I'm not much of a football fan, as he knows. That's not really why he called.
He really called to point out something about the history of OSU, and the University of Wyoming, that he'd recently just discussed with me, following the resignation of Robert Sternberg.
Sternberg, prior to being the President of the University of Wyoming, was the Provost of OSU (and before that, and still currently, as somewhat controversial psychologist). My friend is pretty familiar with OSU, which I am not. And what he said, and what people complaining about him at UW also somewhat said, is that in that roll he really cleaned house. I.e., a lot of people high up in various departments were sent packing.
And the reasons weren't all that different than those which we've heard about at UW. Department reputations had sagged, and OSU was no longer regarded as all that much.
Well, the end of the story is this. There were a lot of complaints at OSU about Sternberg, but the administration backed him, the house cleaning was accomplished, and it's standings, in football and academics rose. Now its a major player in both.
According to my friend, the complaints about UW programs not only extend to the law school, but the college of engineering as well, and student graduates are hurting as a result. He feels UW took a blow when our administration wouldn't back up Sternberg, and I agree with him.
Over the weekend, one of the UW trustees who had been on the board when Sternberg was hired wrote an Op Ed in the Casper Star Tribune, supposedly on the topic of keeping the academic search confidential. At the end of it, I couldn't tell whether the former trustee wanted it open or closed. The faculty, however, wants it open, and voted on that yesterday, with only three dissenting votes. One commenter in the paper noted that had the search been open, hiring Sternberg could have been avoided.
And that's just the point, and why it should be closed, but why it'll probably be open. Having managed to effect a coup, keeping the search open will cement it. Those people high up in other schools will be reluctant to publish their desire to move on, and therefore will likely pass risking it to some degree. And the faculty can make certain that anyone it might disapprove of for any reason is thoroughly complained about in sufficient time to prevent their being hired.
But what about the students? If my friend is right, a decline appears to be setting in, in two schools at least. That might not be apparent to them, and probably isn't. It'll become apparent when they start looking for work, and it'll reflect itself in the types of jobs they obtain. A university exists for the students future, not so much their present, and for the good of the state. Let's hope the trustees have that fully in mind.
Postscript:
This morning's Casper Star Tribune reports that UW Interim President McGinty, in his delivery to the Legislature yesterday, stated:
The response to those requests or urgings from the state were slow, reluctant, and, I think, at least indifferent or unenthusiastic – and some people would apply stronger adjectives than I would. But the governor and Legislature have been growing increasing insistent, and that led to leadership changes that occurred in the past year, going back to the resignation of President Buchanan.Very interesting statements. Essentially, McGinty has acknowledged what Sternberg was acting in reaction to real concerns, and by extensions, that the entrenched forces of inaction are what brought Sternberg down. Those who rejoiced at Sternberg's downfall may, perhaps, done so a bit too soon. Or at least it would appear that changes of the type he was creating, but perhaps too quickly, are coming anyway.
Postscript II
Well, that didn't last long. McGinty's already backpedaling on that statement, indicating he didn't quite mean it the way it sounded.
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