AN OPEN LETTER TO THE UNO COMMUNITY REGARDING OUR CHANCELLOR
UNO and the entire LSU system is facing, now, budget cuts far beyond any necessity or fantasy of "fiscal responsibility." If the 2011-12 projected budget cuts take place, as they almost certainly will, it will no longer be a matter of decades until we recover. There will be no recovery. Public higher education in Louisiana will have been decimated to the point that it will have to rebuilt almost from scratch.
Through the five-year-long process, since Katrina, that has marked UNO's rapid decline, we have stood by Chancellor Ryan. We all know it's been a tough job. But it's time to face facts: he's part of the problem. He has, at every stage of the process, capitulated meekly to the insults we've received from the state legislature. When was the last time you saw a letter to the editor from him? When was the last time he was on TV? When was the last time he was in the news at all protesting the decimation of public higher education in Louisiana?
Far from fearlessly protesting these changes that are going to adversely affect the state for generations to come, he has treated the situation like a sinking ship, giving his personal staff raises while the rest of our salaries have been cut or at best remained static. He's surrounded himself with a staff of highly-paid yes-people, culled from among his personal (sometimes very personal…) friends, untrained and unqualified for their positions. But this doesn't really matter, because he makes all the decisions himself, based on whims and impulses, without research and without asking the opinions of people who know.
And on August 31, when students tried, belatedly, to organize and protest the ruination of the university by the governor and the state legislature, a cause that the Chancellor should have been supporting, on a time when he should have been on the quad leading the protest, instead he barricaded himself in his office and HAD THEM MACED.
He's been chancellor eight years and has never been reviewed. Remember when he took the office? Didn't he promise to have himself reviewed every two years?
If UNO is to survive, WE MUST GET RID OF TIM RYAN. We need a new leader, someone who will stand up to the legislature and the board and PUT THE JOB ON THE LINE. Someone who will MAKE SOME NOISE and let the people of the state know what is happening to public education and to our futures.
LET'S VOTE NO-CONFIDENCE. START THE MOVEMENT TODAY. KICK RYAN OUT SO WE HAVE AT LEAST A CHANCE OF SURVIVING THIS ONSLAUGHT.
Leave your anonymous comments below to begin the discussion.
How do we proceed when we all know if we reveal our identities we'll be fired?
ReplyDeleteStart by sending that exact question to the Senate. Put in on public record over and over. Use an anonymous google account, from a public computer, if you fear the Senate chair's assurance of anonymity is invalid. The fall meetings are not scheduled yet, but email senate@uno.edu and it will get to Neil Maroney.
ReplyDeleteIt's about time for the raw and unvarnished truth to come out and let the chips fall where they may.
ReplyDeleteThere are two individuals who need to be fired at the University of New Orleans, and the university would instantly be much better off. The first is Tim Ryan, and the second is Elizabeth Lowry, if for no other reason than the glee that they express when looking at the next list of personnel cuts and when placing all the individuals they don't like on that list.
But there are a lot more reasons that the Emperor and the Queen need to go, and all of them have to do with their inability to manage the University. Ryan's stated goal has been to shut down the University of New Orleans, and he is doing a damn good job of that. Enrollment is down by 600 for Fall 2010 at the UNO campus, while all the other universities that were impacted by Katrina are experiencing increases in enrollment.
It's also about time that Tim Ryan started paying as much attention to UNO and its needs as he did before conveniently appointing his long-time mistress to the Chief of Staff position. Some of us even wonder if she is not blackmailing him into bigger and better jobs for herself and her husband? Word on the street has it that he's trying to get her a Vice Chancellor position next.
That's not the first political appointment that Tim's tried to make in the past couple of years -- practically every dean and vice chancellor has had "pre-selected" candidates shoved down their throats by Ryan in advance of vacancy announcements and advertisement of positions, and had their jobs threatened if they chose not to fill them with the "pre-selected" candidates.
Everybody also knows that all of the "savings" from the first firings once Queen Elizabeth took office went directly to her salary. Emperor Ryan ducked questions when he was asked directly about this in a faculty meeting this past year, and no one in the University got a straight answer. Remember the most important thing, the Emperor is always above reproach and need not explain his actions to anyone. No need for him to answer the faculty questions, because we all know that as long as Queen Elizabeth is mistress of the palace no one's job is safe.
(Continued from September 9, 2010, 4:33 p.m.)
ReplyDeleteAnd speaking of mistress of the palace, the UNO faculty gets handed a workload form and gets told to stand in a little square like postal employees, while the Chancellor runs off for long cocktail lunches with his mistress, and can't even make Board of Supervisors meetings he's supposed to be at because he's out drinking with Q.E. Looks like a double standard if I ever saw one.
If, as Queen Elizabeth stated to a number of people on numerous occasions, she makes all the hiring and firing decisions, why do we even need a Chancellor? Beats me...
"Chancellor" Ryan is no longer able to govern as he routinely ignores the will of the faculty and the university leadership, and has been operating the university on the basis of his own personal vendettas for a long time now. He governs his employees through fear of job loss, rather than leading them out of the respect earned by a true leader.
What about the $1 million dollars handed out in athletic scholarships that the University did not have in the budget? Well, that was deftly buried in the first rounds of job cuts, and few were the wiser as most of the faculty thought it was part of the cost-cutting measures being required at the state level. Another lie. Most of the secretaries in the University lost their jobs and no one has administrative resources except in the administration building due to the Chancellor's mismanagement of that budget line.
