What have we seen out of Lawlor? I'm asking - I have no idea. To my knowledge, he's not the face of anything.
Bold steps would be things such as buildings-new /fixes/upgrades, maybe buying out a section of the "point", taking on the town, or other "chances" that will propel FU forward. What they said didn't create any buzz. It wasn't inspiring. What was presented to us was "stay the course"/survive instead of grow. They mentioned challenges - they didn't say how they were going to overcome them. We've had this discussion on other threads both on the men's hoops and other sections. I really can't name von Arx's major accomplishments- he's been here 10 years. If I'm wrong, please inform me/us.
Lawlor's hire/background looks like it is a step in the right direction but we can't be sure if he has any real power to make decisions....
Of course Lawlor is empowered....
ghostman makes a valid point about the hiring of Kevin Lawlor '79 as Executive VP/COO and his "real power to make decisions". No one here knows the extent of his authority and that empowerment to make decisions unless they are FvA, Mark Reed or Kevin Lawlor himself. IMO, Lawlor's worth, in addition to being in charge of the University's Operations Division, is his real world background and extensive business experience as he reports to Reed and FvA.
Fairfield University is a non-profit corporation governed by a Board of Trustees that appoints the President. The Board maintains legal authority and responsibility for the operations of the University. The Board, of which the President is a member, makes policy decisions and establishes institutional objectives and priorities.
President - Jeffrey von Arx, S.J. Sr. VP for Administration/Chief of Staff - Mark C. Reed '96
The University community is comprised of three divisions: Academics Division - Sr. VP for Academic Affairs Paul J. Fitzgerald, S.J. Advancement Division - None - Interim VP for Advancement - Mark C. Reed '96 while also serving as Sr. VP/Chief of Staff. Operations Division - Executive VP & COO Kevin Lawlor '79
Bold would have been devising a strategy to expand our base for high school seniors outside of New England and better marketing of our value proposition and to capitalize on our strengths to distinguish the school from competitors. Heard nothing of that kind.
I believe a program has been put in place to target outstanding seniors from the best Catholic and Jesuit HS in the country. And I think the focus was to do this in the major cities in the U.S. And the focus was not on SAT's, but trying to attract leaders who established themselves as Class Presidents, Newpaper Editors and Community or Church leaders. I also thought the Book Award scholarship was developed to target these students when they were Sophs and Juniors and not wait until Senior year.
And while new Buildings, or a Football/Lax stadium, or an on-Campus arena is more sexy and would creat more of a buzz, the major initative has to be keeping the value of our Fairfield degree very high. That is how Fairfield became what it is today. That is what separates us from the Siena, SHU, Quinnipiac, and puts us in the league with Fordham and Holy Cross. I want us to spend our endowment on Athletics and Basketball in particular, but I also know that a large endowment is critical to long term academic prestige when used for professors, programs, and scholarships.
Fairfield has been a very conservative school, ever since I went there. Actually the move to WBA was one of the more bold moves they made. It finally got us out from behind those rought iron fences that surround the campus. They should do more like the Bookstore in Fairfield Center and making an impact on the local area. How about buying St Vincents Hospital, WICC, University of Bridgeport.
How about buying St Vincents Hospital, WICC, University of Bridgeport.
Right on JoeStag! These ideas have been proposed here many times. Fairfield should further engage the local community and focus on becoming an engine of economic change and development in Bridgeport and the surrounding area.
There is a shortage of primary care physicans and the pharmaceutical industry has a large presence in Connecticut. Fairfield should buy St. Vincent's and establish a School of Medicine, Pharmacy and Public Health right in the heart of Bridgeport.
GE and Sikorsky are two of the biggest engineering firms in the world. Fairfield should buy the University of Bridgeport to expand the School of Engineering and further expand our footprint into the neighborhood surrounding the Webster Bank Arena.
Radio is an excellent means to deliver the Fairfield brand and strengthen ties to the local cultural and business communities. Fairfield should buy WICC and establish it as the preeminent NPR station in Fairfield County with significant ties to the culture community by featuring the Quick Center for the Performing Art and signficant ties to the business community by featuring professors from the Dolan School of Business and Economics Department.
Now that is bold and strategic!!!
