Schill resigns
- Thread starter julescat
- Start date
NYT story accentuates the trump troubles, but also references Fitz fiasco. (some unconscious alliteration there.)
Most of the news coverage I've seen focuses on Trump's war on higher education as the cause for Schill resigning, and I'm just reasonably confident it is more about him personally costing the U whatever the Fitz payout was plus attorneys fees and just his generally bad leadership regardless the politics of the moment.
Christmas came early this year.
Whatever caused it, I’m elated. Only downside is my Fire Schill, Fire Gragg shirt is useless.
President Michael Schill announces resignation
Michael Schill announced today that he will step down from the presidency of Northwestern University, concluding a three-year tenure that saw continued ascension across the University’s three campuses, record fundraising and a steady rise in national rankings of the best universities in the country.
news.northwestern.edu
Not that I’d be supportive, as I think we can and hopefully will do better, but does this make the return of Fitz a possibility?
Who in their right mind would want to be the president of an elite university at this moment in time. You can’t hold true to the principles of academic freedom and free speech, and not come into the crosshairs of the administration and folks on the right. All at the same time you have to battle the corporatists on the Board of Trustees. Athletics is a minor issue for this position right now.
From Trib coverage: Tribune
“From the very beginning of my tenure, Northwestern faced serious and often painful challenges,” Schill said. “In the face of those challenges and the hard, but necessary choices that were before us, I was always guided by enduring values of our University: protecting students, fostering academic excellence, and defending faculty, academic freedom, due process and the integrity of the institution.”
Umm.....no
“From the very beginning of my tenure, Northwestern faced serious and often painful challenges,” Schill said. “In the face of those challenges and the hard, but necessary choices that were before us, I was always guided by enduring values of our University: protecting students, fostering academic excellence, and defending faculty, academic freedom, due process and the integrity of the institution.”
Umm.....no
I'm not close to Evanston anymore, so I am pretty ignorant about Schill outside of the obvious issue with Fitz, which I agree was bad leadership on his part. But aside from that, what makes you say no to his statement. Are there other incidents where he proved to not be protecting students and faculty? I know some will find fault with the anti-Israel protests on campus last year, but every university in America was struggling with how to handle that powder keg. Was Schill incompetent in other ways? Did the faculty want him gone? Often Presidents and Deans fail when the faculty turn on them. Did that happen here?
Many of the other Northwestern-peer schools who handled the protests like Schill did have also removed their presidents.
But the protests happened on every campus in America. The high profile ones where the Presidents became political punching bags were those at big name, elite universities. While Northwestern was one of those, it had seemed he survived that mess. So why now?
NU is still in a series of financially painful legal battles with the White House and Congress. The Board probably feels the pressure might dip if he’s gone, and many of his actions have cost the school money.
Very possibly also has less to do with public news and that news causing him to have difficulty calling pro-Trump donors for the school, another reason to change the face.
Bottom line for me is I don’t really care, celebrating regardless.
Perhaps, but the article on his resignation indicated that NU had its two best fundraising years ever, so that isn't the problem. You may be right though that sometimes the leader needs to be replaced after a series of bad events, whether it was their fault or not.
Utter nonsense. The Fitz fiasco alone was enough to get him fired. Schill is a lawyer capable of handling a real estate closing, but incapable of assessing the University's exposure to a multi-million dollar lawsuit
Between the Fitz payoff and what it will take to evade the Trump administration cancellation of Federal funds these costs to NU will approach $500M(?). Ivies like Brown, Columbia and now Harvard are settling for huge amounts, Harvard alledgedly for around $500M. Not surprised Schill is leaving/ being forced out. A relief to see him go but the cost to the university for these “fines” are not so fine- pretty daunting and discouraging to see this much money to go down the drain to “pay the piper”. Other institutions are facing similar “penalties”. It’s been a vexing situation for NU fans about Fitz, recorgnizing his contributions to NU football as star player and coach while watching the steep decline of the program in the last years of his tenure. Also tend to agree with others that the negative impact of player hazing seems to have been pushed aside and that those who instigated bullying didn’t pay a price for their actions. Such a mess.
PS- also it’s been in the news that Trump administration is also going after funds that universities are receiving from patents and royalties. NU has received a ton of money from royalties for the drug Lyrica, maybe $10B?
PS- also it’s been in the news that Trump administration is also going after funds that universities are receiving from patents and royalties. NU has received a ton of money from royalties for the drug Lyrica, maybe $10B?
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It might’ve been just the Fitz settlement. I’m guessing the number is really high. Like, close to what he wanted. And Schill really put himself out there on that one as his personal decision.
He resigned but he isn’t gone. Phew!
“Schill will continue as president until an interim leader is chosen and will return from a sabbatical as a faculty member at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, the school said. He also will work with the Board of Trustees on efforts to restore the university’s frozen federal funding, Northwestern said.”
Why the hell would you want to bring the program back to the Stone Age?
Are you on something?
Just for your edification, the Stone Age in NU Football was before Fitz.
In fact, it ended with Gary Barnett as coach and arguably the best linebacker in the school's history named Pat Fitzgerald.
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I was referring to his offenses.
Which often threw stones. And, at his best, resulted in stone throwing contests.
We need an offensive coach who can navigate NIL and recruit top QBs, WRs, and OL.
The game had left Fitz behind. We need someone who can score points.
I dunno how we got from Schill's managerial failings to the propriety of hummus purchases, but in the interest of taking the hint from the shutting down of the other thread ... I'll just say for purposes of the athletic department, I join those who are ready for new leadership.