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Czar/YOGWF

 
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TchoupShopper
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 6:56 am    Post subject: Czar/YOGWF Reply with quote

See what I mean now about the leaders of the YOGWF?

It's a shame how they can't or don't want to see how their cause and your cause are really closely kin.

Call me crazy but I see the athletics review and the engineering/Newcomb cuts as very much related -- they're both parts of Cowen pushing to bring his own personal vision of Tulane as a smaller more liberal arts-centered institution to reality. Maybe Cowen learned his lesson after 2003 and made double sure that there would be no leaks about the engineering/Newcomb changes before he could spring them on all us as an done deal.

Something just doesn't add up about how the YOGWF leaders could be in such opposition to Cowen's plans and then be so able to turn around and apologize for if not loudly praise him. Even before the storm, the main moderator seemed typically to be trying to stifle critical statements and discussion about Cowen and shift discussion away from such currents whenever they arose while now, of course, the admiration seems to be even more evident, no matter what he claims about being watchful. "Open communications" is one thing; outright coziness is another and when things get that cozy then these people are no longer independently representing the alumni and sports fan community view even though they seemed to appoint themselves as the main agents. I would be careful about emulating them even though they did successfully enlist the aid of politicians in placing pressure on Cowen to back down at the time. Instead of winning the war like they claim they like to claim they've probably merely set up D-1A football at Tulane for a slow death instead of a quick one.
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TheCzar35



Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 55
Location: New Orleans, La

PostPosted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 4:40 pm    Post subject: Watch your back Reply with quote

TchoupShopper,
You are so right, but you do have to give them credit for banding political leaders, fans and the public behind them. There is something to learn from that. I do agree with you they are dealing with the Devil and should not turn their backs on him.
TheCzar35
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perturbed1



Joined: 12 Jan 2006
Posts: 87

PostPosted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 7:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Did you get yourself banned yet Czar? I came pretty close to getting booted off YOGWF myself and was booted twice on the Tulane board at http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/ There is some scrofulous SOB pro-Cowen moderator over there. He got over-ridden on the first banning by a higher up.

Anyway there are a few folks on YOGWF that get it but none in the "power" structure. As I said they ae so grateful to have survived Katrina that they absolutely do not want to rock the boat, but I just believe they were spared because the contract buyouts would have been too expensive if done last Spring and Cowen already knows they are not going FY'07 deadline to get the atheletics deficit to $2 mil.

Right now Tulane is in deep doo doo in the marketplace and the cuts to Engineering and Newcomb were the most bone headed moves I have ever seen. Why piss your alumni off when you need them the most?
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TchoupShopper
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 8:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

What disappointed me the most was in how the YOGWF contingent really didn't even take a swing at trying to get Cowen to get the message that there's a serious problem in his typical heavy-handed paternalistic CEO approach to doing things and that he has to be more transparent, more candid and more collegial.

There were many questions about the athletics review that they never pressed him to openly address even though they had a tremendous opportunity to do so and that puzzles and upsets me to this day, especially if indeed the YOGWF is supposed to be some kind of independent voice of the sports fan community as it purports to be.

The pattern seems to be that Cowen formulates his plans totally behind the scenes and then springs the announcement "thus-and-such is a 'done deal' -- I always know what's best for everyone" on everyone amidst heavy helpings of spin/propaganda rather than actual answers to questions.

This routine has transpired on a number of different issues. Cowen has been business CEO-like, also, in that he seems to have been very determined to cut out different programs since he first took over.

I strongly suspect that he does have a vision of a very different Tulane that he's been looking to implement since the beginning.

The tragic aspect is how this is turning off alumni whose support Tulane needs now more than ever and turning off faculty, leaving Tulane a lesser place.
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TheCzar35



Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 55
Location: New Orleans, La

PostPosted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 10:22 am    Post subject: Still Kicking on YOGWF Reply with quote

perturbed1,
I am still on YOGWF, but I have toned it down a bit and I have exchanged some PM's with a few people, including moderators. Some people, like "lundigras" are very much against me, but every now in then you see I am making my point to a few who will partially agree with me. Also I have recieved some PM's that indicate football might have 2 years before another attempt is made on it, if attendance and support does not improve.
TheCzar35

P.S. Where are our moderators? We have to clean up the pornXXX stuff off of our site, it is getting bad.
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perturbed1



Joined: 12 Jan 2006
Posts: 87

PostPosted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 9:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ponder a couple of questions.

1) If katrina hit 3 weeks later in the season Tulane's students couldn't have enrolled in other schools for the Fall. What would the revenue impact on Tulane have been?

2) If Katrina hit 3 weeks earlier in the season almost noone would have paid their tuition yet. What effect would that have had on enrollment?

Scott kind of lucked out because he had folks tuition in his hot little hands and it was still early enough that the students could find a school to go to for the Fall.