Last Edit: Apr 6, 2014 17:53:20 GMT -5 by Stagophile
I believe a program has been put in place to target outstanding seniors from the best Catholic and Jesuit HS in the country. And I think the focus was to do this in the major cities in the U.S. And the focus was not on SAT's, but trying to attract leaders who established themselves as Class Presidents, Newpaper Editors and Community or Church leaders. I also thought the Book Award scholarship was developed to target these students when they were Sophs and Juniors and not wait until Senior year.
And I can't end my comments without recommending my favorite concerning how to attract top honors students. Many top schools offer unique residential communities in conjunction with their Honors Program. A high academic achieving son of one my colleagues chose the George Washington University Honors Program for this very reason. Fairfield should refurbish and convert McAuliffe Hall into the Honors Program Residential Community offering a unique living space along with social and academic programming just for Honors Program students. The idea of living in such a beautiful turn of the century mansion with your fellow high achieving peers would be an exciting proposition. No offense, but, there would be no Vinnie or Paddie Boozers from Long Island to contend with. Well, maybe a little.
Last Edit: Apr 6, 2014 18:26:48 GMT -5 by Stagophile
IMO, FU should associate itself with Fairfield/Stamford/NYC. Bridgeport is a basket case of a city. It's noble to try to help there but it won't move us forward.
We need new facilities that will attract students. The dorms are old. The townhouses are beyond their expected life. We need to acquire housing at the point and take better advantage of the sound as a selling point for the U. Alumni hall is a dump and needs to be replaced. Bold is stating all of that and fixing it. That will energize the students and attract new ones.
Lot's of schools are going after the honors type kids. We need to wow them when the visit. 50 year old dorms don't do that. Paint peeling Alumni Hall doesn't do that.
Bold moves? Yes. Remotely realistic or sensible? No.
Some people suspect that the university is preparing for a large campaign very soon. Providence is doing it now and Holy Cross is in the quiet phase. Very difficult to raise money in this environment. The money only gets raised if the donors think the use of proceeds makes sense. The plans have to be logical, realistic and convince big donors it's well thought out and consistent with a viable long term strategy. Smart philanthropists don't write big checks without understanding the details and trusting the plan.
We are a young school, which makes multi-hundred million dollar raises even more difficult. The last time we did it, very generous supporters ponied up $200 million. Wow!
The university will invest in facilities. They will invest on campus, not in Bridgeport. In 2012 and 2013 they made a large residence hall investment and landscaping investment. Campus looks great.
Next is lacrosse field, recplex, and hopefully material upticks to the nursing and business school facilities and faculty. Investment in these schools and engineering is essential because the number of kids willing and able to pay top dollar for a liberal arts education is rapidly declining.
And using some funds to increase the endowment is important to the long term viability of the school. About 40 cents of every dollar paid in tuition (the discount rate) goes to financial aid? That is a huge expense and is needed to keep the quality of the incoming classes where we all want them to be in terms of GPA ,class rank, SATs and all the leadership traits Joe Stag referenced. If not, the quality drops and you are looking at a scary downward cycle. We don't want to be ranked with the bottom third of colleges, we are well into the top third now. Lets keep moving up.
And we need the hoop team to win consistently and to move up in conference.
agree with you ghost man. we need to wow the kids when they visit. that is what it is all about. getting the best kids who will graduate, make a lot of money and drive the next campaign which will fund a $50 million on campus arena to support a top A-10 caliber program.
Post by 01041949bob on Apr 6, 2014 20:11:34 GMT -5
I know many have been waiting for me to enter this discourse---but I have been too involved cheering on my other school I attended--- a school of young freshman--the Kentucky Wildcats--maybe Davis JJ Grennan and the guards have ADHD and thats why they could not focus---is SJ a psychiatrist now? maybe we can send SJ to Kentucky and let him spend time with Calipari so he can learn how to handle young talent---certainly it was not all the kids fault--why are we still having this coach hang around---cannot fire all the indians without the CHIEF SHARING A MAJORITY OF THE BLAME!!!!!!!
Post by 01041949bob on Apr 6, 2014 20:37:46 GMT -5
Sorry my dear young member, Stagmania--your telepathy and reading of my mind is dead wrong--stick with the post say--when you try to tell another what they would have done when they would not is just for sake of a better word foolish! SJ is a nice man but I probably would not have put him in this situation--at this mid major school we need a Coach who has a ton of passion--and its hands down Joey D