[NU Sports] Pres. Bienen to retire in 2009

Tue Mar 4 10:57:10 CST 2008

I think if you check the amount of money given by alumni, the schools that field
competitive, and winning teams tend to find it easier to add to their endowment
because there is a certain amount of pride by those alums towards their college
overall.

My son went to a small 4 year school in North Carolina that was run by the
Methodist church. They were known for their academics but just couldn't shake
the "women's conservatory" history until they decided to play football. The
student population evened out to almost 50:50 due to the influx of football
players. Those players traveled around the state, earned degrees with B+
averages, and generally improved the overall attitude of the rest of the alumni
[some of whom came across with major money for all parts of the school.] 

I'm sure there were profs and alums who decried "selling out to sports," but
last time I checked, their endowment was up.

It's important to remember that while some proclaim an interest in fostering
change, they do not want it for themselves. Some of us label that the NIMBY
syndrome. Professors are like the rest of us, they want change, but not in their
classroom or department. [We saw that with Medill recently].

Dr. Bienen will be remembered fondly for many things, and castigated for others,
[why they changed the name of the School of Speech is beyond me] but like
replacing Mark Murphy - finding a successor who has a broad appreciation of all
of campus life is going to be difficult. 

rsl

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Roy S. Lamberton - Senior Associate
& sometime Unix Guru....
Computer Applications & Support Associates 
========  Go Cats -  Beat 'em All  ==========
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com [mailto:nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com] On
> Behalf Of MHRJGScott at aol.com
> Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2008 10:33 AM
> To: nwu-sports at romaine.tssi.com
> Subject: Re: [NU Sports] Pres. Bienen to retire in 2009
> 
> Not that great a story I flunked phys ed (never showed up for  class), was
> in
> SDS, had long hair and dated the prettiest girl in DG. He hated  me. Bob
> was
> the dean of CAS at the time, his elevation to president 2 years  later was
> no
> doubt due to his opinion, quoted on national TV, "I think having a  losing
> football team can improve academic standards" As does fewer  hippies.
> 
> 
> In a message dated 3/4/2008 12:20:56 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> artmiller1 at hotmail.com writes:
> 
> Kicked  out of NU by the president of the university?  C'mon man, you gotta
> share  that story...don't leave us  hanging!!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> > From:  MHRJGScott at aol.com
> > Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2008 20:13:38 -0500
> >  Subject: Re: [NU Sports] Pres. Bienen to retire in 2009
> > To:  nwu-sports at romaine.tssi.com
> > CC:
> >
> > Paul is correct as  usual. I especially found Bienen to be down to earth
> ,
> > but of course  anyone who was not Bob Strotz (who kicked me out of NU)
> was
> > superior.  BTW I graduated with honors in 4 years anyway despite Bob due
> to
> great
> > profs who sent me to study in Europe while the political stuff calmed
> down.
> > Also BTW has anybody seen the hubub with Obama being a neighbor  of
> Benadine
> > and Bill Ayers, I guess you still don't need a weatherman  to know which
> way the
> > wind blows.
> >
> >
> > In a  message dated 3/3/2008 6:44:57 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> >  NEONRye at aol.com writes:
> >
> > President Bienen will be missed and  will be hard to replace. While some
> > decisions he made (such as  replacing long-time Dean of Speech School
> (whose
> > name
> >  currently escapes me) were controversial, I don't think anyone could
> argue
> 
> > that the University's overall reputation--academically and
> athletically--has
> >
> > grown substantially in the years of his  tenure as President. Having seen
> > the
> > man at Continental  Arena in the Meadowlands in New Jersey when we played
> > Seton Hall  there a few years ago I can attest to his passion and support
> for
> >  NU's
> > sports programs. And his "down to earth" persona when my son and  I
> bumped
> > into him in the Mens Room at halftime.
> >
> > I  think that his graceful exit, giving the School ample time to find a
> >  replacement and set up an orderly transition, speaks volumes about his
> love
> > for
> > the institution and his devotion to its enhancement. I  hope that
> everyone
> > on
> > this list recognizes his  contributions.
> >
> > Those of us who lived through the era of  Rocky Miller as Chancellor and
> Bob
> > Strotz as President know how  profound can be the damage wrought by
> > backward-looking  administrators, damage to the athletic program, and to
> the
> > morale of
> > the student body and faculty. I remember in the early '70's--a  difficult
> > time, to be sure, in many ways--thinking that we had an  administration
> that
> >
> > didn't care at all what we felt or had  to say. I doubt that today's
> > student body
> > feels the same  way. We used to say that NU didn't have an identity--we
> > used
> >  to wonder what was it about Northwestern that was unique and at its
> >  core--thankfully, that doesn't seem to be the case any more.
> >
> >  I think that the Board of Trustees will have some large shoes to fill,
> but
> 
> > I
> > am hopeful that President Bienen's success and prominence  will make this
> a
> > sought-after position, with outstanding  applicants.
> >
> > Paul Levinson
> >
> >
> >
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