And what about the Chancellor's vacancy pool? That's $5 to $10 million in vacancies that represent lost opportunities in the classroom for the students and taxpayers of Louisiana. What gives him the right to withhold these funds in his own pool rather than spending them on the needs of the students of this state?
Everbody is so afraid for their jobs under his regime that no one is willing to stand up for fear of losing their job. As everyone knows, the Chancellor has made quite a public example of anyone who expresses an independent thought that doesn't match his own delusions.
The Chancellor solicits input on his plans through Sharepoint - a website controlled and tracked by University employees who spend the better part of their day rifling the email of other employees the Chancellor is worried might pose a threat to his regime.
And now the Chancellor wants to hold a "town hall" type meeting on the University restructuring plans on September 15th. Give me a break. Everyone knows that the Chancellor is not open to anyone else's solutions, and hasn't been for quite some time. You can bet that anyone who dares to stand up against the Chancellor's pre-ordained plans in such a forum will be looking for a new job a lot faster than the Chancellor. This is not an opportunity for input, this is a trap. And it's the Chancellor's get out of jail free card, because he will have offered the "opportunity for input" and all will then be lost because no one will speak up in that type of environment.
Unless the faculty is willing to stand up, demand an immediate review of this Chancellor, or simply vote no confidence, we will continue to have this brand of governance. This Chancellor plays the game well, and there is no safety except in numbers. No one is going to deliver you from his rule, except if you stand up for yourself and say that what is going on is wrong. Wrong for the tax payers of the state, wrong for the students, and wrong for the employees of UNO.
It's time put the rubbish on the street, folks, and we can't afford to let this University continue to waste away under the rule of this Emperor and his Queen.
Write to the LSU System Office, write to the University Senate, write to the newspapers. It's time for the truth to come out and the Emperor and his Queen to find another place to go.
Respected long-term faculty members are now being treated like children and criminals.
ReplyDeleteWhy are they filling out workload reports, punching clocks, and being made to stand in a square like postal employees, while the Chancellor and his mistress are out during the work day having cocktails, getting drunk, and missing Board of Supervisors meetings that they are supposed to be attending?
Don't know why anyone would be upset at their behavior...this is just typical behavior for these same individuals who think they don't have to answer to anyone and are above the rules....
Time for the faculty to vote NO CONFIDENCE and put the trash out at the curb
ReplyDeletePlease provide more information on the missed BOS meetings and possible whereabouts of the Chancellor during that time. That topic has legs.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Kneed to No!
If Tim Ryan wants unbiased faculty input on the restructuring plans, the Sharepoint site and the deans' presentations on the 15th are a ridiculous way of soliciting that input.
ReplyDeleteThe Sharepoint site is monitored by certain University personnel (i.e., minions of the Chancellor) and is definitely not anonymous since you have to sign in to Sharepoint with your University account. No wonder the posts on that site have dried up once that fact was pointed out to everyone on the Sharepoint site.
Anyone who stands up in the meeting on the 15th to express a different opinion might as well be painting a target on their own back. Who is going to say anything in that type of environment when their jobs are at risk for doing so?
But Tim Ryan knows that. This is all part of the game that the Chancellor is playing to pretend to solicit input when we all know that he isn't a bit interested. He just needs to demonstrate that he solicited input for lawsuit avoidance purposes...
So Chancellor Ryan, how about a true input process rather than this dog and pony show you've orchestrated for the 15th? How about we all vote on those restructuring plans after they're presented by the deans--let's do this by anonymous ballot monitored by Faculty Senate representatives, not by a show of hands or voice vote with a room full of people watching-- and then call for that a vote of no confidence?
Are you brave enough to find out what people really think about your leadership? Didn't think so.
Sounds like the same 5 people from the athletics blog have found a new spot to blog.... boo hoo....why, because the chancellor is running this university like a business...not a state charity...
ReplyDeleteWork or get out.....slackers will not be missed
I have some concerns about the planned changes and hope that the forthcoming discussions will alter the plans. If you hold discussions with the faculty but pay no attention to them, it'll be hard for the system to win any legal suits brought against it. Indeed, I understand that this is a significant factor why most of the suits brought against UNO Post-K were settled in favor of those furloughed or are still "in the works."
ReplyDeleteHowever, to whomever said: "Ryan's stated goal has been to shut down the University of New Orleans" I've never read that or heard him say it. Indeed, he fought magnificently to keep UNO open post-Katrina and has never received the recognition he deserved for that. Calling the chancellor and others names and making statements without proof won't further your cause. Stick to language that is not inflammatory and stick to the facts.
I highly doubt this is a faculty member writing this blog. So I'd be careful what is posted here. Take everything written here with a grain of salt . . . including that comments from other "anonymous" writers.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm not sure whether or not a faculty member is writing this blog. If you mean the open letter, you may be right. However, the seem to have a great deal of information that faculty believe -- true or not. And I highly doubt that there is only one person writing the entire blog....and suspect that others have contributed. I, for one, wrote the comment about Chancellor Ryan not getting enough credit for keeping UNO open Post-K. So read the above comment with a grain of salt.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, let me defend this chancellor (as difficult as I find that to do) on two points. He should not have been supporting the student protesters, as they chose to disrupt the educational process by barracading themselves in a building used for classes. He surely did not order that they be maced, either. And yes, he deserves credit for getting UNO through Katrina.
ReplyDeleteBut, Katrina is long past. This university has tremendous challenges ahead and is fighting for survival. And Tim Ryan just sits in his office, planning more cuts. That's not a vision. That's not leadership.
