Lovell

[theBabyDavid]

I am curious as to thoughts here about the performance of our first lay President almost five years into his tenure. I will admit to having been a sceptic but I do see the positives as well as the negatives. For me, the jury remains out but most here have closer visibility to the happenings at Marquette.

[MU82]

It's nice to have a Marquette president who can lay without running afoul of the church!

(I'll be here all night.)

[theBabyDavid]

It's nice to have a Marquette president who can lay without running afoul of the church!

(I'll be here all night.)

I think a major factor in Lovell's selection was his intense religiosity. The man is a hard core Catholic which was probably overemphasized as a trait because of the context of the hire.

[rocket surgeon]

It's nice to have a Marquette president who can lay without running afoul of the church!

(I'll be here all night.)

hows about letting this thread play out a little more before ya get us the lockdown there 82.  this could be a highly informative and interesting thread.  not to mention civil if ya'll can just get along lil doggies, eyn'a?

[WI inferiority Complexes]

I wish he'd do something about the temperature in the new arena.

[MU82]

hows about letting this thread play out a little more before ya get us the lockdown there 82.  this could be a highly informative and interesting thread.  not to mention civil if ya'll can just get along lil doggies, eyn'a?

It was a joke. And I did everything except put it in teal to make it obvious it was a joke.

Lighten up, Francis.

[cheebs09]

Jury still out for me. He seems to be great interacting with the students. It seems like he was a driving force behind the partnership with Harley and Miller to make a positive impact on that area. He seems to have a good relationship with area businesses and is embracing the fresh water sciences which seems to be a good place to be for the future.

Despite his vision, I worry about his execution. It seems like the announced plans are usually much grander than the actual output. There seems to be a lot of turnover at the top. I’m nowhere near the inside to know how much is on him, but based on this board and others, there’s some rumblings.
The McAdams thing was very divisive, which for some is in the plus column, others the minus.

I would guess the responses will be a mixed bag.

[mu_hilltopper]

Honestly, the only place I hear anything remotely negative about Dr. Lovell is on this forum.

[GGGG]

Honestly, the only place I hear anything remotely negative about Dr. Lovell is on this forum.

Yep. 

[tower912]

I am with topper.  Most recognize the challenges of his job and see how hard he works at it.   Nobody is perfect.  And like a basketball coach, how many superior candidates are there that want to come to Marquette?

[ZiggysFryBoy]

It was a joke. And I did everything except put it in teal to make it obvious it was a joke.

Lighten up, Francis.

Your track record of getting threads locked says otherwise. 

[jsglow]

Honestly, the only place I hear anything remotely negative about Dr. Lovell is on this forum.

+1  Mike is highly respected and a very decent guy.  Perfect?  Of course not.  Just like all of us.

[Goose]

jsglow

How serious is the current turmoil at MU? I was with someone I respect a great deal over the weekend and he seemed quite concerned over the situation.

[real chili 83]

Ok, in before the lock

[wadesworld]

Honestly, the only place I hear anything remotely negative about Dr. Lovell is on this forum.

Agreed.  Have heard nothing but the absolute best things about him.  And have experienced nothing but the best things myself, though very, very limited interaction.

[reinko]

+1  Mike is highly respected and a very decent guy.  Perfect?  Of course not.  Just like all of us.

Zactly, two cheers for MU82!

[rocket surgeon]

+1  Mike is highly respected and a very decent guy.  Perfect?  Of course not.  Just like all of us.

never mentioned anything about mike being indecent nor disrespected by any...what ziggy said though.  i just wanted to hear the conversation re: lovell and learn something i didn't know yesterday

[warriorchick]

jsglow

How serious is the current turmoil at MU? I was with someone I respect a great deal over the weekend and he seemed quite concerned over the situation.

What I do know is that he has very high expectations.

Example: The first started on the job, he asked the Director of Social Media to set up a Marquette - sanctioned Twitter account for him. When he was told that his request was taken care of, he said, "Great! Can you get me 2,000 followers by the end of the week?"

The Social Media Director scrambled like hell (after his chest pains subsided), and he got Dr. Lovell his 2,000 followers. And in less than a month, he was the most followed college president in the state.

The good news is that I have every reason that people try to meet those high expectations is because they like and respect him, not because they fear him.

[mu_hilltopper]

^^^ ban dis gf-individual. His signature alone is begging for a vacation. Just awful.

On this we agree.  I hope he has a nice Thanksgiving.

[theBabyDavid]

What I do know is that he has very high expectations.

Example: The first started on the job, he asked the Director of Social Media to set up a Marquette - sanctioned Twitter account for him. When he was told that his request was taken care of, he said, "Great! Can you get me 2,000 followers by the end of the week?"

