By Vinny Porco
In recent memory, drama and complications in the President’s Office have become a part of the University of Louisville’s identity.
Ramsey got himself into trouble, Bendapudi used us as a stepping stone, Schatzel fell off the face of the planet and the rest were interims.
Especially since a particularly hot period of scandal at the university in the late 2010s, the position of University President has not been a constant in the slightest. Recently appointed President Gerry Bradley is the sixth to hold the position since James Ramsey’s 2016 resignation, including interims.
What gives? Why can’t we have the same university president for three years or longer?
Believe it or not, it’s possible that the answer to these questions rests within two third-party entities not even in the state of Kentucky. Concerning the appointments of the last two University Presidents before Bradley, the University of Louisville employed the help of third-party executive search committees that specialize in hiring higher education administrative positions.
Why does this matter? Well, why does anything matter? It’s money.
In 2017, the University of Louisville paid Funk Associates out of Dallas, Texas $120,000 to search for James Ramsey’s hopefully permanent replacement. They answered back with Neeli Bendapudi.
In 2022, they paid Witt/Kieffer Inc. a sum of $190,000 for the same service. Kim Schatzel was their solution.
How can these companies get away with this? How can they send us a series of substitute Presidents and pocket six figures? It turns out stipulations in their contracts basically give them a free pass to fail. And the University of Louisville put pen to paper.
The contract signed with Funk Associates in 2017 states that termination or resignation of the candidate found within two years of their appointment would result in a replacement job search at no additional cost. The 2022 contract with Witt/Kieffer Inc. had a one year window. And of course, both Neeli Bendapudi and Kim Schatzel made it just over the two year mark. Get your wallets out for another search!
Or maybe not. The last two presidential searches were failures that gave us temporary University Presidents. Could the fast appointment of Gerry Bradley be the Board of Trustees trying something new?
I’m not here to say it’s good or bad. What it is, however, is different.
Many students, faculty and staff would judge the decision as reckless, and they are always encouraged to speak their mind and send us a guest Op-Ed. The same goes for those in support.
But can we admit that this decision might show a slight, bit of self-awareness from the Board of Trustees? Are they making a concerted effort to move on from band-aid University Presidents by hiring Gerry Bradley, whose spent a decade at the University of Louisville? It certainly seems that way.
In light of some student, staff and faculty concerns, I challenge the Board of Trustees. Is this the best way to go about it? Does this kind of rapid decision making really account for the insight of those that really matter at the University of Louisville? Or was not shelling out another six figures the right move?
There are no totally right or wrong answers here. But whatever your answer is, be sound in it.
Find copies of both search contracts below.