Someone raised a point earlier about the chancellor and his special friend. In case you all are not aware, the chancellor is trying to get his chief of staff's husband appointed as an associate vice chancellor for facilities. The person who previously held this position was a long-time employee who was let go last year due to the cuts. It's amazing how the money for that position is now available for someone who, by all accounts, isn't close to being qualified for the position. I'm sure some will find a way to defend the move, though.
The only time UNO is ever in the news anymore is for something negative. Morale is terrible across campus. And the guy with the colorful socks just bunkers himself in his office. A monkey with a pencil can point to lines on a budget and cut, cut, cut. It takes someone with a vision and leadership to make positive things happen. I can't remember the last time the chancellor made something positive happen.
The fact there's even a blog like this shows that many people feel that the chancellor runs UNO under martial law. Does anyone understand why James Logan was fired as dean of the business school? It's because he had the audacity to develop an alternative plan to the one the chancellor had; one that could very well have met the budget while sparing the types of cuts the chancellor demanded. And for simply proposing an alternative, James Logan was fired.
This is how the university should be operated? One poster seemed happy that UNO was being run like a business. I've got news for you: businesses fail all of the time. When you don't listen to your employees, and when you micromanage areas you know nothing about, you're setting your business up for failure.
I can't see why anyone without an agenda would be opposed to a closed, anonymous faculty vote on the chancellor's performance. If he has the the faculty's support, then those defending him can knowingly state that there are really just a few rabble-rousers who are trying to stir up trouble. We all know what the result of that type of vote would be, though.
you are wrong about the facilities position. word in facilities services is that the job search is a sham for a planned promotion of one --lets say -- unqualified chick.
ReplyDeleteActually, there are two associate vice chancellor positions open right now, acooridng to the HR site (one for auxiliary services and one for facilties and operations). They both report to the same person. I guess they're both being filled, or attempting to be filled, with unqualified people.
ReplyDeleteJim Logan was not fired. He simply was not reappointed. His version is that this was because he strongly defended the college (NOT HIS) plan for reorganization which did NOT require doing away with the finance, management and marketing degrees -- which apparently is the plan that the Chancellor wants. The Chancellor has proposed eliminating these degrees (good luck on getting them re-approved by the LSU board once things get better) and substitute the much weaker, much less desirable (read that lower enrollment) BBA degree with concentrations in finance, management and marketing. The faculty strongly opposed this and Jim Logan says he was representing this opposition to Dr. Ryan. So he was not reappointed (which is different than being fired). Now the college has a new dean. The big question is will he represent the plan developed by the faculty representatives or the one developed by the chancellor.
ReplyDeleteI am bothered by the fact that rumors and unsupported facts (e.g., mistress, QE's husband to be appointed, Logan was fired, that are posted on this blog. Let's stick to the facts folks. The facts themselves will accomplish the goal.
ReplyDeleteFired or reappointed...I'm not going to argue semantics. If he was technically "not reappointed," then fine. My mistake.
ReplyDeleteThe fact is he's not there anymore because he voiced opposition to the chancellor, whehter they were his own views, those of his faculty, or some combination thereof. Why in the world would the new dean, if he/she has any hope of keeping his/her job, go against the chancellor? It's just completely irrational to think the new dean would do anything but exactly what they're told, unless they'd like a similar fate as James Logan.
And that is exactly the climate this chancellor has created. People know if they don't cowtow, they're heading for the unemployment line.
I understand that it's ultimately up to the chancellor to decide how his or her institution is going to be run. I'm not saying that you should get to spit in the face of the chancellor, call him every name in the book and then go back to your office. What I'm saying is that UNO can't be run like it's being run now, where any idea, thought, suggestion, etc. that runs counter to the chancellor's grand scheme is to be held back out of fear for one's job.
This is a public research university!
Rumors or not everything I have read on this blog I have heard a dozen times with little if any variations and I don't work at UNO. Depending on your point of view it doesn't matter what is being said on campus between staff but the bigger problem is that the New Orleans business community hears it too. I have heard first hand from members of large local charitble Foundations that they can't believe how bad UNO is being managed and that there needs to be a change. At UNO events people can be seen trying to avoid the Chancellor or making comments about how he is surrounding himself with young women. LSU's administration knows everything that is going on and still does nothing. Send this plog to every LSU Board of Superviser. The problem is facts can be given but those who have the facts are too scared to speak up and the Chancellor and his side kick knows that.
ReplyDeleteRe: Faculty cuts at UNO -- someone needs to ask Ryan about the request he submitted to the LSU System to renovate his own office to the tune of $250,000 -- it's all public record . . . .
ReplyDeleteRegarding the James Logan situation, terms of appointment usually run from one fiscal year to the next. A dean who was going to be "non-reappointed" would certainly have known that prior to July 1st, the start of the fiscal year, but Logan seems to have been surprised by what happened.
ReplyDeleteThe "termination" or "non-reappointment" happened during the first week of August, after James Logan wrote a letter to the College of Business faculty explaining that the Chancellor had not accepted the College's plan, but instead wanted his own version. Make up your own mind as to whether it was caused by a Dean being honest in communication with his faculty or for other reasons.
It is clear that the Chancellor removed a dean, and replaced him with an interim dean during the semester break without consulting with the faculty of the College about their concerns or input into the situation. Not having a permanent dean puts a college in a position of being much more easily influenced by the whim of the Chancellor. As I said, make up your own mind.