The Social Media Director scrambled like hell (after his chest pains subsided), and he got Dr. Lovell his 2,000 followers. And in less than a month, he was the most followed college president in the state.

The good news is that I have every reason that people try to meet those high expectations is because they like and respect him, not because they fear him.

I am struggling to understand how setting up a Twitter account comes anywhere near being an accomplishment for a University President.

What are the actual "high expectations" he sets.

I am not being obtuse; rather, I am responding to your statement. The only example you cite is he got someone to set up a Twitter account then challenged the guy to get 2,000 followers.  Frankly, that's pretty tepid.

I am sure there are some actual examples of Lovell's setting "high expectations" but you are certainly not citing any.

[jsglow]

jsglow

How serious is the current turmoil at MU? I was with someone I respect a great deal over the weekend and he seemed quite concerned over the situation.

The answer goose is that I don't know.  When I've talked with folks about it I've mostly gotten the canned 'change always happens' answer.  But the truth is that his top 2 lieutenants,  guys he himself hired, are gone in quick succession.  So actions are louder than words, right?  So we'll see I guess.

And I wanted to respond to you before rocky has to put the old master lock on this.

[warriorchick]

I am struggling to understand how setting up a Twitter account comes anywhere near being an accomplishment for a University President.

What are the actual "high expectations" he sets.

I am not being obtuse; rather, I am responding to your statement. The only example you cite is he got someone to set up a Twitter account then challenged the guy to get 2,000 followers.  Frankly, that's pretty tepid.

I am sure there are some actual examples of Lovell's setting "high expectations" but you are certainly not citing any.

I used that story because I got it straight from the source {as opposed to an "I heard that...") , and it is a high expectation given the task and the personnel involved.

I am sure that nearly every staffer at Marquette has a similar story about Dr. Lovell that is commensurate with their level of responsibility.

[dgies9156]

I am struggling to understand how setting up a Twitter account comes anywhere near being an accomplishment for a University President.

Because the President of the University has to communicate the mission of the institution, its place in the community and the world. He has to be able to work with the university's supporters to communicate the message in ways that will cause people to react and further extoll the mission of what Marquette is trying to do.

Granted, many of us don't use Twitter. If your MU graduation date was anywhere close to mine, paper media is still somewhat appealing. But the wave of the future is Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and gazillions of other forums that have not been invented yet. Part of Dr. Lovell's job is to communicate the message and that means getting lots and lots of social media relationships.

The fact is that as we Baby Boomers age and our sunset dates are closer than our graduation dates, we will be replaced by hyper-techno Millennials. To reach these people, technology proficiency will become more and more critical to communication. That's reality.

So yes, that's why Dr. Lovell's goal is so important.

[theBabyDavid]

I used that story because I got it straight from the source {as opposed to an "I heard that...") , and it is a high expectation given the task and the personnel involved.

I am sure that nearly every staffer at Marquette has a similar story about Dr. Lovell that is commensurate with their level of responsibility.

"...it is a high expectation given the task and the personnel involved."

I am stunned that setting up a social media account then driving traffic to it is in any way difficult, especially for the University Director of Social Media.

I have witnessed our devs set up accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and dating sites then write scripts that generate huge numbers of followers. It isn't difficult. And all they are trying to do is attract female companionship.

I don't use Twitter but I do follow Dr. Mark Schlissel. I think a quick scan through his account demonstrates that University Presidents have a particular script they follow which is to communicate and celebrate community, values, goals, and accomplishment. Schlissel and Lovell both use Twitter in the same way.

But this isn't about Twitter. It is about content. You said Lovell sets high expectations. What are those expectations?

[theBabyDavid]

Because the President of the University has to communicate the mission of the institution, its place in the community and the world. He has to be able to work with the university's supporters to communicate the message in ways that will cause people to react and further extoll the mission of what Marquette is trying to do.

Granted, many of us don't use Twitter. If your MU graduation date was anywhere close to mine, paper media is still somewhat appealing. But the wave of the future is Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and gazillions of other forums that have not been invented yet. Part of Dr. Lovell's job is to communicate the message and that means getting lots and lots of social media relationships.

The fact is that as we Baby Boomers age and our sunset dates are closer than our graduation dates, we will be replaced by hyper-techno Millennials. To reach these people, technology proficiency will become more and more critical to communication. That's reality.

So yes, that's why Dr. Lovell's goal is so important.

The use of social media plays a critical role in any organization's overall broadcast. I have never argued otherwise.

And for what it's worth, theBabyDavid's mother was recently named to lead the MSFT integrated web services business unit so I probably have a keener appreciation for PaaS than most of my generation.

My question is not if Lovell has mastered social media because he doesn't need to. It is how he has impacted Marquette in the five years he has been at the helm.