Western BOT wants action now !

[wiu712]

WIU Board: Bold action is needed– and it’s needed now.
From Tri-States Public Radio, WIUM-FM:
https://www.tspr.org/tspr-local/2023-07 ... needed-now
 
 

[Neckfansince71]

I listened to the BOT meeting back in June "live!"  Amber really took it on the chin and I am not totally sure that it was all her fault.  I like what is going on now and I look forward to a stronger "WIU" in the near future.  "Change is a commmin brothers and sisters."

[ST_Lawson]

I listened to the BOT meeting back in June "live!"  Amber really took it on the chin and I am not totally sure that it was all her fault.  I like what is going on now and I look forward to a stronger "WIU" in the near future.  "Change is a commmin brothers and sisters."

Maybe, but she also got a “talking to” in the last board meeting before that. The reason some of them were so upset this time is because not much had changed and there wasn’t really a plan to do so. She also had a tendency to rub some people the wrong way.


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[sealhall74]

What board members belong to what commitees?  Inquiring minds want to know.  If every one on the board is putting their two cents into every issue only at board meetings, nothing will get done.  Board members need to held accountable as well.
 

[wiu712]

Several worrisome numbers in that WIUM-FM article:

$12 million deficit.

Overall enrollment down 6.7%.

52% freshmen retention rate.

Kirk Dillard said that there will be "massive changes here that I don’t think people have ever seen at this institution”.
 

[jtrinaldi]

Several worrisome numbers in that WIUM-FM article:

$12 million deficit.

Overall enrollment down 6.7%.

52% freshmen retention rate.

Kirk Dillard said that there will be "massive changes here that I don’t think people have ever seen at this institution”.
 

 

Wonder if this means leadership changes or more likely cutting sports programs?

[ST_Lawson]

Several worrisome numbers in that WIUM-FM article:

$12 million deficit.

Overall enrollment down 6.7%.

52% freshmen retention rate.

Kirk Dillard said that there will be "massive changes here that I don’t think people have ever seen at this institution”.
 


 

Wonder if this means leadership changes or more likely cutting sports programs?

 

I think the most likely first step is looking at academic programs with a very small number of students and deciding if we can afford to continue supporting them. It's not really as simple as just looking at the number of students within a major though, because a lot of majors will have shared faculty, staff, and facilities (so getting rid of a major won't actually do much beyond incentivize a couple of students to go elsewhere), also some majors (like business and engineering-related ones) probably bring in a higher rate of donations and support from alumni and company sponsorships.

I'm sure they're looking at a lot of things (sports included), but with our recent switch to the OVC and the addition of 3 women's sports to get us into Title IX compliance, idk if they'll be looking to drop anything right away.

That being said, the DI requirement is either: 7 men's and 7 women's, with at least 2 team sports for each gender; or six for men and eight for women.
We curently have 7 men's sports (8, if Indoor and Outdoor T&F count as 2 different sports), of which 4 are classified as "team sports".
We currently have 8 women's sports (again, 9 if T&F is two sports) and will be adding 3 more this year. Of those, 4 of the current ones are considered team sports.
So, we do have leeway to drop a couple of sports. If indoor and outdoor T&F count as two sports, we could drop one men's sport and up to two women's sports (although we might run into Title IX issues again if we do that). If they're looking at dropping any men's sports, then soccer or maybe golf are probably the highest likelyhood ones. I'd say baseball as well, but idk if they want to do that after getting the big donation for the baseball stadium a while back.

[sealhall74]

Several worrisome numbers in that WIUM-FM article:

$12 million deficit.

Overall enrollment down 6.7%.

52% freshmen retention rate.

Kirk Dillard said that there will be "massive changes here that I don’t think people have ever seen at this institution”.
 



 

Wonder if this means leadership changes or more likely cutting sports programs?


 

I think the most likely first step is looking at academic programs with a very small number of students and deciding if we can afford to continue supporting them. It's not really as simple as just looking at the number of students within a major though, because a lot of majors will have shared faculty, staff, and facilities (so getting rid of a major won't actually do much beyond incentivize a couple of students to go elsewhere), also some majors (like business and engineering-related ones) probably bring in a higher rate of donations and support from alumni and company sponsorships.

I'm sure they're looking at a lot of things (sports included), but with our recent switch to the OVC and the addition of 3 women's sports to get us into Title IX compliance, idk if they'll be looking to drop anything right away.

That being said, the DI requirement is either: 7 men's and 7 women's, with at least 2 team sports for each gender; or six for men and eight for women.
We curently have 7 men's sports (8, if Indoor and Outdoor T&F count as 2 different sports), of which 4 are classified as "team sports".
We currently have 8 women's sports (again, 9 if T&F is two sports) and will be adding 3 more this year. Of those, 4 of the current ones are considered team sports.
So, we do have leeway to drop a couple of sports. If indoor and outdoor T&F count as two sports, we could drop one men's sport and up to two women's sports (although we might run into Title IX issues again if we do that). If they're looking at dropping any men's sports, then soccer or maybe golf are probably the highest likelyhood ones. I'd say baseball as well, but idk if they want to do that after getting the big donation for the baseball stadium a while back.

 

Was the baseball donation for something specific (e.g. lights)?
 

[jtrinaldi]

I listened to the BOT meeting back in June "live!"  Amber really took it on the chin and I am not totally sure that it was all her fault.  I like what is going on now and I look forward to a stronger "WIU" in the near future.  "Change is a commmin brothers and sisters."

Maybe, but she also got a “talking to” in the last board meeting before that. The reason some of them were so upset this time is because not much had changed and there wasn’t really a plan to do so. She also had a tendency to rub some people the wrong way.


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Amber appears to have left for a similar position in Wisconsin. 

[ST_Lawson]

Amber appears to have left for a similar position in Wisconsin.
 

"...was fired, then found a similar position in Wisconsin" would be a bit more accurate. For the curious, it's UW-Oshkosh.