Pilarz to step down

[pbiflyer]

just read that pilz lived in a dorm with students...didn't go to mu for my undergrad...how the hell does a priest live in a dorm?  would have been enough to get me to move, but i'd definitely send my niece to mu if i can get her a room next to a nun.  

I lived on the same floor/wing as a priest in the 80s. Never an issue, in fact it was a bonus. We seemed to get away with more.

[MUDrag]

I read some comments on an inability fund raise.  My understanding was that it was one of his strengths.  A the university of scranton, he did a great job at a very low profile school.  Interesting development.  The fact he's staying through the end of semester more than likely means it's not a scandal/.  I think it was due to disagreement on future path of school. 

[ChicosBailBonds]

They often take down comment section if posts are related to race or sexual incidents. Not saying this is the case, but they do delete comments if they get in delicate topic range.

Yes, there were some like that...the latter, not the former.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Zingy
It worked for the Badgers.

Worked for the University of California

[79Warrior]

I read some comments on an inability fund raise.  My understanding was that it was one of his strengths.  A the university of scranton, he did a great job at a very low profile school.  Interesting development.  The fact he's staying through the end of semester more than likely means it's not a scandal/.  I think it was due to disagreement on future path of school. 

Take a look at the numbers. Not great at MU.

[real chili 83]

I lived on the same floor/wing as a priest in the 80s. Never an issue, in fact it was a bonus. We seemed to get away with more.

Fr. Naus?

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Great post. Very funny.

I doubt there is a true scandal. He wouldn't be Pres for months longer
if there was a selasious scandal waiting to cone out.

My bs guess is he was in over his head with too many demands.

No way. It's a scandal. They wouldn't show him the door in the middle of the school year...just weeks after the start of the year...if it was a run of the mill situation. Something has happened. Thank God we have the Zizzo Group to lead us through these things.

[4everwarriors]

Some sort of impropriety could be possible, but wouldn't the Board then cut him loose here and now?

[mu_hilltopper]

Zizzo Group?  Nothing for them to promote.  This will be 1984 Memory Holed.

Fr. Pilarz?  We do not talk about Fr. Pilarz.  There was no Fr. Pilarz.  He was never at MU, and any recollection of that is false.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Some sort of impropriety could be possible, but wouldn't the Board then cut him loose here and now?

That's a good question, but I think publicly cutting him loose immediately would make it appear as if it's a dire situation. But the reality is, getting rid of him in two and a half months is essentially telling him to get lost. There is no way he's making any decisions through the end of the semester. He's beyond a lame duck at this point. He's persona non grata. Letting him stay through the semester is for appearances only.

If this was a purely fundraising problem they could work on that. Hire somebody to sit beneath him that's better with alumni. Send him to training classes, etc. At the very least they'd tell him he needs to get his act together on that front in the next couple years. There is no way they'd fire him mid year after less than 2 years on the job.

One more thing...the release of this announcement on a Friday night is a hack move. The days of Friday night news getting buried is 1970s stuff. They did this thinking nobody would notice, which is a joke.

[The Lens]

Next time, lets not go shopping in Scranton.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Next time, lets not go shopping in Scranton.

What about New Orleans or tiny Belmont Abbey?  People have to come up through the ranks

[ChicosBailBonds]

No way. It's a scandal. They wouldn't show him the door in the middle of the school year...just weeks after the start of the year...if it was a run of the mill situation. Something has happened. Thank God we have the Zizzo Group to lead us through these things.

Maybe, but I have a hard time believing if it was a scandal of some kind that MU would allow him to stay on board....especially if it directly involved him.  MU would take so much grief for that, and rightly so.  I'm thinking its more along the lines not a good fit, fundraising, philosophical differences with the board, etc. 

[Eldon]

That's a good question, but I think publicly cutting him loose immediately would make it appear as if it's a dire situation. But the reality is, getting rid of him in two and a half months is essentially telling him to get lost. There is no way he's making any decisions through the end of the semester. He's beyond a lame duck at this point. He's persona non grata. Letting him stay through the semester is for appearances only.

If this was a purely fundraising problem they could work on that. Hire somebody to sit beneath him that's better with alumni. Send him to training classes, etc. At the very least they'd tell him he needs to get his act together on that front in the next couple years. There is no way they'd fire him mid year after less than 2 years on the job.

One more thing...the release of this announcement on a Friday night is a hack move. The days of Friday night news getting buried is 1970s stuff. They did this thinking nobody would notice, which is a joke.

Sounds about right to me.  Thankfully, it's obviously not too dire a situation, as you point out.

The release of this info on a Friday night is indeed a bit suspect.  Reminds of when S&P downgraded the US credit rating.  Did so on a Friday night so that it would have less of an effect on the markets.

[Coleman]

That's a good question, but I think publicly cutting him loose immediately would make it appear as if it's a dire situation. But the reality is, getting rid of him in two and a half months is essentially telling him to get lost. There is no way he's making any decisions through the end of the semester. He's beyond a lame duck at this point. He's persona non grata. Letting him stay through the semester is for appearances only.

If this was a purely fundraising problem they could work on that. Hire somebody to sit beneath him that's better with alumni. Send him to training classes, etc. At the very least they'd tell him he needs to get his act together on that front in the next couple years. There is no way they'd fire him mid year after less than 2 years on the job.

One more thing...the release of this announcement on a Friday night is a hack move. The days of Friday night news getting buried is 1970s stuff. They did this thinking nobody would notice, which is a joke.

+1 everything here is so spot on

[mu_hilltopper]

"How do we minimize this, make it not sound like a dire situation?"

"Well, we could keep him around for the next 90 days, that make it seem less dire.  Meanwhile, his boxes are on the curb."

[77ncaachamps]

Any idea who would be serving as an interim president?

[ChicosBailBonds]

Any idea who would be serving as an interim president?

Al Haig?

[The Equalizer]

I read some comments on an inability fund raise.  My understanding was that it was one of his strengths.  A the university of scranton, he did a great job at a very low profile school.  Interesting development.  The fact he's staying through the end of semester more than likely means it's not a scandal/.  I think it was due to disagreement on future path of school. 

http://www.marquette.edu/financeoffice/documents/MUFY12Audit.pdf

Contributions are down from $54 million in 2011 to $43 million in 2012.

A 20% drop in contributions has to be somewhat disturbing. Keep in mind that this data is through June 30 2012--the board surely knows what the 2013 results are.  There may well be a further drop not public yet.

[pbiflyer]

Fr. Naus?

No McGarrity on 10N of Schroeder.

[real chili 83]

No McGarrity on 10N of Schroeder.

Naus was on 10N during my two years (on 10S)...'79 and '80.

[warriorchick]

http://www.marquette.edu/financeoffice/documents/MUFY12Audit.pdf

Contributions are down from $54 million in 2011 to $43 million in 2012.

A 20% drop in contributions has to be somewhat disturbing. Keep in mind that this data is through June 30 2012--the board surely knows what the 2013 results are.  There may well be a further drop not public yet.

If these are gross numbers, comparing one year to the next is worthless.  One or two large donations that are earmarked for a particular project could totally skew the numbers.  It would be more meaningful to compare fundraising goals vs. actual results.

[ChicosBailBonds]

No McGarrity on 10N of Schroeder.

We had Father Andy Thon in our building

[jsglow]

Any idea who would be serving as an interim president?

That decision will be up to the BOT.  No guarantee that one will be named.

[WI inferiority Complexes]

We had Father Andy Thon in our building

He lived in McCromick in the middle 90's.