UNI Presidential Search

by **unipanther99** » February 5th, 2013, 11:02 am

UNI will likely have a new president by the end of the week. I'm hoping for Michael Wartell from IUPU-Fort Wayne. He seems to have the right perspective on the value of athletics for a university like Northern Iowa. Fort Wayne definitely improved their profile under his leadership and he has the experience of leading a public university in the shadows of larger in-state universities. The guy is 66, but it sounds like he wants to keep working for quite a while.

http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/update ... 963f4.html

The other candidates are Avijit Ghosh, an administrator at the University of Illinois, and William Ruud from Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania. Ruud said in his public session he would not be in favor of UNI "moving up" in football.

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by **LMS** » February 5th, 2013, 11:59 am

Who makes the decision? Is it lawmakers from around the state or people within UNI? I wonder if people with concerns other than just UNI would hire someone who wants to elevate football to FBS which might harm Iowa or Iowa State.

by **BCPanther** » February 5th, 2013, 12:15 pm

Search committee makes a recommendation to the Board of Regents who have the final say.

From everything I have heard its down to Ruud (the 1st candidate who AD Dannen seems to really like) and Wartell. Ghosh seems to be way down the list.

I think Ruud was just trying to not make waves. He dramatically increased athletics funding at his current school and according to Dannen was very, very pro athletics in their meeting last week.

by **BCPanther** » February 7th, 2013, 2:36 pm

William Ruud from Shippensburg (PA) University was selected as UNI's 10th President this afternoon.

Hope that it is good news for our Athletic Department.

by **MVCfans** » February 7th, 2013, 2:38 pm

BCPanther wrote:William Ruud from Shippensburg (PA) University was selected as UNI's 10th President this afternoon.

Hope that it is good news for our Athletic Department.

He's the one who vocalized that he does not want UNI football to move up to FBS. Interesting.

by **unipanther99** » February 7th, 2013, 2:45 pm

MVCfans wrote:
BCPanther wrote:William Ruud from Shippensburg (PA) University was selected as UNI's 10th President this afternoon.

Hope that it is good news for our Athletic Department.

He's the one who vocalized that he does not want UNI football to move up to FBS. Interesting.

Yes, he did say that but I wonder if he may reconsider. Dannen seems to be really high on him, so we will see. In any event, I hope he provides the stability our university needs and can help bridge the current divide between the faculty and athletics.

by **uniftw** » February 7th, 2013, 8:38 pm

unipanther99 wrote:
MVCfans wrote:
BCPanther wrote:William Ruud from Shippensburg (PA) University was selected as UNI's 10th President this afternoon.

Hope that it is good news for our Athletic Department.

He's the one who vocalized that he does not want UNI football to move up to FBS. Interesting.

Yes, he did say that but I wonder if he may reconsider. Dannen seems to be really high on him, so we will see. In any event, I hope he provides the stability our university needs and can help bridge the current divide between the faculty and athletics.

It could be Dannen giving PC answers, but Dannen is very excited about Ruud (Rude for the non-UNI crowd). He did say he was anti-FBS, however, he seemed very pro athletics at Shippensburg.

It will be interesting to see how it plays out in the next two or three years. I would expect almost no changes next year as he is getting acquainted with the school.

by **agrinut** » February 12th, 2013, 4:56 pm

I have dealt with President Ruud when in Philadelphia for an extending Education Conference. Seemed like a very knowledgeable academic, his hire should excite the faculty. I don't think he will cut athletic spending but i wouldn't look for him to make a big splash on that front either.

by **uniftw** » February 12th, 2013, 8:04 pm

agrinut wrote:I have dealt with President Ruud when in Philadelphia for an extending Education Conference. Seemed like a very knowledgeable academic, his hire should excite the faculty. I don't think he will cut athletic spending but i wouldn't look for him to make a big splash on that front either.

Most likely outcome, and I'd bet our FBS "dreams" died with his hire, barring some major shift in division alignment (which some see happening)

The other finalist was a huge proponent of athletics and very well may have wanted to "lead a charge" for UNI to explore the move seriously, and maybe take it.

We'll never know. I hope Ruud does great things for UNI.

From President Koob to President Ruud is just a couple steps.

by **agrinut** » February 13th, 2013, 1:21 pm

uniftw wrote:
agrinut wrote:I have dealt with President Ruud when in Philadelphia for an extending Education Conference. Seemed like a very knowledgeable academic, his hire should excite the faculty. I don't think he will cut athletic spending but i wouldn't look for him to make a big splash on that front either.

Most likely outcome, and I'd bet our FBS "dreams" died with his hire, barring some major shift in division alignment (which some see happening)

The other finalist was a huge proponent of athletics and very well may have wanted to "lead a charge" for UNI to explore the move seriously, and maybe take it.

We'll never know. I hope Ruud does great things for UNI.

From President Koob to President Ruud is just a couple steps.

I think he is a great hire for the university, time will tell on the subsections of athletics.