Regarding the $250,000 for office renovation mentioned above - I am not sure of the amount, but it is true that the LSU system turned down a recent request for office renovation in the Administration building. It is public record.
ReplyDeleteFaculty and Staff:
ReplyDeleteIt is with great shock and regret that I inform you that this morning, Dr. John Lombardi, President of the LSU System, has relieved Tim Ryan of his duties as Chancellor of the University of New Orleans. We will update you as soon as more information becomes available. The University Senate meeting with continue as scheduled this afternoon.
Joe King
I guess they were listening after all.
Many thanks to everyone who has written in over the past several weeks, and particularly those who have not feared to write the truth in this forum.
ReplyDeleteOur initial goal has been accomplished, and now the real work of saving UNO and the future of all public higher education institutions in this state begins.
It's about time. Thank you to those who helped to make this happen. I hope all of the yes men and yes women who either helped Tim Ryan drive UNO into the ground or stood by and did nothing will be next on the chopping block. They deserve it.
ReplyDeleteThis is the dawn of a brighter day at UNO.
Ryan is out, but do not accept Lombardi's plan for UNO! That is critical - UNO should decide its own governance.
ReplyDeleteTo the poster two posts up, stay classy. Let it be clear that the BOS authorized Tim Ryan's firing. They are John Lombardi's bosses. There's no way he makes a move like this without the support of the BOS. So to call this a Lombardi-Gargano takeover is silly. You think John Lomardi wants to be running UNO right now? Like he has nothing else to do.
ReplyDeleteWhat did you want them to do...put Lowry in as interim chancellor?
By the way, Gargano holds a doctorate in higher education administration. Just because he coached golf, does not make him less of an academic.
Anyone who's dealt with Gargano knows he's a disaster. I don't know what your obsession is with Lowry, but the Provost, Joe King, should be interim chancellor. Provost acts in that capacity when the chancellor is not on site.
ReplyDeleteI doubt anyone knows the real story.
ReplyDeleteI only wish the vote of no-confidence had come before Ryan's dismissal. Unfortunately, he now has the oppotunity, and is using it, to make himself out to be some kind of martyr who fell on his sword in defense of his people. Rubbish.
ReplyDeleteIf you think Joe King, who was the "yassa masta" man for Ryan (and hasbeen looking for a job in TX for the past two years) will be a good leader, than I think you're in for a big surprise.
ReplyDeleteMaybe using the "F" word gets you higher student ratings, but it didn't score with me (or at least one other reader). Clean up your act when addressing adults.
ReplyDeleteFrom Baton Rouge: "Ryan, named chancellor in October 2003, was given an administrative leave until January when he will begin a six-month sabbatical . . ." Talk about golden parachutes! What a boondoggle!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat about Lowry? Will she get a golden parachute for her marginally mediocre performance?
Long time practice of golden parachutes for some, but not for others at UNO. Depends on if you were a friend of the Chancellor's or not...
ReplyDeleteIf you weren't willing to sacrifice your own job, or stand up in a public meeting against Tim Ryan's plans for the university, or call for the vote of no confidence yourself, Joe King certainly doesn't deserve the bad press four posts above. He has been in the same hostage position as all of us.
ReplyDeleteThings would have been a lot worse if Tim's successor for Barton and golf playing buddy had gotten the job.
Previous post said "If you weren't willing to sacrifice your own job, or stand up in a public meeting against Tim Ryan's plans for the university, or call for the vote of no confidence yourself, Joe King certainly doesn't deserve the bad press four posts above" I disagree. There is a difference between a faculty member making $45,000 a year and a supposed LEADER making close to $200,000 a year. The faculty members job calls for different responsibilities . . . especially at UNO where the faculty are rarely, if ever, listened to. A key leader's job calls for LEADERSHIP. The cost to Joe King standing up to Ryan would have been his returning to the classroom at his current salary. The cost to a faculty member would have been unemployment. Doubt it? Look at what "punishment" Ryan got: several months administrative leave (at full pay) six months sabbatical (presumedly at full pay) and returning to the classroom following that (at full pay).
ReplyDeleteThere is a double standard with different consequences. And though Ryan deserved credit for his for for a year or so after Katrina, many people were trying to figure out how to have a vote of no confidence. One way or another Ryan was on his way out.
Saw QE yesterday afternoon. Boy did she look distraught. I can't imagine why. With her abilities, she should have no difficulty either convincing Joe King to keep her on OR finding another job for $130,000.
ReplyDeleteTo the poster two above that starts out, "Previous post said..."
ReplyDeletePlease tell more about Ryan returning to the classroom at full pay. The LSU System specifies a different percentage. Perhaps he did have a golden parachute that we should all know about.
The salary amounts will become public record eventually and we will all know the truth eventually, but maybe not until next year.
Word on the street has it that 3 people in the Chancellor's office have been fired this morning
ReplyDeleteLet the housecleaning begin...I just hope the roaches can't all scatter and form a new nest..
ReplyDeleteThe LSU System should beware. They've let the fox in the henhouse by inviting Ryan's golfing buddy to be part of the advisory panel.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame Mike Rivault and Aundrea Kloor were caught up in this. They were not involved. They had the unenviable misfortune of being assigned to Elizabeth and now two good people are gone. The other two needed to go a long time ago. But this is not the first set of casualties in this process.
