Rocket Nation Recovery Part 53 – With the UToledo Provost search put on hold, what’s next?
If you were a trustee, what would you do next knowing that UT:
- President’s contract expires in June 2025?
- Interim Provosts contract expires in June 2025?
- Interim VP Enrollment expires in June 2024?
- Fall 2024 Enrollment will be down another 600 to 800 students?
- Fall 2025 Enrollment is projected to be under 13,000 total students?
- Budget must be cut by another $10-$12M?
- Top faculty and staff are leaving?
Would you vote to:
- Operate business as usual until June 2025?
- Remove UT’s current leader at next week’s board meeting?
- Hire a crisis manager as Interim President today?
As a trustee, would you immediately recruit an Interim President with the following credentials:
- UT undergraduate and masters, student athlete, resident advisor
- UT distinguished professor that taught over 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students
- Deep relationships with the business community having taught, mentored and served as consultant to over 40% of Toledo area business leaders
- Nationally recognized by The Economist a Top 15 Professor in The World. Baylor University’s Robert Foster Cherry Award as a Top 3 USA Professor. The John Maxwell Organization a Top 30 Transformational Leader in America.
- UT Distinguished Professor countless times
- One of the most published professors in UT history
- Recruiter and advisor to thousands of student athletes and their families
- Host family for hundreds of students from foreign countries attending UT
- Used by four Mayors of Toledo to facilitate their transition teams.
- Instructed over 8,500 US Army Generals, Colonels and intelligence community leaders
- Recipient of The Jefferson Award for Outstanding Public Service, Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of The Year, Toastmaster International Leadership Award
Is it possible, that an Interim President of this caliber lives only a few miles from UT and could quickly step in to:
- Align UT’s CFO, Interim Provost and senior leaders to take immediate actions to stop the crisis?
- Reengage business leaders through their existing relationships?
- Energize faculty, staff, department chairs, deans and union leaders that have been peers for four decades?
- Mobilize students to reignite positive energy on campus?
- Rally UT alums, donors and sponsors around the world?
If you were a trustee, would you place your personal reputation on the line for business as usual or an Interim President with these credentials? One that bleeds midnight blue and gold and believes UT can compete on the world stage?
Rocket Nation – should next weeks UT board meeting begin with a yes/no vote of confidence in UT’s leaders?
It’s ok to feel uncomfortable in a crisis. Please pray for thoughtful, compassionate accountability and urgent actions to revitalize The Rocket Nation.
