Father Wild has been named interim president.

[Newsdreams]

So is this good for the new season?

[LAMUfan]

Time to break out the bobble head

[GGGG]

I did not think that would happen. 

[bradley center bat]

Dear members of the Marquette community:
I am writing to provide some further background and information on my decision to resign as president of Marquette. First, I want you to know that I have enjoyed my time here, especially my interaction with students, faculty and staff. The classes I have been privileged to teach stand out in my mind. Marquette students are bright, engaging, thoughtful and genuine. Our faculty and staff are generous and deeply devoted to the university's mission. Our work together throughout the strategic planning process is also a highlight in my career in higher education. I have never before seen a campus community work so well toward a common purpose. Hopefully the plan will shape the university's direction for years to come. Additionally, I want to thank the vice presidents and deans for their contributions to the life of the university and to my life.

Given all of these truths, leaving Marquette is a decision that involved a great deal of prayer, thought, and spiritual conversation, a decision that evolved gradually over two years. But once I came to clarity, I decided it was best to act in a timely manner.  Both the clarity and timing are entirely mine, despite the efforts of friends and colleagues to convince me to consider remaining at Marquette.

As part of the final stage of my Jesuit formation, called tertianship (which admittedly came later for me than most Jesuits), I made the 30-day silent version of the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola. Many of you are familiar with the dynamic of the exercises and its drive toward interior freedom. The exercises can lead to what St. Ignatius calls "an election." During the retreat I felt initial stirrings that have grown in me over the past two years. I began to consider other apostolic opportunities available to me. As I look forward to my future as a Jesuit priest from the vantage point of being over 50, I realized I had been a university president for more than a decade. That is the longest I have ever done anything in my life and I have always been a restless soul. 

Believe me that I will be forever grateful for my work with colleagues and collaborators at Scranton and Marquette. It has been a blessing.

At the same time, I have decided to do more and different things as a Jesuit. For example, I desire to do more pastoral work than I have been able to do as a president. I also want to do more teaching, research and writing. I acknowledge, as well, a couple practical realities that have influenced the timing of my decision. First, I believe that Marquette needs a president who is willing to commit to working wholeheartedly on a comprehensive capital campaign over a five to seven year period. Given my other hopes and desires, I am not in a position to do that now. Also, I want to be more available to my aging parents' health concerns than I can be in my current role. This is common among people my age. Finally, I want to give the Marquette trustees enough time to conduct a careful search for a new president. I decided it was better to share my thinking with them at the start of the academic year rather than in December or May. I agreed that I would stay at Marquette until the board could find an appropriate interim president.

I'm happy to share that the Board of Trustees has asked my predecessor, Rev. Robert A. Wild, S.J., to serve as interim president. Now that Father Wild has agreed to serve in that capacity during a search, I can confidently take some time to consider my future options during a sabbatical period in the coming months. I will assist Father Wild with the transition, while traveling back and forth to the East coast to care for my ailing father. Father Wild is concluding his duties with the Wisconsin Province and will take over as interim president on Thursday, Oct. 16. I know that Marquette is in great hands, and I look forward to working with Father Wild and the Board of Trustees to ensure a smooth transition and a successful search. 

I hope this helps to explain the nature and timing of my decision. Again, this has been a deliberate process in the context of great personal freedom during which I have had the support of friends and colleagues at Marquette and beyond. I am grateful for that and for my time here. 

God bless you, God bless Catholic and Jesuit higher education, and God bless Marquette. 

Sincerely,

Rev. Scott R. Pilarz, S.J.
President
Marquette University

[Newsdreams]

^Just posted that link on the Pilarz's is leaving topic.

[ZiggysChestHair]

This should help keep Buzz at Marquette when Texas comes calling.

/perhaps not fully teal with that comment

[keefe]

A lot of words that essentially communicate no real insight. While there is more to this story I suggest we let the man go in dignity.

[tower912]

I wonder if he will get spotlighted at Midnight Madness?   IMO, it makes sense as a short term move, giving some familiarity and stability while the search commences for the next pres.  

[Newsdreams]

I wonder if he will get spotlighted at Midnight Madness?   IMO, it makes sense as a short term move, giving some familiarity and stability while the search commences for the next pres.  

It has been posted as per students he did not attend many games. Don't think he will be at MM.

[wadesworld]

It has been posted as per students he did not attend many games. Don't think he will be at MM.

