PASSHE Institutions Merging

[IUPNation]

I'm not going to comment on the people in power, elected or not. Keeping it to the order.

Its bad policy. I think there are rational changes that can be made that compromise between the recent Supreme Court decisions on race in admissions or hiring and also scaling back the veracity of the "decolonization" end of the CRT-influenced methods for modern DEI programming. But there's a real argument to be made that the right DEI programs are about supporting belonging and community. Understanding others and helping all feel that they're welcome. Kinda flows into the idea that all are created equal under the eyes of the law. The prohibition on things that could be seen as proxies for race like household income or first generation college student status benefit all. Those two classifications often coincide with race but are nearly universal across races when it comes to ability to thrive in college. Poor rural whites really aren't doing better than poor urban Blacks and Hispanics.

A federally funded college for Native Americans in Oklahoma has had to lay off staff and end programs because the legal guidance they received means they're possibly going to have to shut down. Again, the most vulnerable are headed for failure instead of correcting what would be perceived as a disadvantage to whites and Asians.

It’s setting the clocks back. When I was at IUP, if the student population was 5% black I would have been shocked. They had a program where they would bring black students from Philly and Pittsburgh to campus in the summer under the guise of equal opportunity. You didn’t see these kids in the fall. it was like lip service in that they did the bare minimum to provide opportunity but wasn’t invested in seeing these students succeed.

The foosball team was majority white in those days too. It was obvious that a college education was for white suburban students.

They also don’t want too many people overall..with college educations.

[Fightingscot82]

Elect a Clown, expect a circus.

When his voters get burned, there is will be zero sympathy or empathy from me. Rural PA will see what FAFO is all about….

Let’s be real..Lizard Face Musk is President..and he grew up in Apartheid South Africa and he wants the world returned to that order.

I’m going to get so tired from saying I told ya so much…

I'm not going to comment on the people in power, elected or not. Keeping it to the order.

Its bad policy. I think there are rational changes that can be made that compromise between the recent Supreme Court decisions on race in admissions or hiring and also scaling back the veracity of the "decolonization" end of the CRT-influenced methods for modern DEI programming. But there's a real argument to be made that the right DEI programs are about supporting belonging and community. Understanding others and helping all feel that they're welcome. Kinda flows into the idea that all are created equal under the eyes of the law. The prohibition on things that could be seen as proxies for race like household income or first generation college student status benefit all. Those two classifications often coincide with race but are nearly universal across races when it comes to ability to thrive in college. Poor rural whites really aren't doing better than poor urban Blacks and Hispanics.

A federally funded college for Native Americans in Oklahoma has had to lay off staff and end programs because the legal guidance they received means they're possibly going to have to shut down. Again, the most vulnerable are headed for failure instead of correcting what would be perceived as a disadvantage to whites and Asians.

[IUPNation]

I'm not making this political, just sharing something that happened Friday evening. The federal Dept of Education issued orders to every educational entity pre-K through universities that gives them 14 days to remove EVERY program related to race regardless of funding source or face loss of federal funding eligibility (such as eligible for students to use their federal grants and loans or federal work study funds). During Black History Month is the irony of ironies. Our schools, already mostly located in communities devoid of diverse population (and even less outside their limits), now will have to eliminate anything that helps support non-white students who feel completely out of place in the rural college towns of PA - especially those from communities don't resemble say Shippensburg or Clarion in any way. Schools also can't use other demographics as a proxy for race (such as low income or first generation). There are going to be a lot of football players a lot less comfortable.

Because this was completely unexpected, nobody knows what this means for schools where race and culture are part of their very core, such as HBCUs Cheyney and Lincoln. West Virginia passed a similar law a few months ago that on paper reads like Bluefield State and West Virginia State have to close.

Elect a Clown, expect a circus.

When his voters get burned, there is will be zero sympathy or empathy from me. Rural PA will see what FAFO is all about….

Let’s be real..Lizard Face Musk is President..and he grew up in Apartheid South Africa and he wants the world returned to that order.

I’m going to get so tired from saying I told ya so much…

[Fightingscot82]

I'm not making this political, just sharing something that happened Friday evening. The federal Dept of Education issued orders to every educational entity pre-K through universities that gives them 14 days to remove EVERY program related to race regardless of funding source or face loss of federal funding eligibility (such as eligible for students to use their federal grants and loans or federal work study funds). During Black History Month is the irony of ironies. Our schools, already mostly located in communities devoid of diverse population (and even less outside their limits), now will have to eliminate anything that helps support non-white students who feel completely out of place in the rural college towns of PA - especially those from communities don't resemble say Shippensburg or Clarion in any way. Schools also can't use other demographics as a proxy for race (such as low income or first generation). There are going to be a lot of football players a lot less comfortable.

Because this was completely unexpected, nobody knows what this means for schools where race and culture are part of their very core, such as HBCUs Cheyney and Lincoln. West Virginia passed a similar law a few months ago that on paper reads like Bluefield State and West Virginia State have to close.

[iupgroundhog]

I’m not saying that hiring him was a good decision. I’m trying to think of realistic reasons why he was chosen and those were best pair I could come up with.

I understand that but what I don't understand is how any of that bio stuff would supersede his questionable background.

I guess the pressure to increase enrollment was so great at the time they couldn't see the forest for the trees.

