Now that the Post Standard has published their story

[IthacaMatt]

If I put myself in Dasher's shoes, I can understand him being peeved. I have always said that I have Irish Alzheimer's...I forget everything except the grudges. I consider it my finest attribute. Also, my least attractive attribute, but still...

So I get where Dash is coming from.

However, as a retired executive, if I put myself in the Chancellor's shoes, I can very much understand his side as well. This whole thing has likely been litigated to death behind the scenes. It likely has involved any number of other donors, SU Legal, perhaps the Board, and a bunch of other issues we neither know about nor need to know about. I have zero doubt that others have willingly stepped up to address any shortfall based upon what AW might have donated. From Kent's standpoint, a decision was made, he is happy with it, others internally and external donors are likely happy, AW is free to donate through the collectives, and Kent has moved on to all the other things on his plate. I would bet a considerable sum that my assessment on that is correct.

So, out of the blue, he gets correspondence from someone he doesn't know, asking him to have lunch with someone that he has 0.0000000 desire to have lunch with, to discuss something that has already been debated to death, decided, and moved on from.

He's probably thinking "Who is this guy? I'll bet his name isn't really even Dasher!!" It is very likely not even the first time that someone has tried to mediate an issue that SU feels has been decided, and decided in a way they are happy with.

So for a variety of reasons, I can see silence coming from SU. "We have told AW he can donate to a collective, we have other sources who have stepped up, and there is nothing further to discuss." That is not an unreasonable stand to take. I get the "no formal response" objection but as I said earlier, it is likely (for legal and other reasons) their default action in this case.

Perhaps it may have helped some had Dash's acquaintance (who I am glad is NOT Joyce) intervened. Or perhaps not. SU may very well have put this whole thing in their rearview mirror, and perhaps justifiably so. Like Dasher, I would be peeved at the acquaintance (for my reasons, see paragraph #1).

Now, I'm hoping to do a better job of avoiding any thread with the letters "AW" in it.

"I'll bet his name isn't really Dasher!" LOL

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

To awkwardly try to use a phrase from Sheldon Cooper, it seems like the Lally’s and their cabal didn’t think that Weitsman was having fun the right way.

 

[Chip]

I take away two things from this.

1. Every time I see Dasher, my brain will read Gerald. That includes the reindeer.
2. Chancellor Kent has a limp handshake.

 

[IthacaMatt]

The culture is trash on the Hill. A mix of arrogance and ineptitude.

I had a professor friend of mine for 15 years blackball me from teaching up there, because I told him that the type of investments he was making in certain student businesses were structurally bad investments. He got burned on 2 of them.

We used to share season tickets for football. I hosted him in our corporate box at the baseball stadium several times over the years.

He volunteered to provide me a recommendation with the Dean of the Business School ("a personal friend"), and then tanked me. I got the rudest rejection letter I've ever received: "You will not be invited for an interview. You are not qualified to teach at this university." What the ... ??

Then, I sent him an intemperate email telling him what a nasty thing he had just done to me, and he said, "but what about the kids?"

I wrote him back - "So what about the kids? Entrepreneurship used to be SU's new calling 10-15 years ago, and now it might as well be kids taking accounting or history. It's like any other major. They're not interested in actually starting new businesses. They are building their resumes for the future with these pretend ventures." (Of course, add in some curse words.)

And then he shared that with several other mutual friends at the university. So I'm not expecting any more invitations to teach, lecture, judge or be on panels. Their loss. I was doing them a favor anyway. Go back to getting some personal injury lawyer to be an adjunct professor at your trash law school for $3,500 a semester.

I prefer to work with immigrants, small business owners and people trying to lift themselves up FOR REAL, not pretend.

 

[ScriptCuse]

Gerald!

 

[cliftonparksufan]

I take away two things from this.

1. Every time I see Dasher, my brain will read Gerald. That includes the reindeer.

When I read the article, I read Dasher's name as Gerry Kallo, not to be confused with Jerry Gallo or Jerry Callo.

 

[ROCcuse]

When I read the article, I read Dasher's name as Gerry Kallo, not to be confused with Jerry Gallo or Jerry Callo.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

Gerald!

West Wing reference?

 

[UnknownOrange]

When I read the article, I read Dasher's name as Gerry Kallo, not to be confused with Jerry Gallo or Jerry Callo.

Jerry Gallo's dead!

 

[2B20Again]

To be fair, under Nancy, too.

Let’s not go there. She was abysmal on a good day.

 

[LAorange44]

He’s right. This was discussed on the football board a few months ago. The ranking has dropped more under Kent.

To be fair the ranking methodology changed favoring large public institutions based on equity metrics and the number of first in family college enrollees. All private schools took a hit and large state institutions like Rutgers jumped.

 

[Bill Orange]

West Wing reference?

Lord John Marbury!

 

[007]

People in higher positions in academia tend to be arrogant without cause or merit.

What about people who post sweeping stereotypes?

 

[Willy75]

To be fair the ranking methodology changed favoring large public institutions based on equity metrics and the number of first in family college enrollees. All private schools took a hit and large state institutions like Rutgers jumped.

Those changes took place effective for the 2024 rankings, when SU fell from 67 to 73. It was the sixth straight year of decline under the current Chancellor.
Rankings for the top 20 private schools did not change much.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

To be fair the ranking methodology changed favoring large public institutions based on equity metrics and the number of first in family college enrollees. All private schools took a hit and large state institutions like Rutgers jumped.

