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Joe Echavarría interview

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Back to the interview if I may…

Fairly boring and very analytical. Exactly as I would expect an accountant to sound, and a good person to be the head of a university, or in some high ranking capacity if he is not hired (or doesn’t want to be) the next president. He loves the school, he loves athletics, he looks the part, and the sound of his voice is soothing to the point that it could put a person to sleep.

All in all, its good to have a very responsible adult in charge who cares about the very thing that we all care about on CIS
 
TheOriginalCane said:
We've done all those things, and yet you are still here...
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As are you, derailing a thread again…

This thread is about the interim president of the university not another TOCTears Episode.

Joe points to a lot of investments across multiple parts of the institution with high expectations for success:

"If you not going to be at the top of something, you should not be in it"

“We expect to see a return"

"There is a score kept"

Expectations. Deliverables. Key dates.
 
i doubt Joe will get the permanent nod, unfortunately. he's a businessman, not an academic, so the faculty is unlikely to approve his permanent hire, which in my opinion is a detriment because he is a leader.
 
TheOriginalCane said:
Nope, that's you and others.

I didn't start or derail anything. The guy who did that got banned.
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familyguy-stewie.gif
 
rsa coral gables said:
i doubt Joe will get the permanent nod, unfortunately. he's a businessman, not an academic, so the faculty is unlikely to approve his permanent hire, which in my opinion is a detriment because he is a leader.
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You’re right and I’m not so sure he’d be the right pick either. There is a pool of candidates for University presidents, and that’s who they’ll choose from. One of the major qualifications, in addition to having some type of academician background, especially at the University of Miami, is the ability to raise funds in the billions.

As much as people rail her on here, a Donna Shalala type of candidate would be ideal, forget the politics for a moment. There’s no denying that under her, the university academic situation thrived, and as for fundraising, she was one of the best that the school has had. Yes athletics did not thrive under her administration, and that’s the knock on her, but as far as everything else, she performed well above expectations.

Now we need somebody with that type of fundraising ability, or better, and the ability to manage the key measurable that are required of a university president, as well as someone who will just stay out of the way in terms of athletics.

They can be a vocal supporter, but just let the people that know what they’re doing do their job.
 
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Some things I've heard about Echavarria from people in UM that would know/have interacted with him:
  • He's what you'd expect out of a competent c-level executive. He expects excellence from those working under and doesn't seem to have much tolerance for anything else.

  • He's a pain in the *** to work with. Not necessarily a bad thing - again competence comes first - but he's not a backslapping type of executive. Business comes first mentality with him. This is a departure from Frenk, who by all accounts was more relaxed and easier to get along with.

  • He's brought a bunch of consultants into the school since he took over the top job. That's to be expected when a guy who was once CEO of Deloitte takes over. The reviews of those consultants (and their usefulness) have been mixed. There's an overarching sense that they don't understand academia or the problems facing the university.

  • Talk of removing the "Acting" part of his title has intensified. There's consistent chatter at a pretty high level on him retaining the job. I myself am skeptical of this because (1) he does not come from an academic background and (2) it could lead to a faculty revolt. However, he's made efforts to build relationships with key faculty members by taking on/solving issues that Frenk never addressed. He's empowering them.

  • If it wasn't apparent enough already, him and Rudy are running the show.
All in all, I'm far more comfortable with Echavarria running point on conference realignment and college athletics, compared to Frenk.
 
FL Cane said:
Some things I've heard about Echavarria from people in UM that would know/have interacted with him:
  • He's what you'd expect out of a competent c-level executive. He expects excellence from those working under and doesn't seem to have much tolerance for anything else.

  • He's a pain in the *** to work with. Not necessarily a bad thing - again competence comes first - but he's not a backslapping type of executive. Business comes first mentality with him. This is a departure from Frenk, who by all accounts was more relaxed and easier to get along with.

  • He's brought a bunch of consultants into the school since he took over the top job. That's to be expected when a guy who was once CEO of Deloitte takes over. The reviews of those consultants (and their usefulness) have been mixed. There's an overarching sense that they don't understand academia or the problems facing the university.

  • Talk of removing the "Acting" part of his title has intensified. There's consistent chatter at a pretty high level on him retaining the job. I myself am skeptical of this because (1) he does not come from an academic background and (2) it could lead to a faculty revolt. However, he's made efforts to build relationships with key faculty members by taking on/solving issues that Frenk never addressed. He's empowering them.