[TheBigCat2192]

I don't see any legitimate rationale for hiring a guy who was forced out of two previous jobs because of sexual harassment accusations and one of the schools was a member of the same educational system.

He has now been accused again during his current tenure, retaliated by firing a school Dean, forcing a multimillion dollar payout from PASSHE. It's beyond my comprehension.

I’m not saying that hiring him was a good decision. I’m trying to think of realistic reasons why he was chosen and those were best pair I could come up with.

[TheBigCat2192]

Bloom's enrollment was 9,700 when he was hired.

My freshman year (when Soltz was still president) we were slightly over 10k so 9700 is a drop off.. Hanna had also just come off a tenure at DelVal which straddled the change to a university and (allegedly) oversaw successful growth in their grad student program. If you look at his bio on the Bloomsburg/Commonwealth website it’s littered with bullet points about enrollment growth. I still think they hired him to try and raise those numbers back up to the peak of the Soltz era (or even higher0 but doesn’t seem like he’s doing a great job on that front so far.

[iupgroundhog]

I suggested this before but my guess is that he had a resume that made him look like an enrollment booster and PASSHE presumably thought that was enough to outweigh his past indiscretions given the enrollment decline. Others have pointed out that he had a friendly backer in the government although I can’t remember that guy’s name.

I don't see any legitimate rationale for hiring a guy who was forced out of two previous jobs because of sexual harassment accusations and one of the schools was a member of the same educational system.

He has now been accused again during his current tenure, retaliated by firing a school Dean, forcing a multimillion dollar payout from PASSHE. It's beyond my comprehension.

[Fightingscot82]

I suggested this before but my guess is that he had a resume that made him look like an enrollment booster and PASSHE presumably thought that was enough to outweigh his past indiscretions given the enrollment decline. Others have pointed out that he had a friendly backer in the government although I can’t remember that guy’s name.

PASSHE's process makes it pretty difficult to force through political hires, although its certainly possible he was so well connected. Usually that's an internal hire with broad, longstanding relationships, such as Jody Harpster at Shippensburg several years ago. The executive search firm recruits applicants that are reviewed by a pretty broad search committee of various roles from students to alumni, faculty and staff, plus a president from another PASSHE school. They select the 10-12 semifinalists to screen (either days of hourslong Zoom interviews or at an airport hotel) then select anywhere from 2-4 finalists to bring to campus for 2-3 day interviews. The school Council of Trustees recommends 2 unranked to the PASSHE chancellor. Those two interview with the PASSHE Board and the Chancellor selects. Its long and costly - but also very unlike some states like Alabama or Florida where the governor just installs someone of their political persuasion regardless of experience and qualifications.

Presidential resumes are much like politicians - they tend to take credit for the accomplishments of others that happened while they were in charge. One president gets the state to build a new science building but then retires and 4 years later its built and the new president takes credit because they were president for the opening.

[Bart]

I suggested this before but my guess is that he had a resume that made him look like an enrollment booster and PASSHE presumably thought that was enough to outweigh his past indiscretions given the enrollment decline. Others have pointed out that he had a friendly backer in the government although I can’t remember that guy’s name.

Bloom's enrollment was 9,700 when he was hired.

[TheBigCat2192]

I have to tend to agree. Having been part of a PASSHE presidential search, I really don't understand how that got through. The hired executive search firm told us EVERYTHING we didn't need to know about the semifinalists. Stuff that usually isn't public record like they got a divorce 20 years ago and married the university employee they were having an affair with kind of stuff.

I suggested this before but my guess is that he had a resume that made him look like an enrollment booster and PASSHE presumably thought that was enough to outweigh his past indiscretions given the enrollment decline. Others have pointed out that he had a friendly backer in the government although I can’t remember that guy’s name.

[Bart]

I have to tend to agree. Having been part of a PASSHE presidential search, I really don't understand how that got through. The hired executive search firm told us EVERYTHING we didn't need to know about the semifinalists. Stuff that usually isn't public record like they got a divorce 20 years ago and married the university employee they were having an affair with kind of stuff.

Sounds like the Council of Trustees isn't changing their decision to continue to back him.

[Fightingscot82]

So, Commonwealth University faculty and coaches held their vote on the university president Bashar Hanna and the results were 88.65% "no confidence." APSCUF is calling for him to resign or be fired by PASSHE. He never should have been hired in the first place.

I have to tend to agree. Having been part of a PASSHE presidential search, I really don't understand how that got through. The hired executive search firm told us EVERYTHING we didn't need to know about the semifinalists. Stuff that usually isn't public record like they got a divorce 20 years ago and married the university employee they were having an affair with kind of stuff.

[iupgroundhog]

So, Commonwealth University faculty and coaches held their vote on the university president Bashar Hanna and the results were 88.65% "no confidence." APSCUF is calling for him to resign or be fired by PASSHE. He never should have been hired in the first place.

[Ship69]

Some, yes. But nothing in this is guarunteed. These campus are NOT multifaceted but have a multifaceted role in their communities. They're community college, state university (like PASSHE plays elsewhere), and economic booster. None of them have nearly the impact that PASSHE schools have but their absences will be felt.

The closing of Mont Alto would probably send at least 25-30 Franklin County kids a year to Ship. There aren't a ton of other relatively low-cost options within easy drive. A lot of kids from my local high school go to Mont Alto because it is within easy driving distance and they can live at home. Ship is a little farther, but they could still commute going there.