ReplyDeletePlease. Rivault and Kloor are far from innocent. Make no mistake, they drank the Kool Aide, too. They were plotting and planning the "strategic cuts" right along with Ryan, Lowry, and her side kick, Montegut. They may not have had the power to do as much evil as Ryan and Lowry, but they did absolutely nothing to distance themselves. They played along for their own benefit. The entire inner circle got pay raises while others that they hand picked were fired. Check the raises--its public record. The lot of them got what they deserved.
ReplyDeleteGet rid of UNO Charter Schools and their drain on the University cash flow!
ReplyDeleteWhy the heck is this plan not the alternative?
ReplyDeleteA Plan to Balance the State Budget Without Destroying Health Care and Higher Education
By State Treasurer John Kennedy
Louisiana is facing a $2 billion to $3 billion budget deficit next year. Here’s how we can deal with it:
1. Do not raise taxes or fees. We do not need to. It won’t work anyway. Ask California.
2. Louisiana has 258 state jobs per 10,000 people (federal Bureau of Labor Statistics). The national average is 143. Eliminate 5,000 positions each year for three years by not filling one-third of the state’s job vacancies each year. Annual savings: $500 million
3. Require a minimum span of control of one manager for ten state workers, like Texas and Iowa. 22% of Louisiana state government managers supervise one employee (Legislative Auditor). The average manager supervises four. Annual savings: see No. 2
4. Eliminate 10% (by value) of the state’s 16,000 consulting contracts. Annual savings: $750 million
5. Renegotiate the state’s remaining consulting contracts and require a 5% reduction in cost. Annual savings: $337.5 million
6. Use centralized collection, automated notices and tax refund offsets to collect the $1.5 billion in accounts receivable owed the state, 58% of which is 180 days past due. Annual savings: $200 million
7. Implement Louisiana law (LRS 22:1065, LaHIPP) that allows the state to purchase private insurance for low-income citizens when it is cheaper than Medicaid. Annual savings: $100 million
8. Change state law and enforce federal law to reduce the annual 900,000 taxpayer-funded emergency room visits for nonemergencies by 25%. Annual savings: $67.5 million
9. Review all Medicaid hospitalizations for medical necessity. In 2009, 80% of the 218,784 Medicaid hospitalizations, costing $900 million, were not reviewed (Legislative Auditor). Annual savings: $180 million
10. Establish physician training agreements between our Charity Hospitals and Louisiana hospitals with a high Medicare patient mix to capture Medicare medical education funding. Annual savings: $160 million
11. Reform the state Medicaid Preferred Pharmaceutical Drug List to include the most effective drugs at the lowest price for each illness. Annual savings: $100 million
12. Reduce the $254 million in administrative costs for the state Medicaid Program by 10%. Annual savings: $25 million
13. Require state prisoners to pursue a GED as an incentive for probation or parole, like Florida and New York, to reduce our recidivism rate. Annual savings: $33 million
14. Give refundable state income tax credits (like the federal Earned Income Tax Credit) to parents of students in underperforming public schools to send the kids to better-performing parochial and private schools. Annual savings: $57.5 million
15. Establish a self-sustaining state revolving loan fund to finance local capital outlay projects at reduced borrowing costs. Annual savings: $75 million
16. Postpone the state’s current “LaGov ERP” computer upgrade until a cost-benefit analysis can be done. Savings: $50 million
Total savings: $2.636 billion
Rachel Kincaid can go next. Another Ryan crony. I never saw anything in her previous history that remotely qualified her for a vice-chancellor position to start with. On top of that, I've never seen anything she's done since being in that role that she can really claim accomplishment for through her own work. Both the leader of the Louisiana house and the senate are UNO alum. Yet, UNO gets no help from either. UNO seems to get no help from any government entity. Why do you think that is?
ReplyDeleteAndy Benoit can go, too. Though the numbers for the fall haven't yet been released, Benoit was quoted as saying we have "around" 12,000 students this semester. The enrollment in the fall of 2006, one year after Katrina, was 11,747. Our numbers have barely risen, if at all, despite the repopulation of the city and everything that has come with it in the last few years. All while Mr. Benoit is preoccupied with coaching club football and applying to be the athletic director. Every other New Orleans area school has made good or great strides in enrollment since Katrina. Not UNO, though.
The five people let go probably represent close to a million dollars in salaries plus fringe benefits per year. Will Lombardi be assuming Ryans salary in addition to his as Pres of the BOR? Might help with the budget.
ReplyDeleteJust askin'.
It disturbs me that there is so much hate on the blog. I am a proud alumni member and happen to work on campus. We need to maintain our independence from LSU and chart a course with the help of those that are not interested self gain over the needs of our students. Without them, we will all be unemployed.
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right. But, the folks that this hate or anger is being directed to were/are only interested in self gain. That was the problem. Now that those folks are gone or on their way out, the people who truly care about UNO's future can come together and make this university the success it once was.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't mean everyone is going to agree on the correct course. That's OK, though. It's a great start when you can look at the person you're disagreeing with and at least know their heart is in the right place and both of you feel more free to express your ideas without fear of reprisal.
Will Lombardi be assuming Ryan's salary, you ask? Only if it's added to his own; he sure won't be taking a paycut! Nor will his pet Gargano, for whom Lombardi created the $225,000 position. Even while I agree with some of the house-cleaning going on, I am not under the illusion that it's for the good of UNO. These two will bring their own folks in. Watch.
ReplyDeleteWho was let go, besides Rivault and Kloor?
ReplyDeleteRyan is arrogant.
