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Former congressman Jo Bonner to head University of South Alabama

Quote:Bonner was an unconventional candidate, as his academic credentials were limited to a bachelor’s degree in journalism. But USA’s process was open to candidates without a doctorate, and Bonner did spend five years spent as a vice chancellor for the University of Alabama system.

A university president with only a bachelor's degree. Wow. An interesting move by South.

Watch your backs Jags or you might end up with no football team and the largest women's college soccer stadium in the nation. I kid, I kid.

*Congrats on another SBC title in women's soccer btw.

That is truly a bizarre choice.

(11-11-2021 08:35 AM)DuelingDragon Wrote:  That is truly a bizarre choice.

If you are thinking about it rationally as who would be a good leader of a doctoral research university, sure. Less bizarre when you think about it in terms of who will be able to press their thumb on the ideological aspect of hiring deans and faculty, and who will be able to influence government money into their direction

The University System of Georgia (think UA system but literally every public university in Georgia) was a week or two away from a surprise appointment of Sonny Perdue (former governor, former US Secretary of Agriculture, never a higher ed administrator) as the Chancellor until it leaked out and everyone started to riot. He would've been in charge of UGA, Ga Tech, Ga State, etc etc etc

Most of these boards are politically appointed, and we've been in this soup of hyper partisanship and everyone thinking that universities are somehow taliban training camps for liberals so the cycles are finally lining up to start putting political hacks at the top of institutions in response

(11-11-2021 09:10 AM)mixduptransistor Wrote:  

(11-11-2021 08:35 AM)DuelingDragon Wrote:  That is truly a bizarre choice.

If you are thinking about it rationally as who would be a good leader of a doctoral research university, sure. Less bizarre when you think about it in terms of who will be able to press their thumb on the ideological aspect of hiring deans and faculty, and who will be able to influence government money into their direction

The University System of Georgia (think UA system but literally every public university in Georgia) was a week or two away from a surprise appointment of Sonny Perdue (former governor, former US Secretary of Agriculture, never a higher ed administrator) as the Chancellor until it leaked out and everyone started to riot. He would've been in charge of UGA, Ga Tech, Ga State, etc etc etc

Most of these boards are politically appointed, and we've been in this soup of hyper partisanship and everyone thinking that universities are somehow taliban training camps for liberals so the cycles are finally lining up to start putting political hacks at the top of institutions in response

Oh, no question about that. Rather than having Koch University, we get Koch funded department heads.

Very, very odd that the vote was not unanimous. I suspect this experiment will not last a very long time, although USA doesn't seem like the kind of place that could necessarily overcome the political will of the current political machinery like some larger universities could. Any hope of USA making UAB-sized growth are probably out the window

All will become clear when Bonner announces the new University of Alabama at Mobile logo.

After his sister did so well at UAT.

So. Ray Watts turns 67 next month. I give you the three finalists to replace him:

Clay Ryan
Joe Espy III
Finis St. John V

I just vomited a little.

Not sure how to feel about this yet. Don’t want UofA getting involved, we are our own university and I like it that way. Doubt that would happen anyway.

There are already campaigns from some groups to prevent him from taking the job. It’s the normal, “he's going to take away our rights to breath or eat on campus“ lunacy you get from both sides when someone from the other side takes a high position.

I hope he does a good job for the university, that’s my only concern.

(11-11-2021 09:53 AM)Usajags Wrote:  Not sure how to feel about this yet. Don’t want UofA getting involved, we are our own university and I like it that way. Doubt that would happen anyway.

There are already campaigns from some groups to prevent him from taking the job. It’s the normal, “he's going to take away our rights to breath or eat on campus“ lunacy you get from both sides when someone from the other side takes a high position.

I hope he does a good job for the university, that’s my only concern.

Well he's not affiliated with the University of Alabama System anymore, and hasn't been for a while. He is juiced into the political machinery of Alabama though, so if there were any machinations it would be at that level. I don't think there's any desire or plan to try to get USA into the UA system, there's just no benefit there

And as to the "both sides" or "one side or the other" thing--that's kind of the problem. Until very recently a university president was not a political position. There shouldn't be any "sides" to it, and now that what political affiliation you hold is openly coming into the equation, that is extremely troubling

(11-11-2021 09:17 AM)58-56 Wrote:  After his sister did so well at UAT.