I have seen him at games before.

[warriorchick]

It has been posted as per students he did not attend many games. Don't think he will be at MM.

I am not sure that the students would be the most reliable source for game attendance figures.  I just don't think he sat in the stands very often like Father Wild.  I saw him up on the skybox level or on the escalator headed that way several times, no doubt to hob knob with donors.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

A lot of words that essentially communicate no real insight. While there is more to this story I suggest we let the man go in dignity.

+1.

I'll just take him at his world and wish him luck.

[WI inferiority Complexes]

It has been posted as per students he did not attend many games. Don't think he will be at MM.

I'm not sure what constitutes "many games," but I must have seen him at 10 games, minimum.

[hdog1017]

The more things change, the more they stay the same. 

[spartan3186]

I am not sure that the students would be the most reliable source for game attendance figures.  I just don't think he sat in the stands very often like Father Wild.  I saw him up on the skybox level or on the escalator headed that way several times, no doubt to hob knob with donors.

This. He wasn't wandering around the floor like Father Wild always was, but he was certainly there. Most of the time he was up in the Marquette suite. In a conversation I had with him, he mentioned the only games he missed were when he was teaching a class.

[Coleman]

Welcome back Bob! Let's get Wild!


http://frwild.tripod.com/

[Benny B]

This. He wasn't wandering around the floor like Father Wild always was, but he was certainly there. Most of the time he was up in the Marquette suite. In a conversation I had with him, he mentioned the only games he missed were when he was teaching a class.

I ran into Fr. Wild more at basketball games than I did anywhere else on campus.  We had a great conversation before one of the games once... at least I think it was a great conversation.  All I know is that I had imbibed much more than I would have liked to had I known I was going to be talking to him.


Typically, I like to keep my drinks within a range of three minimum to six maximum prior to conversations with clergy.... four and eight for a bishop.

[Coleman]

Typically, I like to keep my drinks within a range of three minimum to six maximum prior to conversations with clergy.... four and eight for a bishop.

8 to 12 for a Jesuit

[Archies Bat]

8 to 12 for a Jesuit

More for a nun.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Dear members of the Marquette community:
I am writing to provide some further background and information on my decision to resign as president of Marquette. First, I want you to know that I have enjoyed my time here, especially my interaction with students, faculty and staff. The classes I have been privileged to teach stand out in my mind. Marquette students are bright, engaging, thoughtful and genuine. Our faculty and staff are generous and deeply devoted to the university's mission. Our work together throughout the strategic planning process is also a highlight in my career in higher education. I have never before seen a campus community work so well toward a common purpose. Hopefully the plan will shape the university's direction for years to come. Additionally, I want to thank the vice presidents and deans for their contributions to the life of the university and to my life.

Given all of these truths, leaving Marquette is a decision that involved a great deal of prayer, thought, and spiritual conversation, a decision that evolved gradually over two years. But once I came to clarity, I decided it was best to act in a timely manner.  Both the clarity and timing are entirely mine, despite the efforts of friends and colleagues to convince me to consider remaining at Marquette.

As part of the final stage of my Jesuit formation, called tertianship (which admittedly came later for me than most Jesuits), I made the 30-day silent version of the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola. Many of you are familiar with the dynamic of the exercises and its drive toward interior freedom. The exercises can lead to what St. Ignatius calls "an election." During the retreat I felt initial stirrings that have grown in me over the past two years. I began to consider other apostolic opportunities available to me. As I look forward to my future as a Jesuit priest from the vantage point of being over 50, I realized I had been a university president for more than a decade. That is the longest I have ever done anything in my life and I have always been a restless soul. 

Believe me that I will be forever grateful for my work with colleagues and collaborators at Scranton and Marquette. It has been a blessing.

At the same time, I have decided to do more and different things as a Jesuit. For example, I desire to do more pastoral work than I have been able to do as a president. I also want to do more teaching, research and writing. I acknowledge, as well, a couple practical realities that have influenced the timing of my decision. First, I believe that Marquette needs a president who is willing to commit to working wholeheartedly on a comprehensive capital campaign over a five to seven year period. Given my other hopes and desires, I am not in a position to do that now. Also, I want to be more available to my aging parents' health concerns than I can be in my current role. This is common among people my age. Finally, I want to give the Marquette trustees enough time to conduct a careful search for a new president. I decided it was better to share my thinking with them at the start of the academic year rather than in December or May. I agreed that I would stay at Marquette until the board could find an appropriate interim president.