ReplyDeleteIf you "crossed the boss", you got berated. Those who challenged him over the last year have either been fired, forced to resign or were treated like they failed to exist.
While Division III athletics keeps the ship afloat and keeps athletics intact, Ryan's actions during that discussion was one major strike against him.
Last December, he not only was audio-recorded slamming the LSU System at a PAF meeting, but the UNO alums who have been most passionate about saving athletics, but also the university.
Many more of his arrogant actions were delivered straight to the System office.
The ones to be embarrassed are those on campus who did not think Ryan would be fired. Everyone that had a pulse of what was happening on campus has known for months.
Not only if you crossed the boss were you berated in the last year but if you crossed the boss at anytime in his tenure you were berated. Tenured faculty with seniority who were "laid off" after Katrina had "crossed their bosses" and were "laid off" without cause. Tim Ryan approved these "lay offs" for his buddies. The manner in which the "lay offs" were handled caused AAUP to sanction UNO. And it has been a down-hill slide since then.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, it is said that the LSU board has to send in Lombardi, when there is at least one very well qualified person at UNO to do the job. Had he been Chancellor from the get-go, UNO would not be in this debacle.
It's nearing lunchtime at a post-Ryan UNO. One has to wonder where the ex-employees of the Chancellor's Office are cocktailing today.
ReplyDeleteI also wonder how Ryan can claim to the media that he was "fired" if he still draws a paycheck from the institution he mismanaged. All a part of his effort to appear the martyr/hero/victim. Yawn.
I'd like to know who the very well qualified person at UNO to do the job of Chancellor is. Obviously the poster thinks it's a male. It's not Joe King as he simply said "yes sir" to Ryan. A person of courage is needed. Add to that someone who will listen to the faculty, has a proven record of fund raising, delegating academics to the provost, and many other qualities. Of whom do you speak? I'm certainly not aware of such a person.
ReplyDeleteYou're right about the fund raising part. On the Times Picayune blog on Ryan's departure, one alum (and parent of a current student) says s/he has never received a letter asking for a donation. Can you imagine. We need to hire a past president of a Jesuit school ;-) Seriously, we do need someone with the ability to raise funds for the foundation and not spend them on boondoggle trips for deans and above.
ReplyDeleteThe comments about Rachel Kincaid obviously are coming from one of the individuals who was fired or from someone who does not know the true lay of the land at the upper levels of the UNO administration.
ReplyDeleteThose who do not know Rachel should know that she has worked hard at and for UNO for the past 14 years, earning first an MBA and now working on a Ph.D.
Rachel never was a part of that inner circle of groupies whom Ryan surrounded himself with and is part of the "good leadership" at UNO, although individuals who do not know better might assume that she was part of that group just because she was attractive and promoted to a leadership position.
In actuality, she was promoted because she was good at what she does and produces results. In fact, any member of the Executive Committee can tell you that Ryan essentially stopped communicating with Rachel Kincaid when he brought Elizabeth Lowry on board as Chief of Staff and that Rachel was not a supporter of the Ryan Regime during its decline over recent years.
Ryan made sure that her work for the university was not well known within UNO circles, and so people who are unfamiliar with her and her work may want to see her as another one of his inexperienced appointments. Despite Ryan's lack of public acknowledgment of her results, she was very effective at her job. Her results as a VC are impressive, and without her work on external affairs, UNO would be without $12 to $15 million in federal funds each year, not to mention the millions of dollars in state funds that she has caused to flow to UNO.
I certainly hope that the LSU System will view her as an asset and retain her. To do otherwise would indicate either a lack of understanding of the connections and funding Rachel brings to the table, a desire by the LSU System to hamstring UNO in its ability to garner external funds, or a response to a political agenda of various legislators who do not support UNO.
I do not know for absolutely certain, but the above rings true. Besides my service on various committees, another committee memeber and I had direct contact with Rachael. We asked her to get approval for a concept from Ryan and to get some information from him. It was never forthcoming. Based on my past experiences with her (before the declining years of Ryan mentioned above), she was incredibly productive.
ReplyDeleteI'd take a hard, LONG look at her recrod before grouping her with the "groopies"
Oh, one more thing. My contacts with Rachel have been the result of an incredible amount of work. I'm confident that she knows how hard my committee colleagues and I had worked on each given project. However, despite several, lengthy conversations with her, she can pass me in the hall without even nodding. I realize I've been one who's been asking, and that the givers can be perceived as MORE important. But if the person or people who come up with a good concept that allows her to ask, why aren't they at least worthy of a "Hi, (insert name)" at a minimum. Who's more important: the person who comes up with the idea for a research project or the GA who does the work and writes most of it up? So, Rachel, please give that some thought. If you can't remember even my face after several encounters, why would I want to spend any more time sharing ideas with you? Of course they could have been bad ideas, but they weren't. You, the committees, and the individuals who presented the concepts to you all agreed that they were good!
ReplyDeleteI have been reading this blog and appreciate the kind remarks made about me and am disappointed by the others. Like all of you, I believe strongly in what we do at UNO and am committed to its future. I know each of us are doing all we can right now to ensure that future. My responsibility is to secure funding at the state and federal level for all of us.
ReplyDeleteThis year was UNO's biggest year at the state level in many years, with more than 8.4 million in funding. UNO received $4 million to renovate the science building and with amendments supported by Speaker Tucker and President Chaisson to the GRAD ACT, UNO will be eligible for a tuition increase generating $4.2 million this year. Those amendments will allow UNO to receive $25.2 million over the next six years, without which UNO would have been ineligible for any tuition increase until we reached the graduation rate of our peers, giving us more time to improve our graduation rate.
