A Tale of Two Universities

[LaCajunsFan]

Sorry, I keep going back to this previous remark by Fun:

“And in 126 years we have only had 6 presidents, 2 of whom accounted for only 9 years of our history. So we have had just 4 presidents lead us for 117 years…”

I wanted to see how that compares to some other La schools, and so did some quick internet research:

-TSAB has had a whopping 28 in their history. Granted, they pre-date us by about 35 years, but that should account for what…2, maybe 3 more than us?
-Ruston has had 15, a good chunk more than double us. Especially if you consider that we have really had only 4 leading us for the vast majority of time.

This is truly a remarkable set of facts. And as Fun also said this goes a long way in understanding our consistent growth and success.

Of course, who we are, and we are, also all helped to develop that stable foundation.

[ZoomZoom]

Every mediocre coach that is sat on lends to the idea that poor to underperforming professors are given lifetime jobs.

Ouch! But true.

[CajunFun]

Every mediocre coach that is sat on lends to the idea that poor to underperforming professors are given lifetime jobs.

Oh, there are some.

But that is true of every industry or cooperative endeavor. There are always some people who have seniority, or who are a friend or relative of the boss or the supervisor, or who do just enough work to fly under the radar.

What organization has more accountability than the US House? They undergo a performance review every two years... but a lot of doofuses keep getting reelected.

Savoie can't do much about tenure for a couch potato. If we fire a tenured professor and the AAUP gives us a black mark, strong faculty will stay away.

Unions create corruption and abuse.

A lack of unions creates corruption and abuse.

Many years ago I was speaking with some historians who also traveled extensively and were familiar with different countries. I asked them, "What nation in the world right now has the best bureaucracy?"

They thought about it, and then all three agreed: "You're not going to like this answer, but right now it's the US." After having traveled and lived abroad myself, I concur.

Americans constantly complain about our government apparatus, and constantly say it should be completely changed, or even gutted.

Be careful what you ask for, particularly if you haven't done your homework first. For me, the touchstone is how is the whole system is performing, compared to the other competitors.

UL is outperforming everyone in our league, and quite a few in leagues above us. Perhaps we should turn some of that critical analysis inward.

Perhaps we should practice a little more gratitude, a little less snarkiness...

[CajunFun]

-TSAB has had a whopping 28 [presidents] in their history. Granted, they pre-date us by about 35 years, but that should account for what…2, maybe 3 more than us?
-Ruston has had 15, a good chunk more than double us. Especially if you consider that we have really had only 4 leading us for the vast majority of time.

The average tenure of a college president today is under 6 years, and the number has been going down for the last few decades.

[CajunRebel]

The average tenure of a college president today is under 6 years, and the number has been going down for the last few decades.

Does anyone have a good explanation for why this is?

[CajunFun]

Does anyone have a good explanation for why this is?

Part of it is the growth of ambition, and the decline of community. Me, Me, Me, Me, Me. Faculty have learned to constantly look for the next, 'better,' job.

I have long suspected that one of the reasons UL has flourished is that, although we get the same attitudes coming in, some faculty-- and occasionally a coach-- decides they really like it here, and they stay. I have known several international research studs here, who could make more money at 'better' schools, but they prefer the quality of life we offer.

Some stay even after we fire them. Sam Robertson is a great guy; he still goes to our football games, and he loves it here.

[LaCajunsFan]

The average tenure of a college president today is under 6 years, and the number has been going down for the last few decades.

Worth noting that Dr. Savoie will celebrate year 17 this July.

Hope he is able to celebrate many more in the coming years.

[LaCajunsFan]

And for the record, here is the complete list of UL Presidents:

1. Dr. Edwin Stephens: 1900-1938; 38 years
2. Lether Edward Frazar: 1938-1940; 2.5 years
3. Dr. Joel Lafayette Fletcher Jr.: 1941-1965; 24 years
4. Dr. Clyde L. Rougeou: 1966-1974; 8 years
5. Dr. Ray P. Authement: 1974-2008; 34 years*
6. Dr. E. Joseph Savoie: 2008-currently 17 years

* holds the record for the longest-serving president of a public university in the United States.

[CajunFun]

Worth noting that Dr. Savoie will celebrate year 17 this July.

Hope he is able to celebrate many more in the coming years.

And he is a good example. Someone who worked for him at Regents told me that he said, on his very first day, that his goal was to come back and be president of UL.

Which represented less pay and less power.

He also turned LSU down for President of the System, and I heard he turned down some SEC school who was looking for a president (I asked him about the second one some years back, he gave a clever non-answer.)

Supporting the thesis that it's our local culture that keeps some people here, is something I've noted for years: like all 'smaller' towns, our kids move off to larger cities.

The difference is, our kids often move back.

I know of one faculty here who was at a major southern university, and told some friends they were transferring here. The woman started crying, and he reassured her, "We're coming back from time to time."

She said, "Oh, it's not that. We've been trying to get back to Lafayette for years."

Robichaux stayed when other schools came calling. I suspect Deggs won't leave unless we abuse him. Dez is probably here for the duration. I want to see how Alyson works out. I know a few faculty that have turned down 'better' jobs to stay.

And to beat that poor dead horse, this is why, even though I also love Cajuns athletics, I worry about putting too much emphasis on them. We have more important things going for us, which are turning out to be potentially more profitable things, as well.

We live in a state with disordered higher ed priorities.

Don't be like Mike.