I'm happy to share that the Board of Trustees has asked my predecessor, Rev. Robert A. Wild, S.J., to serve as interim president. Now that Father Wild has agreed to serve in that capacity during a search, I can confidently take some time to consider my future options during a sabbatical period in the coming months. I will assist Father Wild with the transition, while traveling back and forth to the East coast to care for my ailing father. Father Wild is concluding his duties with the Wisconsin Province and will take over as interim president on Thursday, Oct. 16. I know that Marquette is in great hands, and I look forward to working with Father Wild and the Board of Trustees to ensure a smooth transition and a successful search. 

I hope this helps to explain the nature and timing of my decision. Again, this has been a deliberate process in the context of great personal freedom during which I have had the support of friends and colleagues at Marquette and beyond. I am grateful for that and for my time here. 

God bless you, God bless Catholic and Jesuit higher education, and God bless Marquette. 

Sincerely,

Rev. Scott R. Pilarz, S.J.
President
Marquette University

What a load of nonsense.

[Sir Lawrence]

 
Dear alumni, parents and friends:

I am writing to share with you the news that Marquette University's Board of Trustees announced today that Rev. Robert A. Wild, S.J., will lead the university as interim president. As you know, Father Wild served as president of Marquette from 1996 to 2011, and he will take over for President Scott R. Pilarz, S.J.

Father Pilarz asked that I share his gratitude for Father Wild's generous offer to serve as interim president to continue the momentum and success of this esteemed university. Father Pilarz will assist Father Wild with the transition, while traveling back and forth to the East coast to care for his ailing father, which he noted in a letter to the Marquette community today. Father Wild is concluding his duties with the Wisconsin Province and will take over as interim president on Oct. 16. Father Wild will serve as interim president until August 2014, when a new permanent president is expected to be in place.

Father Wild is the perfect leader to ensure university operations continue smoothly during the search for a new permanent president. Having served as president of this great institution for 15 years, he is familiar with our senior university leadership team, has a remarkable connection with our 110,000 alumni around the world and is passionate about the mission of the university – a mission grounded in the four pillars manifested during his presidency – excellence, faith, leadership and service.

During Father Wild's tenure as president, undergraduate applications to Marquette increased fourfold, from approximately 5,000 applications to nearly 20,000 for fall 2010, and he dramatically changed the look and feel of campus with landmark buildings like the Rev. John P. Raynor, S.J., Library, the Al McGuire Center, and Ray and Kay Eckstein Hall.

The Board of Trustees and university leadership will work closely with Father Wild to ensure we continue to move forward on major university initiatives currently underway, and to provide stability and continuity for day-to-day university operations in the months ahead.

Interim President Wild and academic and administrative senior university leadership will be supported by the experience of our Board of Trustees, which includes a university president, an NBA head coach, a former senator, five Jesuit priests, and 12 presidents and CEOs of local, national and global businesses.

The Board of Trustees will provide oversight and counsel, and will assist with the search for a new permanent president, which is already underway. John F. Ferraro, Bus Ad '77, will chair the presidential search committee. Ferraro is the global chief operating officer for Ernst & Young, responsible for the overall operations of Ernst & Young worldwide.

Change is never easy, but it is necessary for growth. Since 1881, Marquette has stood for strength, stability and excellence in education, and I can assure that with your support, we will remain a premier university for centuries to come.

Sincerely,

Charles M. Swoboda, Eng '89
Chair, Marquette University Board of Trustees

[Benny B]

More for a nun.

Depends on the age of the nun.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

What a load of nonsense.

What's your deal on this topic?

You seem to be the one guy who WANTS this to have been something scandalous.

[hairy worthen]

I ran into Fr. Wild more at basketball games than I did anywhere else on campus.  We had a great conversation before one of the games once... at least I think it was a great conversation.  All I know is that I had imbibed much more than I would have liked to had I known I was going to be talking to him.


Typically, I like to keep my drinks within a range of three minimum to six maximum prior to conversations with clergy.... four and eight for a bishop.

What an awesome rule of thumb. Hope you never have to meet the pope you will be dropping acid

[Coleman]

What an awesome rule of thumb. Hope you never have to meet the pope you will be dropping acid

http://www.theonion.com/articles/heres-the-one-true-way-to-heaven,33668/