Last year, UNO proposed and with a coalition of other research universities passed, the $30 per credit hour fee on graduate programs that generates $1 million per year. The year prior UNO was successful in helping to pass the 5% tuition increase that over the last four years has brought in 2.2 million annually, totalling $8.8 million. Funding that during these budget cuts UNO desperately needs.
On the Federal side, we have received to date more than $43 million in hurricane related funding for the campus. Most of those funds have gone to cover the salaries of the faculty and staff since our state and tuition revenues still do not cover our expenses. The remaining funds UNO received will rebuild the Cove, repair part of the University Center, make the campus wireless, provide new research equipment for each college, restore library holdings lost due to budget cuts, and update the English and math labs for our students. Lastly, UNO also secured $6.6 million in capital outlay for the library this summer...a project that has been on capital outlay since I was still in high school. I say "we" because it is the UNO community; faculty, staff, students and alumni who made calls to our legislators and our members of Congress every time I have asked. Your calls to our legislators and members of Congress have made all the difference. Also please know that we are fortunate to have the strong support of our legislators and our members of Congress for UNO.
UNO also receives roughly $8 million annually in federal appropriations for specific research projects from our members of Congress in addition to our other funding.
Detailed information about bills, research projects and state funds UNO has worked on are on my website under External Affairs on UNO's homepage.
Please know I welcome your comments about UNO's federal and legislative efforts as well as alumni issues. My office is always open and I hope that you will please call me or send me an email about your thoughts.
Thank you.
Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI'm in English and have heard nothing about updating our labs. That's great news if it's true. How can I find out more about it?
I have been working with Susan Krantz and Peter. I am trying to coordinate it with Math to reduce the costs but will cover both. Please call me or talk with Susan and she can fill you in.
ReplyDeleteThanks - I'm glad to see you're still with us.
ReplyDeleteCan someone tell me what is wrong with this picture?
ReplyDeleteTim Ryan fires James Logan as Dean of the College of Business for daring to submit the restructuring plan of the college's task force
Ryan hires John Williams as his latest henchman and the Interim Dean of the College of Business with the understanding that Ryan's restructuring plan would be submitted as the plan of the College of Business
Now the rumor mill has it that Joe King, who did nothing to stop the bad actors in the former administration, will be named Interim Chancellor in the very near future
If this is true, what can the LSU System be thinking by not only keeping two of the primary individuals who assisted Ryan in his dirty work in these leadership positions, but also by continuing to reward them and allow them to profit from their roles in the former administration?
It seems that we are continuing with Ryan's plans and just playing a shell game by moving other people into place to carry out those plans now that Ryan has been ousted as Chancellor of UNO.
I hope I am wrong about this, but only time will tell. In the meantime, the LSU System has a long way to go in making things right and removing the Ryan Rubber Stamps from the current administration of UNO.
You assume that the rumor mill is correct; you further assume that Joe King simply rubber stamped Ryan's agenda and that John Williams intended to simply carry out Ryan's plan. That's a lot of assumptions. I would suggest that you inform yourself of the FACTS before publicly questioning the integrity of individuals who have done absolutely nothing to deserve such disrespect. Sounds like libel to me.
ReplyDeleteI did not comment before because the rumors on campus about Dr. Ryan, Ms. Lowry and Ms. Kincaid were worse than what people posted. However, to state that Joe King was a rubber stamp on the Chancellor's agenda you are either misinformed , a liar, or a fool. He is an ethical, hard working person who has done many wonderful things for UNO. And he is not the only good person working at UNO.
ReplyDeleteDo we need a strong Chancellor who will be a positive voice for UNO? Of course we do. Do we need more oversight of Vice Chancellor's and Deans qualifications, work load, extra comp and salary? Of course we do. But there is no need to throw out the good with the bad.
Instead of tearing down individuals based on rumors, work with the Senate to develop plans which are applied to all and let the system point out the problem areas.
Look around you when you go to work on Monday. There are many of us who love UNO and work hard to make it better every day. There are enough outside influences tearing us down - we don't need to destroy ourselves from within.
Administrators, faculty and staff need to learn to work together because a house divided cannot stand.
The rumors and "libel" that have been posted on this site are unproductive and are the modern day version of writing on the bathroom wall.
ReplyDeleteDoes UNO have problems that need to be addressed for the long term benefit of the University? Yes... and UNO has to make changes and quickly. Did you know UNO lost 600 students this semester on top of facing another huge budget cut?
We already are expecting the huge budget cut from the state. We have to fight the cut and fight to get our students back and keep them.... or more layoffs are to come.
I do agree with the prior post...instead of tearing down individuals based on rumors, let's work with the Senate and HR to develop processes to develop evaluations, work load, extra comp and salary policies for all levels of the university....deans, vice chancellors, faculty and staff. We need clear polices and transparency at UNO...something that has been missing for some time. No more DEALS for anyone!
But most of all, we need to work together. And right now, the focus has to be saving UNO. Otherwise, UNO has itself to blame that while we are fighting among ourselves "outside influences" are secretly plotting to use the next budget cut to justify gutting our graduate programs and turning UNO into a feeder for the "flagship."
Don't be fooled...that's the real plan.
