egregiousbob Posted May 15 Report Share Posted May 15 (edited) Guessing he didn't want to oversee the coming budget cuts. Edited May 15 by egregiousbob 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippy87 Posted May 15 Report Share Posted May 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted May 15 Report Share Posted May 15 Oh wtf. The turnover never ends 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egregiousbob Posted May 15 Author Report Share Posted May 15 That was a fast search process. They authorized the search and then named the new president 45 seconds later. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClevelandZip Posted May 15 Report Share Posted May 15 3 minutes ago, egregiousbob said: That was a fast search process. They authorized the search and then named the new president 45 seconds later. Wait is he just the Acting President while they find a new one or was the search already done and he is the permanent President? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkronAlumnus Posted May 15 Report Share Posted May 15 This sucks. He was an excellent president. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reslife4Life Posted May 15 Report Share Posted May 15 7 minutes ago, ClevelandZip said: Wait is he just the Acting President while they find a new one or was the search already done and he is the permanent President? He is the permanent president, I don't think they could've handled another year long search process lol Two time UA graduate, that already is a good start 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClevelandZip Posted May 15 Report Share Posted May 15 13 minutes ago, Reslife4Life said: He is the permanent president, I don't think they could've handled another year long search process lol Two time UA graduate, that already is a good start Gotcha, thank you! Seems like he has some pretty extensive marketing experience, which is something UA could probably use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted May 15 Report Share Posted May 15 Poor guy never even got a basketball bobblehead. On that note, I still have some Matthew Wilson bobbleheads available at a great price! 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UA1996MAENG Posted May 15 Report Share Posted May 15 39 minutes ago, AkronAlumnus said: This sucks. He was an excellent president. Miller is 70, older than I thought. I'm not surprised to see him retire. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reslife4Life Posted May 15 Report Share Posted May 15 3 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said: Poor guy never even got a basketball bobblehead. On that note, I still have some Matthew Wilson bobbleheads available at a great price! The good news with Gary bobblehead would've gone so hard 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted May 15 Report Share Posted May 15 i like this new guy's resume, a lot of real world experience and not the typical academia type 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1 Posted May 15 Report Share Posted May 15 I talked to Dr. Miller and his wife two years in a row at an alumni event the city where I live. Both are wonderfully nice people. Best wishes to them in the next phase of their life together. Dr. Miller had a good five years. He marshalled the University through difficult financial times. He also went out of his way to reach all parts of the University community. I loved the Good News With Gary monthly videos. Five years is enough for an executive at that level. Now that the hard cuts are made, bring someone in n with a different perspective to continue to move the University forward. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZippyRulz Posted May 15 Report Share Posted May 15 Brings a new dynamic to AD Guthrie's job, who was hand-picked by Gary. Will be interesting to see what changes happen to athletics in the near term, if any. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkronAlumnus Posted May 15 Report Share Posted May 15 Miller is 70!?!? Holy smokes... I never would have guessed that, I'd say late 50s early 60s. So he took this job at 65. Wow!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZippyRulz Posted May 15 Report Share Posted May 15 (edited) https://www.uakron.edu/im/news/university-of-akron-president-gary-l-miller-to-retire-robert-j-r-j-nemer-named-president Edited May 15 by ZippyRulz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egregiousbob Posted May 16 Author Report Share Posted May 16 (edited) 4 hours ago, GP1 said: . Now that the hard cuts are made, bring someone in n with a different perspective to continue to move the University forward. You do realize the university had to borrow $30MM from its ever shrinking reserves this past year and that at least that amount must be cut from the budget going into fall 2024. I'm guessing those facts led Miller to retire 3 years early. Edited May 16 by egregiousbob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper Posted May 16 Report Share Posted May 16 6 hours ago, ZippyRulz said: Brings a new dynamic to AD Guthrie's job, who was hand-picked by Gary. Will be interesting to see what changes happen to athletics in the near term, if any. Guthrie just signed a contract extension that keeps him here until 2028. He has a great working relationship with the BoT. Nemer is also a sports guy with a good understanding of what athletics adds to the university. Btw, John Groce and Jared Embick also got extentions. None of our key guys are entering the transfer portal!