3) After you've semi-dodged a total wipe-out catastrophe you then take out a $150 million line of credit and the attendent interest to keep things going so you can leave your $800 million endowment untouched? You are faced with serious revenue losses from your medical enterprise so to compensate you do what? Shrink your undergraduate enrollment and make a couple of revenue neutral cuts that irritate the hell out of two important segments of you alumni. Why?

I'd like to see Scott's contract to see if bonuses are tied to the size of the endowment as opposed to the fiscal health of the institution. It could explain some of his decision making. Otherwise I don't see the logic in going into hock up to your eyebrows at a time of declining revenue and enrollment while leaving your rainy day nest egg untouched.

Anyway God help the next poor sap who comes in to run this place.
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TchoupShopper
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 9:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, yes, clearly there has to be a lot of pressure being felt, no matter what anyone says. Tulane has to restore a bunch of costly programs or else face not being in Division 1 at all.

If there's not a firm swim-or-sink deadline then Cowen really comes out looking like he never meant anything.

OK, maybe he didn't. Who knows??

Seriously, if there really is a firm deadline for football to be reaching a certain financial status then I applaud that. I have no taste for a program slowly withering away. It was time long ago to have decided whether Tulane was going to be serious about big-time football or else forget it altogether. If Cowen's moves bring that event about then I have no problem with that.

The problem is that Cowen is no believer in big-time football while at the same time he seems to be a "stealth opponent" of it. It's clear what he'd like (the "genuine student-athlete" spirit of non-scholarship ball) and how far he'll bend in support of the program being able to win on the high level and win against good opponents (there's a definite limit).

BTW if you think Div. 1-A football is a cesspool, you're probably exactly right. I don't have a problem with Tulane decisively arriving at the conclusion that that world is just not for them.

Tulane needs to either fully embrace the big-time college football concept or else walk away from it but it's the height of foolishness to be pressing the program to not be a major money-loser while not giving it the best chance to win/get fan support.

Tulane, as it has been for the longest, continually trying to be all things to all people, as in able to win and garner fan support at the same time as being extra tight with admissions/academics and extra devoted to staying super squeaky clean and in this conference -- a vision that the YOGWF leaders seem to have much confidence in -- ends up with Tulane not being much to anyone.

I can easily see Cowen and friends blaming the fans and alumni if what right now seems very reasonable to predict, i.e. struggles on the field that drive too many fans away, does indeed come about.

If you notice, Cowen does tend to point to external factors a lot, as in talking up "financial exigency" as his reasoning for the engineering and Newcomb changes, which right now the facts seem to be proving was pure BS, as opposed to just saying that "we're doing this because, well, I wanted to do it."
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perturbed1



Joined: 12 Jan 2006
Posts: 87

PostPosted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 10:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The funny thing is Cowen is not very good at doing the one thing a college president is supposed to do i.e. raise money. They don't hire presidents for their administrative talents or their academic insights. Most of them haven't done any serious research or teaching since they finished their dissertatons. They are hired to shmooze the wealthy to charm the foundations and maybe get the schools name in the press.
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TchoupShopper
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 25, 2006 6:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I once heard that Eamon Kelly was upset because while he had been willing to let department heads, etc. get credit for raising funds Cowen was tending to take all the credit. I don't know how true this is but it does seem like Cowen has continually placed very great pressure on subordinates to be raising funds even though he arrived here loudly advertising himself as a master fund raiser and there are some who believe that the whole episode with athletics in 2003 was a ploy to get heat on Rick Dickson in that regard. I have also heard that some longtime local Tulane families have gotten turned off with him and that was before 2003. I suppose everyone would like to know what David Filo has to say now although it seems like he's been pretty silent. The Cowen apologists seem to be circulating the notion that Filo's and Clark's donations were not earmarked for engineering but that the earmarking was only at the suggestion of the Dear Leader.

One thing is for sure regarding these things. Money talks and Cowen could be most likely be persuaded to roll back the engineering changes with enough $$ doing the talking.
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TheCzar35



Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 55
Location: New Orleans, La

PostPosted: Fri Aug 25, 2006 10:53 am    Post subject: Need your Input Reply with quote

perturberd1 & Tchoupshopper,
Please read you PM's, I have sent both of you an important message that I did not want to post on the public forum.
TheCzar35
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TheCzar35



Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 55
Location: New Orleans, La

PostPosted: Fri Aug 25, 2006 4:03 pm    Post subject: Xavier's President Reply with quote

Today on Garland's WWL Radio Talk Show, Dr. Francis, the President of Xavier made a statement the (Par)".....in order to keep open we had to cut the budget, so we had to let some faculty go, the AAUP is upset about it, but until they pay our salaries I don't care what they do........they are just representing their interest....." I don't think Xavier cut whole programs, they may have reduce staffing levels but they did not do something as stupid, like eliminating pharmacy. He was responding to a question I called in about the state of higher education in NOLA, he thinks it is better and improving, he must be talking only about Xavier. Even though he does not like the AAUP, Dr. Francis should be commended and he should teach Tulane, Loyola and LSU Health Sciences how to bring a university back.
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