Isn't this the guy who ran the College of Engineering into the ground and it is now in shambles trying to recover? I heard, that if not already happening there are going to cut a percentage of staff due the the budget problems at PSU and especially Engineering? Engineering used to be a premiere college at PSU I thought, does it still have the same reputation? Then PSU promotes this guy to Provost!!! I am hearing that it is good that he is leaving and PSU will be better off. This is all hearsay of course but....where there is smoke....
This LTE was penned by a guy with a long (and successful) history in STEM Higher Ed (including a significant stint at PSU, and some high-level work with NSF). I think one can read between the lines vav Schwartz (the italicized portion below):
"WILL PENN STATE TRUSTEES STEP UP, MAKE HARD DECISIONS?
This is a perilous time for Penn State. We face a $100 million budget deficit, our University Park student yield is the lowest in the Big 10 while our tuition is the highest. Will our board step up and make some hard decisions?
Hardly, 21 of our current 36 trustees with, collectively, 3,705 career voting opportunities, have never recorded a no vote on any issue. Not on tuition increases, new buildings, personnel contracts, not on anything! A quintessential “rubber-stamp!”
An exception is Alumni Trustee Barry Fenchak voting no 37% of the time, always asking for details, benchmarks and alternatives. More Barrys are needed in our upcoming alumni election. Soon, the board will vote to approve a $700 million bond, the largest in our history, to refit Beaver Stadium. Will 2025 witness a new stadium along with campus closures?
Now a new problem has arrived.
Our new provost is leaving after 10 months on the job. In my view, looking for a new job only months after appointment is a disservice to our university, especially in this tumultuous time of budget restructuring. Looking forward, however, I am hopeful that our rank-and-file faculty and staff can step up and join with our President to overcome this leadership void.
And would not our whole university community and alumni embrace a return to an earlier time when Penn State was a cherished destination for aspiring leaders and a $500,000 annual retention bonus for a football coach was unthinkable?
Al Soyster, Boalsburg"
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