By Danny Mayer
Yesterday Lee Todd announced that he’s stepping down at UK. The Herald Leader covers the story here, in Cheryl Truman’s piece.
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/09/09/1425426/uk-president-lee-todd-to-announce.html
Tom Eblen also chimed in, and I couldn’t disagree more with him. Read his piece here.
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/09/09/1426268/tom-eblen-todds-leadership-strengthened.html
Why do I disagree with Eblen? UK, Lee Todd, and their Top 20 Mission have been a particular fascination of mine, and by extension, of this paper. For anyone interested, here’s a collection of articles dealing appearing in here that have dealt with this topic. One-stop NoC shopping:
“UK’s Failed Mission” (July 14, 2010): https://noclexington.com/?p=1197
“Paying for a Top 20 Education” (November 2009): http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/25125
“Grade Inflation at U of Kentucky” (November 2009): http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/24891
“Student Activism and University Rules and Regs” (December 2009): http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/25411
“Four takes on de-schooling” (August 2009): http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/25519
And the Coal Lodge fiasco:
Andrew Battista’s article, “The University’s domain of greed, power and corruption” (November 2009): http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/24781
And “Questioning Coach Coal,” (November 2009): http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/25018
And for a little long-term context, here’s a piece I co-authored with Josh Reid for Nougat in April 2006–back when faculty loved UK Top 20.
Shea
Danny Mayer is a great writer, vigilantly observant, acerbic and spot on with the UK CEO creep thing.
Joe
Kentucky, more than other states I think, has a great man complex. Usually the great man is a coach of some sort. It’s part of the state’s basic Republicanism: the CEO is all important.
I, on the other hand, may have the opposite prejudice. I suspect and usually despise the “great” man. I know he’s overpaid, overvalued and overme. Lincoln, I think he was a great man. And Eleanor Roosevelt.