This is the definitive place to discuss everything that makes life on & off campus so unique in Central Virginia.

Moderators: jcmanson, Sly Fox, BuryYourDuke

By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#607409
TH Spangler wrote: August 25th, 2020, 9:01 am
Class of 20Something wrote: August 24th, 2020, 6:27 pm Not backing down.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dondi_E._Costin

Poach him.
This guy looks like a good fit. Hope he's at least contacted.

Chaplain Costin is a native of Wilmington, North Carolina, and was commissioned a second lieutenant upon graduation from the United States Air Force Academy in 1986. He received his Masters of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas. He also holds Doctor of Ministry and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky, as well as a Master of Arts in Counseling from Liberty University. His military education includes U.S. Air Force Academic Instructor School, Squadron Officer School, Air War College, and Master of Strategic Studies. [1]
I agree he looks like an outstanding candidate. The fact that he has only been at Chuck South for 2 years could make it a difficult decision for him to leave, as he is really just getting started in trying to stabilize the situation there.
flameshaw liked this
User avatar
By flameshaw
Registration Days Posts
#607417
Jonathan Carone wrote: August 25th, 2020, 8:59 am
flameshaw wrote: August 25th, 2020, 8:44 am
Purple Haize wrote: August 24th, 2020, 10:35 pm

You certainly enjoy showing off your Woke Trophies. Your statement is about as credible as ballcoach’s “they must be Baptist”.
I don’t care what color or gender they are. I do agree that LU needs a less autocratic leader
JC is proud of his 'wokeness" precisely because of the makeup of the board, "predominately ultra conservative white men" which in itself is not factual. It is all about getting attention, shock value, he needs/craves it. It is pretty obvious. It is always about race and gender first, then qualifications.

My comment was about this message board
, not the Board of Trustees. We have a diverse BoT which is a good thing.
I know it was, so was mine. Diversity, in and of itself is useless, especially when it becomes more important than results. I have seen it happen several times in Fortune 500 companies with less than desirable/ successful results. The most important thing in an organization, should be hiring the people who get the best results for is share/stake holders. If that group is made up entirely of minorities or entirely of old white men, it shouldn't matter. Diversity, FOR THE SAKE OF DIVERSITY, is never the best option and goes against fiduciary responsibility.
I am older and I know I have said this before. But I have been forced to hire people who were much less qualified than other candidates, solely because of the color of their skin or gender. when I interviewed people for jobs, I never saw color or gender. I only saw what they were able to do for the company and to strengthen the group that I was responsible for managing. (BTW, I promoted more minorities that anyone else, in a group of more than 15,000 people.) But they earned it because of their hard work and results. I was proud to support them, even though many times, I lost them to another group.
User avatar
By flameshaw
Registration Days Posts
#607419
olldflame wrote: August 25th, 2020, 9:15 am
TH Spangler wrote: August 25th, 2020, 9:01 am
Class of 20Something wrote: August 24th, 2020, 6:27 pm Not backing down.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dondi_E._Costin

Poach him.
This guy looks like a good fit. Hope he's at least contacted.

Chaplain Costin is a native of Wilmington, North Carolina, and was commissioned a second lieutenant upon graduation from the United States Air Force Academy in 1986. He received his Masters of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas. He also holds Doctor of Ministry and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky, as well as a Master of Arts in Counseling from Liberty University. His military education includes U.S. Air Force Academic Instructor School, Squadron Officer School, Air War College, and Master of Strategic Studies. [1]
I agree he looks like an outstanding candidate. The fact that he has only been at Chuck South for 2 years could make it a difficult decision for him to leave, as he is really just getting started in trying to stabilize the situation there.
Not when we would probably triple his salary. That makes it a pretty easy decision. If he is interested 8)
By ALUmnus
Registration Days Posts
#607423
I don't get the continued fascination with big names. We need to get this obsession with celebrity out of LU's DNA. It's always a recipe for scandal.

Our next president needs to be exceptionally QUALIFIED, not a PR scheme. Time will help the university recover, not a big image campaign. Let's be a school, a really good one.

And the knee-jerk repulsion at anything "baptist" on here is a little disturbing. Of course a Baptist background should be considered. LU is a ministry of TRBC, and has a large Baptist seminary. I understand it not being a requirement, as we've had a non-baptist as president in the past, but of course it should be a factor.

Lastly, there are many many men who are more than qualified academically and institutionally, that are also pastors. Being a pastor is not a negative in this area.
User avatar
By thepostman
Registration Days Posts
#607430
The Baptist idea only came from one person and he isn't someone should pay any attention to on these kinds of matters.

I fully agree that we need to move away from finding a "big name". There is just no reason to be concerned with anything but their walk with Christ and their resume in education, preferably Christian education.
User avatar
By bluedevilflame
Registration Days Posts
#607433
Obviously for now, I want someone with a steady hand that can lead us through this scandal, I believe Prevo is this man. While he is not perfect, he does understand how LU functions.

Long term, I want a strong, low profile person who values the religious aspects of LU above all. Denominations don't matter too much to me so long as they are a God fearing protestant Christian.
Last edited by bluedevilflame on August 25th, 2020, 10:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
By rhezick
Posts
#607434
thepostman wrote: August 25th, 2020, 10:03 am The Baptist idea only came from one person and he isn't someone should pay any attention to on these kinds of matters.

