Tarleton President is stepping down in August

[TexanFan]

https://www.tarleton.edu/scripts/pre...ay.asp?id=6008

Dr. Dottavio has been a great asset for the university. He has taken us places we never thought possible. He will go down as one of, if not the greatest president in the history of the school.

Thank you Dr. D!!!!

[Vulpes88]

Re: Tarleton President is stepping down in August

The next president certainly has big shoes to fill.

Thanks Dr. Dottavio

[Techster88]

[Vulpes88]

Re: Tarleton President is stepping down in August

Interested in what if anything changes

[chrisattsu]

Re: Tarleton President is stepping down in August

Interested in what if anything changes

Shortterm? Likely nothing. His departure means Tarleton will probably stay course without little disruptions until a new hire can be identified, brought in, and then brought up to speed.

New President will need to define
New Vision Statement
New Strategic plan
Accreditation Process


Dr. Dottavio's accomplishments mentioned in video-
Expanded academic programs
First PhD
Ft Worth Campus
New Engineering Building
Football Stadium Expansion
Adoption of Core Values
Corp of Cadets

[Vulpes88]

Re: Tarleton President is stepping down in August

Shortterm? Likely nothing. His departure means Tarleton will probably stay course without little disruptions until a new hire can be identified, brought in, and then brought up to speed.

New President will need to define
New Vision Statement
New Strategic plan
Accreditation Process


Dr. Dottavio's accomplishments mentioned in video-
Expanded academic programs
First PhD
Ft Worth Campus
New Engineering Building
Football Stadium Expansion
Adoption of Core Values
Corp of Cadets

I was thinking long term

[gruesome]

Re: Tarleton President is stepping down in August

I found it very interesting that Reisman was not part of the search committee for the new President. There are also some curious rumblings that Dottavio's "stepping down" was not exactly by choice.

[Techster88]

Re: Tarleton President is stepping down in August

I found it very interesting that Reisman was not part of the search committee for the new President. There are also some curious rumblings that Dottavio's "stepping down" was not exactly by choice.

How so? Seems to me with all he has accomplished at Tarleton plus the new Ft Worth campus slated to open this fall I would think you would want to hang onto him. Enrollment has grown at a whopping 69% since he took office.

[texcap]

Re: Tarleton President is stepping down in August

I found it very interesting that Reisman was not part of the search committee for the new President. There are also some curious rumblings that Dottavio's "stepping down" was not exactly by choice.

I have no knowledge of what is going on in Tarleton, but as an academic I find a couple of things about the announcement unusual:

1. It is extremely rare for a sitting President to go back to a faculty position at the school unless leaving the Presidency was not his idea. It just doesn't happen very often.

2. He is leaving the Presidency in August which is an extremely quick turnaround to find someone at that level. If it is a planned retirement (again, see #1 above) then those usually take a good academic year, if not longer, to fill.

Of course, #2 might not be as big of a deal if the TAMU System President already knows who he wants to put into that position.

[Texas48]

Re: Tarleton President is stepping down in August

If I remember correctly, the previous Tarleton president (McCabe) did the same thing...stepped down and returned to the classroom. Actually, looking at the history of Tarleton presidents, two of the last three former presidents have done just that. The other went on to be chancellor of the TAMU system. He returned to Tarleton for guest teaching spots if I remember correctly.

[gruesome]

Re: Tarleton President is stepping down in August

I have no knowledge of what is going on in Tarleton, but as an academic I find a couple of things about the announcement unusual:

1. It is extremely rare for a sitting President to go back to a faculty position at the school unless leaving the Presidency was not his idea. It just doesn't happen very often.

2. He is leaving the Presidency in August which is an extremely quick turnaround to find someone at that level. If it is a planned retirement (again, see #1 above) then those usually take a good academic year, if not longer, to fill.

Of course, #2 might not be as big of a deal if the TAMU System President already knows who he wants to put into that position.

This is an extremely valid point, but I think the System President already knows who he wants (to your point).

There are a lot of rumors circling around that I won't share here since they are just that. I think that the wrong person in Dottavio's circle may have said the wrong things to someone that got back to some of the TAMU System brass. With the AD not part of the hiring committee, it'll be interesting as well to see what the new President does about the athletic department.

I suspect that some of the higher-ups at Tarleton as well as the TAMU System may be growing weary of all of the Division I gung-ho that's been floating around for the last few years. I know some of the boosters are a little tired of it, but that doesn't account for all of them by any stretch of the imagination.

[gruesome]

Re: Tarleton President is stepping down in August

If I remember correctly, the previous Tarleton president (McCabe) did the same thing...stepped down and returned to the classroom. Actually, looking at the history of Tarleton presidents, two of the last three former presidents have done just that. The other went on to be chancellor of the TAMU system. He returned to Tarleton for guest teaching spots if I remember correctly.

You may be right. Barry Thompson was one of a kind and still very highly regarded at Tarleton.

[wisdomgymrat]

Re: Tarleton President is stepping down in August

Dr. D got the memo in the legend of Barry B. He was a student's president while representing the University on a massive scale with the expansions in the Ville and Ft. Worth. BIG shoes to fill whoever it is.

[gruesome]

Re: Tarleton President is stepping down in August

Dr. D got the memo in the legend of Barry B. He was a student's president while representing the University on a massive scale with the expansions in the Ville and Ft. Worth. BIG shoes to fill whoever it is.

Big shoes to fill indeed. Dottavio certainly played the game and put on that student-focused front. I wonder what the next President's task will be. Tarleton has undergone undeniable growth over the last decade plus, increased enrollment, and built like crazy. With that comes a certain degree of maintenance and increasing the quality of the students who fill those buildings. Great numbers don't necessarily mean great quality. I would suspect that whoever comes in to take over for Dottavio will be tasked with maintaining and improving the level of students that come to Tarleton. I also hope, for the University's sake, that they put a Texan (read a person from the State of Texas) in that position.

[Techster88]

Re: Tarleton President is stepping down in August

Big shoes to fill indeed. Dottavio certainly played the game and put on that student-focused front. I wonder what the next President's task will be. Tarleton has undergone undeniable growth over the last decade plus, increased enrollment, and built like crazy. With that comes a certain degree of maintenance and increasing the quality of the students who fill those buildings. Great numbers don't necessarily mean great quality. I would suspect that whoever comes in to take over for Dottavio will be tasked with maintaining and improving the level of students that come to Tarleton. I also hope, for the University's sake, that they put a Texan (read a person from the State of Texas) in that position.

Interesting take on upgrading the student body. Not sure who had the vision to bring Tarleton to Ft Worth but it was a brilliant move. DFW is the fastest growing metro area in the US and Ft Worth is closing in on a population of one million in the next 2-3 years. Tarrant County College system has an enrollment hovering around 50,000 that will need to go somewhere to complete their last two years.

I see Tarleton growing like North Texas in the next decade with a jump of 10,000 students or doubling their current size.

How the school and A&M handle this growing to fast problem is going to be an adventure. Hopefully the not to distant recent past of the A&M debacle of UT Arlington (former A&M school) will keep them from making the same mistakes that ultimately led to UTA severing ties.

A&M is weakly represented in Metro areas as far as undergraduate Universities are concerned. This a golden opportunity for both schools if managed properly.