There are others on UNO adminstrative staffs that are using their "left over" clout to gut our their offices and fill in the space with those who will be "yes" men/women. Don't be fooled that this ended with Ryan and his bunch. Everyday the inequity is there. Staffers moved up because of favors, while loyals are overlooked and budgets frozen. How can one or two departments continue hiring and promoting in excess of $10K/yr raises while others have not seen one since Katrina. There is still some work to do LSU, Joe, Joel, Scott and Mike and Carolyn. Still work to do. Watch and find those who actually do the work to make their supervisors look good, but are getting passed on.
ReplyDeleteI heard through the grapevine that today was Andrea Kloor's first day as Director of Executive Education in the College of Business.
ReplyDeleteand so it continues. Who ever said the meek shall inherit the earth did not read up on university politics.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct about Kloor. She was not fired. The former Chancellor planned to send her to Executive Education as a safe harbor despite her lack of credentials, but didn't get it done before he was fired. Ryan's latest yes-boy, John Williams, carried through on Ryan's plan without any input from the chairs of the college or the faculty, and boy, is everyone PO'd.
ReplyDeleteAnd by the way, if you haven't already heard, Mike Rivault was fired then rehired.
The LSU System needs to do a better job of cleaning house.
As long as Tim Ryan's golfing buddy is trying to pull power plays while he's on the steering committee and John Williams is continuing to carry out the former Chancellor's plans within the College of Business, the System might as well have left Ryan in place. Same old stuff different day.
Just because a post about an individual is unfavorable, doesn't mean it's not true, or libelous for that matter.
ReplyDeleteWe know the truth and we will not be deterred from continuing to post the truth about the bad apples by one or two of them tossing around the word "libel" to try to scare us.
I cannot understand why Rivault was rehired. He has no idea how to market UNO and seems to blame the university itself for his failings. He's promised a website revamp for about two years now, but that doesn't market the university. The billboards he put up are absolute crap. You can't even see the UNO logo, squeezed over in the far right, bottom corner in 12 point type.
ReplyDeleteWe had the Get to Know UNO recruitment event yesterday and he didn't have anyone recording video. I watched him for awhile. He stood in the middle of the room, arms crossed and wrapped around himself, as if sheltering himself from the messy UNO crowd. His body language screamed that he is defensive and hiding himself from his job.
I've listened to him at meetings and in the Senate, and he blames the city (he needs to tell the Saints and the Tourism Marketing Commission that New Orleans is a "negative" and can't be marketed), the university, our students, everything. He promises that as soon as he can figure out what our "brand" is, he'll market us. We have 50 years of "brand" in our classrooms, history that stretches out all over the city and state.
He would resign if he had a shred of honor.
Everyone needs to take a deep breath and figure out a way to move forward. Rachel Kincaid is one of our greatest assets and kept raising funding for this university when all other "fundraisers" were at a standstill. More of us with proven track records of success at UNO need to be invested in our collective future by being brought into the decision-making process as the university continues to reshape itself.
ReplyDeleteI second the last comment - we owe a big thanks to Rachel Kincaid.
ReplyDeleteCommenters: Thanks for a lively discussion. It's healthy to vent. Some of these comments have been lurking unsaid for decades.
ReplyDeleteI hope the blog can continue to be as vital as it has been. It's gotten thousands of page-views, so it appears to be serving a need.
Let's try to move forward. The cuts were officially announced today. We need organization. Can we move the comments to the front page, under the most current post, rather than continuing this thread?
Thanks, The Blogger.
Just a rumor, but I've heard that Rachel Kincaid gets kickbacks from the money she gets for the university.
ReplyDeleteHow can that happen when the university is in financial trouble?
ReplyDeleteDon pekarek, Louis Paradise, Roger Haydel, Gregory O'Brien set UNO on a path to ruin years ago. Jindal is just cutting and not helping with how to deal with the cuts. His entire history is slashing budgets with no long term solutions.
ReplyDeleteLet's see: When O'Brien took over as Chancellor, UNO was though of as a bunch of military barracks with an enrollment smaller than it currently has. It became a major, urban research institution under his reign. So how is it he and his colleagues set it on a path to ruin?
ReplyDeleteOh, and yes, O'Brien showed less than perfect judgement towards the end of his leadership. But he served the UNO community well for many years.
ReplyDeleteUNO is not a major player amongst universities. O'Brien ran his own kingdom rife with sexual harassment complaints that were swept under the rug so the university would not get bad publicity, hiring Directors with questionable past due to connections, housing allowances that would stun most, Pekarek, paradis and o'Brian covered for Roger haydel who sexually harassed damn near the entire male population of facility Services.
ReplyDeleteDragging O'Brien, Pekarek and Paradise into this? Seriously? They have been gone for years. Whether anyone thinks they did a great job or a horrible job is immaterial. What is the purpose of this blog anyway?
ReplyDeleteBy the way...whoever said Roger Haydel and O'Brien sexually harassed employees better have FACTS to back it up. You do have the freedom of speech but you don't have the right to slander or libel without penalty...you can be sued for infactual infomation just like the tabloids. Blogs, even comments posted anonymously are able to be traced folks and subject to legal action like any other form of media. That also includes Mr. Blogger.
If you have facts and evidence to back up what you said..then post it.
Does anyone have the latest on what is happening with the Chancellor search? When do they meet?
ReplyDeleteRoger Haydel was terminated for sexual harassment. O'Brian and Pekarek only took action when EEOC complaint filed and lawsuit was in the works. As for proof check the 50 or so statements on file with the EEOC.
ReplyDeleteHow about some updates about the new administration with Peter Fos and Gregg Lassen?
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ReplyDelete