Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Dole
Every faculty everywhere dislikes their administration.
Bob Dole knows Bowen, and he is a good man who has the university's best interest in mind. That isn't to say that he can't make mistakes, but to try to paint him as some sort of self-centered bastard is just off.
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I don't 'know' him socially by any means, I've just had an opportunity to speak with him a couple of times.
My off the cuff impression of him is the same as yours. And I think what corroborates that is that I do get the opposite impression with Wolfe. Moreover, Loftin was very well regarded at A&M.
That said, I don't have my finger on the pulse for fundraising at all. If he really was struggling with the donor base, that's a problem. Kim Anderson may have done some damage there, but not enough to make a massive dent I wouldn't think.
At worst, I'm going to chalk this up to a personality clash rather than a value judgment as to Loftin. Loftin's a Texan through and through. He doesn't wear his politics on his sleeve but that alone is enough to make you a mark here (if you're not a raging liberal in Columbia you pretty much get cast as Yosemite Sam). He has a bit of swagger to him but doesn't really carry himself with that eastern elitist air that tickles the fancy of most academics.
I don't think he's an ineffective leader, though it sounds as if his style simply didn't fit here. Sadly, I don't think I'm going to care for the style of leader that they do bring in because it sure looks like they're going to have to go with some new age 'players coach' that wants to make sure everyone plays nicely in the sandbox.