  • If it wasn't apparent enough already, him and Rudy are running the show.
All in all, I'm far more comfortable with Echavarria running point on conference realignment and college athletics, compared to Frenk.
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few things would make me happier than to see a bunch of arrogant Marxist ******** squirming in their ***** acid-mad with envy and hate
 
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FL Cane said:
Some things I've heard about Echavarria from people in UM that would know/have interacted with him:
  • He's what you'd expect out of a competent c-level executive. He expects excellence from those working under and doesn't seem to have much tolerance for anything else.

  • He's a pain in the *** to work with. Not necessarily a bad thing - again competence comes first - but he's not a backslapping type of executive. Business comes first mentality with him. This is a departure from Frenk, who by all accounts was more relaxed and easier to get along with.

  • He's brought a bunch of consultants into the school since he took over the top job. That's to be expected when a guy who was once CEO of Deloitte takes over. The reviews of those consultants (and their usefulness) have been mixed. There's an overarching sense that they don't understand academia or the problems facing the university.

  • Talk of removing the "Acting" part of his title has intensified. There's consistent chatter at a pretty high level on him retaining the job. I myself am skeptical of this because (1) he does not come from an academic background and (2) it could lead to a faculty revolt. However, he's made efforts to build relationships with key faculty members by taking on/solving issues that Frenk never addressed. He's empowering them.

  • If it wasn't apparent enough already, him and Rudy are running the show.
All in all, I'm far more comfortable with Echavarria running point on conference realignment and college athletics, compared to Frenk.
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But can he fundraise?
 
rsa coral gables said:
few things would make me happier than to see a bunch of arrogant Marxist ******** squirming in their ***** acid-mad with envy and hate
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Relax, my brother. Maybe it's different in the School of Music, but I had plenty of moderate and/or conservative professors in the School of Business and the Law School.
 
FL Cane said:
Some things I've heard about Echavarria from people in UM that would know/have interacted with him:
  • He's what you'd expect out of a competent c-level executive. He expects excellence from those working under and doesn't seem to have much tolerance for anything else.

  • He's a pain in the *** to work with. Not necessarily a bad thing - again competence comes first - but he's not a backslapping type of executive. Business comes first mentality with him. This is a departure from Frenk, who by all accounts was more relaxed and easier to get along with.

  • He's brought a bunch of consultants into the school since he took over the top job. That's to be expected when a guy who was once CEO of Deloitte takes over. The reviews of those consultants (and their usefulness) have been mixed. There's an overarching sense that they don't understand academia or the problems facing the university.

  • Talk of removing the "Acting" part of his title has intensified. There's consistent chatter at a pretty high level on him retaining the job. I myself am skeptical of this because (1) he does not come from an academic background and (2) it could lead to a faculty revolt. However, he's made efforts to build relationships with key faculty members by taking on/solving issues that Frenk never addressed. He's empowering them.

  • If it wasn't apparent enough already, him and Rudy are running the show.
All in all, I'm far more comfortable with Echavarria running point on conference realignment and college athletics, compared to Frenk.
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A pain in the *** is fine as long as it's not one that holds a grudge against someone who argues with them.

Sasse at UF is getting negative articles written about him for, among other things, hiring a bunch of consultants for large sums of money.
 
JD08 said:
A pain in the *** is fine as long as it's not one that holds a grudge against someone who argues with them.

Sasse at UF is getting negative articles written about him for, among other things, hiring a bunch of consultants for large sums of money.
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And it wasn't just the consultants. It was his former congressional staff who were paid massive salaries, worked remotely, and flew into Hogtown with regularity.

It's like if Joe Echevarria hired a dozen New York City Deloitte guys at triple their Deloitte salaries, let them work from their NYC townhouses, and gave them an unlimited expense budget. Not a good look.
 
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TheOriginalCane said:
And it wasn't just the consultants. It was his former congressional staff were paid massive salaries, worked remotely, and flew into Hogtown with regularity.

It's like if Joe Echevarria hired a dozen New York City Deloitte guys at triple their Deloitte salaries, let them work from their NYC townhouses, and gave them an unlimited expense budget. Not a good look.
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That's why I said "among other things."

During his presidency, Sasse spent $7.2 million in university funds to consultants for advice on his strategic planning and to fill leadership gaps — over 40 times more than Fuchs’ total consulting expenses over his eight-year term.
 
JD08 said:
That's why I said "among other things."

During his presidency, Sasse spent $7.2 million in university funds to consultants for advice on his strategic planning and to fill leadership gaps — over 40 times more than Fuchs’ total consulting expenses over his eight-year term.
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I just thought I'd provide the extra detail, for those who don't read Gator Tears enough...

:LOL:
 
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