Listen, don't you dare try to be fair minded or bring up a relevant point related to a critical change in measurement and methodology, we're bustin' on our (nerd) chancellors here. Even though this is a solid explanation on the broader decisions made determining rankings that impact more institutions than just Syracuse University, there's just no place for it in this discussion.

We simply cannot tolerate this level of thinking and insight, we're on a message board goldarnit.

 

[baggerbob]

Those changes took place effective for the 2024 rankings, when SU fell from 67 to 73. It was the sixth straight year of decline under the current Chancellor.
Rankings for the top 20 private schools did not change much.

Seems as if under the current BOT and Chancellor everything went downhill, maybe it's time for a complete housecleaning. The major sports Football, Basketball, Lacrosse, and Academics all have dropped.

 

[Bayside44]

Seems as if under the current BOT and Chancellor everything went downhill, maybe it's time for a complete housecleaning. The major sports Football, Basketball, Lacrosse, and Academics all have dropped.

Football won 10 games lax won the conference and went to the Final Four.

 

[Scooch]

Listen, don't you dare try to be fair minded or bring up a relevant point related to a critical change in measurement and methodology, we're bustin' on our (nerd) chancellors here. Even though this is a solid explanation on the broader decisions made determining rankings that impact more institutions than just Syracuse University, there's just no place for it in this discussion.

We simply cannot tolerate this level of thinking and insight, we're on a message board goldarnit.

There’s also no meaningful difference between being ranked 73rd and, say, 43rd. The rankings are dumb as a box of hammers.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

There’s also no meaningful difference between being ranked 73rd and, say, 43rd. The rankings are dumb as a box of hammers.

Sounds like something someone that went to a 73rd ranked school would say.

 

[Scooch]

Sounds like something someone that went to a 73rd ranked school would say.

It was in the 40s when I went there.

And when I go back and guest lecture the students are wayyyy smarter than my classmates.

So nothing makes sense, really.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

It was in the 40s when I went there.

And when I go back and guest lecture the students are wayyyy smarter than my classmates.

So nothing makes sense, really.

I'm just stoked that I got to do the same exact joke in two different threads.

 

[Nicknack]

I happen to know the Chancellor fairly well. I actually represented him in a past swearing in of the President of University of Arizona. I have had breakfast with him and his wife when they were her in town, and I was his guest at the 2016 Women's basketball first round NCAA game at the Dome. I also sat with him at the recent bowl game parade. I am going to say that 100% he never saw your email. In each of the above instances a "handler" made the plans. Even when the chancellor and his wife were running late for breakfast, I only heard from that contact person and never directly from the Chancellor. He told me he is directed by others as to whom to meet with and he doesn't get to make those decisions very often. He also may have been directed not to respond to any of this story. Whether or not he is a good Chancellor or what you think of him, I can say as a person he is upstanding and have enjoyed knowing him on a personal level.

Thanks for trying Dasher, and I do think someone could have sent you some sort of "polite" response.

I think most of us appreciate that. However, that really doesn't answer the question at hand. The chancellor finally did hear about this and he still chose not to respond. Meh.

 

[cuseallday]

I feel it is time for me to share my experience with this story. Loving Syracuse the way
I do, the way we all do, I thought I was in a unique position to maybe broker a peace
deal between the parties. I have known one of the Trustees well for over 30 years.
Plus, I had access to a couple of others. It was my intention to have them introduce me
to the Chancellor and for me to get the Chancellor and Adaw W together for a lunch.
Let's see if we can come up with a solution that both sides could live with. At this
point, I had never spoken with either the Chancellor or Adam W.
The first thing I did was call Adam W. After a couple of misses, we finally spoke.
I found Adam to be charming and more than willing to this potential meeting.
He said he just needed a bit of notice. For me, I thought one half of my plan had
been accomplished. Next, I contacted a BOT member that have known extremely well
for 32 years. The response couldn't have been colder. The message was that she would
pass my request through official channels to the Chancellors office. Keep in mind,
this is a person I had done a very big favor for with the University just a few years ago.
I explained that I needed more than that. I needed a phone call to the Chancellor. The
request was refused. I contacted two other BOT members and got even less of a
response. One saying that Kent will never meet with Adam. Well, I have had to fight
for everything I have ever got in my life so I wasn't going to just take a couple
of no's and quit. So I wrote the nicest letter to the Chancellor. Very complimentary
and respectful. I explained who I was and all I wanted was a lunch meeting. My treat.
The Chancellor never responded. I waited a few days and sent another message.
I provided the Post Standard with these messages. Once again, the Chancellor
never responded. No, thanks but no thanks. No go to hell. I guess he left his
manners back in D.C.. As i told the Post Standard, the message was clear.

Appreciate you.

 

[RedtheGOB]

There’s also no meaningful difference between being ranked 73rd and, say, 43rd. The rankings are dumb as a box of hammers.

I think there is when the tuition and room and board have went up 10% year over year. I mean if I were running a business why not, clearly people are paying still but they're paying more for less in my opinion. Granted this isn't SU specific this is everywhere.

 

[kingtidge]

Yes. But the answer to that is that they could have written and said we are going in another direction. And then asked me for a donation. Business wise, it was inept. Let alone, etiquette wise.

Thanks for your efforts.

For a university like SU, with one of the premier communications schools in the world... to faceplant on a basic PR response like that is bewildering.

I am not an AW proponent or particularly fond of his hype machine social media MO... but the school coming off as aloof and tone deaf on your approach (e.g. you are not worth a response) is simply one thing - sad. They can own that.