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Dean Altiero

 
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wckirby



Joined: 10 Dec 2005
Posts: 355
Location: New Orleans

PostPosted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 12:17 pm    Post subject: Dean Altiero Reply with quote

Some people may have gotten the wrong impression about what I think about Dean Altiero, so I want to set the record straight. I've tried to go by and see him, but he's been out a lot lately. I know he reads this forum, so I hope he reads this.

I genuinely believe Altiero is a good person. I've also learned that he put up a good fight for engineering. Behind the scenes, he presented genuinely compelling arguments to keep engineering. He even crafted a revenue-neutral (same monetary savings) set of cuts in which no tenured faculty or departments were axed. We would have still had a school of engineering with Civil & Environmental, Mechanical, and EE/CS and all the tenured faculty would still have a job. He presented pretty much every argument we've put forward (New Orleans needs engineering, we're nationally prominent, etc.). Cowen rejected them all and refused to present the alternative engineering plan to the Board.

Altiero gave it his all and I don't think anyone else could have done a better job with the limitations that were put in place (the gag order, timeline, etc.). That is about the most honest, no-bullshit compliment I think I can bestow upon him. Anyone who you think might have done a better job as Dean would have been blindsided.

The one criticism of Altiero that I think is valid is he didn't recognize they had already made their decision by the time he got to them. They were never listening. They still aren't listening. That's Altiero's only real flaw, in my opinion. He still thinks the administration cares about what he says.

Altiero was put in a horrible situation. He is still in an incredibly tricky situation. Dean Altiero should drag Cowen into a field and shoot him for putting him in an important situation that guaranteed failure. No REAL leader would ever do that to one of the people in his charge.

I'm just being honest. Altiero is a good man, so don't hold a grudge against him. If you want to do something really good, go by and say hi to him and tell him you appreciate what he did and what he's doing now.
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Clay Kirby
11th generation New Orleanian
4th generation Tulanian
Mechanical Engineering Class of '06
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Kadepp



Joined: 20 Feb 2006
Posts: 5
Location: Louisiana

PostPosted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 10:20 pm    Post subject: Blue Ribbon Panel Reply with quote

Has anyone wondered what James J. Duderstadt is doing on that Blue Ribbon Panel? Are he and Altiero friends or something else? MIchigan State and U of M? I am wondering..... We should all take another look at that panel. There is a lot there over which we can speculate. They were chosen by the master and were not a random choice I am sure.
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perturbed1



Joined: 12 Jan 2006
Posts: 87

PostPosted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 11:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A better question would be were they paid and how much? How often did they meet and did they prepare written recommendations? Another question is what options besides closing the school of engineering were considered?
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Kadepp



Joined: 20 Feb 2006
Posts: 5
Location: Louisiana

PostPosted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 8:33 am    Post subject: Blue Ribbon Panel Reply with quote

I would doubt that they were paid cash - but there may be other payback somewhere along the line. Their area of professional involvment may give a hint one way or the other. Read their comments - but I would like to see comments from other "experts" in the field. Check the connections of the panel with what has and will be occurring at TU. It makes for interesting reading at the very least.
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perturbed1



Joined: 12 Jan 2006
Posts: 87

PostPosted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 6:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well I can certainly understand why the president of Rice would think it a good idea for Tulane to close its engineering school. That is about as surprising as as Michigan's football coach advising Michigan State's coach to stop offering scholarships and confine his recruiting to the Upper Penninsula or the president of pepsi advising Coca Cola to give New Coke another go. I mean talk about conflict of interest....
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paleoboy



Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 21

PostPosted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 8:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I also noticed the ex-Rice president conflict of interest
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Kadepp



Joined: 20 Feb 2006
Posts: 5
Location: Louisiana

PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 12:12 am    Post subject: Suggestions to the Task Force Reply with quote

I am really surprised that Dean Altiero would think this TF is anything other than busy work for BOT members and a smoke screen for the rest of the world. Scott Cowen most likely has no intention of even listening to them, much less taking their advice. I can find no evidence that he takes anyone's advice unless they are agreeing with him. To threaten students, faculty, BOT members, and alumni is not leadership - it is being a bully. And I am wondering what premise he used to get these Blue Ribbon Panel members to join him in his games - that they would be the authors of a master plan from the master himself? Let's not forget that there are other members of the panel besides engineers -- hmm, let's see, someone from Medicine?? Well, where is medicine today? At least they were represented. How about someone from a women's college --- oh sorry, probably not politically correct. We do have our own Linda Wilson whoever, who helped write Radcliffe off the map on her watch. It is not just the Blue Ribbon Panel that needs a good look --- our own beloved BOT is a veritable treasure trove itself. Take a look ... might be fun.
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