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Jim Tressel (National Champion, ex-President, Youngstown State University, CFB HOF)

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BVistahC said:
I'm happy for him.

I just don't understand what people upset with this news want the man to do with his life. Just not work? He's trying to contribute to society.

Just reading some reaction, it seems like the people from Youngstown and YSU students like the hiring. Isn't that what really matters? Not idiotic opinions of sportswriters, columnists and talking heads (looking for views, clicks, etc.).
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I'm happy for Jim Tressel, but I don't think he was qualified to fill the position.
 
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MaxBuck said:
I'm happy for Jim Tressel, but I don't think he was qualified to fill the position.
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I don't agree that Tressel is unqualified, given his long track record of administration and leadership, and a university president does not have to get into as much academic nitty-gritty as provosts and deans; but his resume and cover letter were certainly very different from YSU's other two finalists:

http://web.ysu.edu/presidentialsearch

You don't see "Citrus Bowl champions" on a lot of applications for college administrators. :lol:
 
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BayBuck said:
I don't agree that Tressel is unqualified, given his long track record of administration and leadership, and a university president does not have to get into as much academic nitty-gritty as provosts and deans; but his resume and cover letter were certainly very different from YSU's other two finalists:

http://web.ysu.edu/presidentialsearch

You don't see "Citrus Bowl champions" on a lot of applications for college administrators. :lol:
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Not sure what he means by the coming "magical era" for Youngstown. Maybe he knows something we don't. It is fairly dystopian, so...
 
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RugbyBuck said:
Not sure what he means by the coming "magical era" for Youngstown. Maybe he knows something we don't. It is fairly dystopian, so...
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Honestly it is not a good cover letter, at all. Some very... weird---"punctuation" for a formal letter, and without any specifics about how he will approach the presidency. I've been through a bunch of academic job searches, and we dismiss applications even for entry-level professional positions for weak cover letters all the time.

But even though the other two have PhDs and deeper university administrative experience, they both sound like your standard academic hacks, without a single notable (or Ohio) institution on either of their resumes.
 
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BayBuck said:
I don't agree that Tressel is unqualified, given his long track record of administration and leadership, and a university president does not have to get into as much academic nitty-gritty as provosts and deans; but his resume and cover letter were certainly very different from YSU's other two finalists:

http://web.ysu.edu/presidentialsearch

You don't see "Citrus Bowl champions" on a lot of applications for college administrators. :lol:
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No, he doesn't need to get into the nitty-gritty, but there's more to it than just the figurehead/fundraising duties that some people in this thread have made it out to be. I don't think his experience as a coach and AD adequately prepares him for the strategic aspects of a university presidency, but YSU represents a special circumstance due to his history and familiarity with the institution and the region.

As somebody who works at a place not too dissimilar from YSU (way down the ladder, mind you), I'd be very anxious about the direction of the institution if it hired a president with a background similar to his.
 
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jlb1705 said:
No, he doesn't need to get into the nitty-gritty, but there's more to it than just the figurehead/fundraising duties that some people in this thread have made it out to be.
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I agree with this, but it's not so so much more, especially when everyone knows who/what Tressel is for YSU. He delegated a lot of the work as a football coach, and he's going to need to do the same as president: YSU is also looking for a new provost, so that will be a big hire for them too.
 
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BayBuck said:
I agree with this, but it's not so so much more, especially when everyone knows who/what Tressel is for YSU. He delegated a lot of the work as a football coach, and he's going to need to do the same as president: YSU is also looking for a new provost, so that will be a big hire for them too.
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That's precisely what I'd be anxious about if I worked there though. With it being common for a new president to bring in their own people at provost and vice president positions you have to wonder about how that's going to go. The difference between hiring and delegating in this position as opposed to doing so as a football coach is that his experience and network are limited by comparison. If his background leads to him being relatively hands-off with the provost hire, what are the chances that the person they bring in for that post will align with his strategic vision and leadership style?
 
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jlb1705 said:
That's precisely what I'd be anxious about if I worked there though. With it being common for a new president to bring in their own people at provost and vice president positions you have to wonder about how that's going to go. The difference between hiring and delegating in this position as opposed to doing so as a football coach is that his experience and network are limited by comparison. If his background leads to him being relatively hands-off with the provost hire, what are the chances that the person they bring in for that post will align with his strategic vision and leadership style?
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The searches for YSU president and provost have run alongside each other, with the two search firms working in communication with each other, and with the president being selected first since he will select the provost (from a pool of finalists determined by a YSU search committee), so at this point a potential provost knows he/she will be working for Tressel. So hopefully the process helps bring together a top-two whose styles align in a productive way for YSU.

And from the provost job posting, it sounds like a lot of strategic planning and academic leadership will fall to that position anyway.

In the article just above, the Cleveland State president had a good comment on how the new bosses fit at UA and YSU:

"Both boards probably examined what they felt their university needed at this particular point in time and made a selection based on that analysis," he said.
He said UA cited Scarboroughs financial expertise, which will help that institution, and YSU is looking to raise its profile.

"Everything you hear about Tressel is that he has very good communication skills and good interpersonal skills and that is an opportunity for them if their goal is to raise their visibility," he said.
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