😉 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1 Posted May 16 Report Share Posted May 16 10 hours ago, egregiousbob said: You do realize the university had to borrow $30MM from its ever shrinking reserves this past year and that at least that amount must be cut from the budget going into fall 2024. I'm guessing those facts led Miller to retire 3 years early. Maybe. What I am certain of is the older you get, the faster you get old. 70 is really old to still be in the workforce. He and his wife appear to be in great health. Another saying is, there are three speeds in retirement: go-go, slow-go, and no-go. There is much more no go than the others. They might just want to enjoy their go-go years. I don't blame them one bit. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UA1996MAENG Posted May 17 Report Share Posted May 17 The more I read about President Nemer the more I like the decision. I like that he's an Akron native and a two-time graduate of The University of Akron. It is true that it is often desirable in academia to seek candidates from outside of your institution - “new blood” (from graduate students to professors to presidents/chancellors), but UA needed a fast transition to its next leader in these difficult times. In this case, the best person for the job was one of our own. He can hit the ground running and continue President Miller's progress. Tough times are ahead for UA and many state universities, but I feel confident as a UA alumnus and father to a current UA student that this was a smart move on the part of the Board of Trustees, a governing body that has not always made particularly good decisions for UA. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZipCat Posted June 5 Report Share Posted June 5 On 5/15/2024 at 1:30 PM, LZIp said: Oh wtf. The turnover never ends I used to idolize Proenza (dumb college kid) but now as an alumni, I cannot do anything but look back at Proenza's tenure as anything but disastrous. He oversaw a bubble and double-downed on debt. Where were the people to say that wasn't a good idea? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted June 5 Report Share Posted June 5 8 minutes ago, ZipCat said: I used to idolize Proenza (dumb college kid) but now as an alumni, I cannot do anything but look back at Proenza's tenure as anything but disastrous. He oversaw a bubble and double-downed on debt. Where were the people to say that wasn't a good idea? Right there with you. Was cool to be a student during that time, but had no idea all the expansion wasn't done in a responsible manner. With that said, many universities are facing similar challenges, with smaller ones even closing. So not an issue unique to us at all, but we dealt with it earlier and the reputation from that seems to have had a lingering effect. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UA1996MAENG Posted June 5 Report Share Posted June 5 3 hours ago, ZipCat said: I used to idolize Proenza (dumb college kid) but now as an alumni, I cannot do anything but look back at Proenza's tenure as anything but disastrous. He oversaw a bubble and double-downed on debt. Where were the people to say that wasn't a good idea? I'm not an expert on demography or higher education as a subject of national study and analysis, but university enrollment in the U.S. has naturally increased as the country's population increased. We witnessed declines after a peak around 2010-2011 and certainly in these post-COVID years, but the overall trend in the years that UA pursued expansion and the construction of new facilities (after decades of neglect) was not necessarily misguided in theory. What Proenza did in particular I am not able to evaluate. The projection for the future is increased enrollment nationally for both public and private colleges. Trying to remain positive, we can at least hope that when the wave comes back that UA will be ready with its long-term planning and current infrastructure. UA might never again reach the 24k level of enrollment, but returning to a consistent and predictable 18-20k is not impossible. I think, however, that any incremental increase in enrollment will have to be facilitated by an expansion in program offerings, an investment that I agree is a tough sell considering the current financial position of our university. I hope new UA President Nemer can make this transition. Considering his background, I think he will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZippyRulz Posted June 5 Report Share Posted June 5 On 5/15/2024 at 1:30 PM, egregiousbob said: That was a fast search process. They authorized the search and then named the new president 45 seconds later. The search committee had previously reached a consensus. What a UA board meeting looks like: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1 Posted June 6 Report Share Posted June 6 20 hours ago, ZipCat said: I used to idolize Proenza (dumb college kid) but now as an alumni, I cannot do anything but look back at Proenza's tenure as anything but disastrous. He oversaw a bubble and double-downed on debt. Where were the people to say that wasn't a good idea? I was a skeptic. I agree the university needed to renovate/replace buildings. A lot of the other decisions were just gluttony and lacked an understanding of the changing demographics in Ohio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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