So. Ray Watts turns 67 next month. I give you the three finalists to replace him:

Clay Ryan
Joe Espy III
Finis St. John V

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! please NO WAY!

(11-11-2021 12:34 PM)BlazrDawg Wrote:  

(11-11-2021 09:17 AM)58-56 Wrote:  After his sister did so well at UAT.

So. Ray Watts turns 67 next month. I give you the three finalists to replace him:

Clay Ryan
Joe Espy III
Finis St. John V

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! please NO WAY!

Way. They've discovered that these gigs pay better than a think tank, no work, taxpayer-paid. He resigned his job with Ivey before the "choice" was made, not that anyone should imagine there was any more "choice" here than when Ray was named at UAB.

Back in the day, Jo Bonner ran against the Machine's SGA candidate (and lost) on a platform of fighting corruption and cronyism. He was tight with this annoying **** from Pensacola named Joey Scarborough.

I don't expect that he'll take away anyone's right to eat or breathe; I don't expect that he'll do anything except cash that check. Hope South didn't have big plans.

I would have liked to see someone come in with experience running a university, but they didn’t ask me.

If there are good people below him, anything the university was working on, or the direction it needs to go, no matter how little Bonner does himself. We will see how this goes....

My reading from 100,000 feet. Those wanting to get things done in athletics will enjoy Bonner because he's probably not going to care as long as things can be paid for. His focus probably will be elsewhere.

(11-11-2021 09:17 AM)58-56 Wrote:  After his sister did so well at UAT.

So. Ray Watts turns 67 next month. I give you the three finalists to replace him:

Clay Ryan
Joe Espy III
Finis St. John V

This is sarcasm, right? I feel like it is. You just never can tell with this backwards good ole boy state

(11-11-2021 01:46 PM)58-56 Wrote:  Hope South didn't have big plans.

They did. They got a bill passed last year or the year before creating a state commission to study the idea of creating another dentistry school at a state university. There was almost zero publicity about it, the only place I heard about it was that the UA System Board of Trustees got a seat or two and appointed someone from UAB, and that showed up in the minutes of a recent meeting. Going back and reading the original bill it was clear that it was focused on getting a dental school in Mobile. And, they have a partnership with Auburn on a pharmacy program that would've in another lifetime probably been the stepping stone to their own program

Curious if any of those really big ambitions ever come to fruition. They occasionally seem like they want to be the next UAB but that seems to probably not be in the cards this time around

I will answer my own question at the end. Why would anyone with a brain stop a school in this state from becoming another “UAB”??? With all that UAB has provided and the prestige that it has brought this state as well as the jobs??? Now for my answer, EGO!!! That is why. Forbid someone infringe on the all might UofA in Tuscaloosa, even if it is UAB, still part of the UA system. Maybe with Bonner we can grease the wheels and get that dental school going. If you have ever lived in rural Alabama, one thing we do need, is doctors. Every town has lawyers, not every town has a doctor or dentist.

So here we are in 2021 with another political payoff using state educational structure to carry it out. To repay/reward the Troy President for expelling the school's newspaper editor for writing a piece critical of George Wallace, he got the Montgomery campus he wanted. To repay Mobile for its voting support for George Wallace, he had the state set up its second medical school and later gave it the second state pharmacy school. So now we have a state medical school and state pharmacy school headed by a BA holding President. How many such schools around America can claim such a distinction?

It’s a bad look and reeks of political manipulation.

(11-11-2021 04:24 PM)Engblazr Wrote:  

(11-11-2021 09:17 AM)58-56 Wrote:  After his sister did so well at UAT.

So. Ray Watts turns 67 next month. I give you the three finalists to replace him:

Clay Ryan
Joe Espy III
Finis St. John V

This is sarcasm, right? I feel like it is. You just never can tell with this backwards good ole boy state

Selwyn Vickers will be the next president.