? I don’t know.
Please keep praying for Will Lucas and the Trustees.