I fully agree that we need to move away from finding a "big name". There is just no reason to be concerned with anything but their walk with Christ and their resume in education, preferably Christian education.
100% this. The university needs to be about the University. The person should be lesser than the institution. You know...basic non-profit organizational management 101. Hubris and fame need to die in LU 3.0. And if what Jerry said in the WSJ article has an ounce of truth, the contract needs to be re-written asap to include "we the trustees can fire your rear for any reason we see fit, even if we're just bored one day..."

Side note, yes I agree it needs to a focus on their walk with Christ and education. We've had the religious prez (Jerry Sr). We've had the business prez(Jerry Jr). We should actually shoot for the academic prez this go around. Obviously life isn't binary and all 3 can coexist, but make the focus the academics, with the baseline of being a strong Christian of course.
Last edited by rhezick on August 25th, 2020, 10:17 am, edited 3 times in total.
User avatar
By bluedevilflame
Registration Days Posts
#607436
rhezick wrote:
thepostman wrote: August 25th, 2020, 10:03 am The Baptist idea only came from one person and he isn't someone should pay any attention to on these kinds of matters.

I fully agree that we need to move away from finding a "big name". There is just no reason to be concerned with anything but their walk with Christ and their resume in education, preferably Christian education.
100% this. The university needs to be about the University. The person should be lesser than the institution. You know...basic non-profit organizational management 101. Hubris and fame need to die in LU 3.0. And if what Jerry said in the WSJ article has an ounce of truth, the contract needs to be re-written asap to include "we the trustees can fire your jerk for any reason we see fit, even if we're just bored one day..."
Yeah, the next president needs a contract that is in the best interest of the university, not of the individual, which Jerry's contract obviously was.
#607439
For those of you who know more about University leadership, can you fill in some blanks for me? What positions do we need in executive leadership and what are their primary roles/responsibilities?

President
Chancellor
Provost
COO
User avatar
By LUAlum1215
Posts
#607440
ALUmnus wrote: August 25th, 2020, 9:57 am I don't get the continued fascination with big names. We need to get this obsession with celebrity out of LU's DNA. It's always a recipe for scandal.

Our next president needs to be exceptionally QUALIFIED, not a PR scheme. Time will help the university recover, not a big image campaign. Let's be a school, a really good one.

And the knee-jerk repulsion at anything "baptist" on here is a little disturbing. Of course a Baptist background should be considered. LU is a ministry of TRBC, and has a large Baptist seminary. I understand it not being a requirement, as we've had a non-baptist as president in the past, but of course it should be a factor.

Lastly, there are many many men who are more than qualified academically and institutionally, that are also pastors. Being a pastor is not a negative in this area.
I'm specifically wanting to see a small, not recognizable name as the next president. IMO best case scenario is the media reports "Tom Smith is now president of Liberty University. And next is the weather report...". LU needs to get their stuff in line before making another splash.
bluedevilflame liked this
By rhezick
Posts
#607441
Jonathan Carone wrote: August 25th, 2020, 10:16 am For those of you who know more about University leadership, can you fill in some blanks for me? What positions do we need in executive leadership and what are their primary roles/responsibilities?

President
Chancellor
Provost
COO
Piggybacking on this.... where the heck is Randy Smith? I see they already removed Jerry Jr from the leadership page, but Randy's still up there. Did someone stuff him in the same broom closet with Godwin and forget to let him out? Feel like we've got a real Milton situation from Office Space going on with our COOs.

Edit - I see the page was updated (maybe a while ago) where his title changed to "management consultant." That seems a little ironic given the current events, but hey...gotta make that cheddar somehow.
By rhezick
Posts
#607445
thepostman wrote: August 25th, 2020, 10:24 am @rhezick Refresh my memory on Randy Smith. What is the deal with him?
He was the right hand man, brought in around 2013 I think. Kind of the next iteration of Borek/Young/Godwin if I'm not mistaken. He tried to make things run more efficiently. I remember when he came to LUO when they moved some pieces around and brought in Kennedy. He was big on numbers and profitability, and making the most of the resources (not painting that in a bad light but trying to summarize what he communicated to the staff at the time). He was very visible and then just went away it seemed.
Last edited by rhezick on August 25th, 2020, 10:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
By gerb
Posts
#607446
Sly Fox wrote: August 25th, 2020, 8:46 am I haven't talked to Mark in years. A decade ago he offered me a job at his firm and we used to be in touch regularly for a period of time. He has recovered from his cancer treatments at last check. He would make a strong board member with a track record of holding adminstrators accountable.

Gerb - I feel you on your concerns. You will not likely find a more passionate person on this board than me about rooting out sexual abuse in the church. We as Evangelicals have come a long way in acknowledging the horrific nature of this sin and the impact on the victims and the witness of the church to the lost. My grandfather who passed away a few years ago there in Lynchburg bravely exposed covered up sin at the largest church in America back in the '80s. It cost him friendships, financial support and resulted in death threats for years. Interestingly enough the only Christian leader who was willing to stand by my grandfather through this time was Doc. I have counseled churches through staff sex scandals over the years and have been consistent in shedding light on the darkness and supporting the victims the way Scripture demands us.

This only makes the events of the past few days all the more ironic and sad. Doc spent his entire life in full recognition of what a scandal like this would do to the university and his ministry. It is a primary reason he didn't follow the trend at the time of naming his school after himself when Oral Roberts and Jimmy Swaggart had their names front & center. Apparently his eldest wasn't paying close enough attention.

I am sure the board will hire a search firm. A guy I know here in Houston leads the largest Christian ministry leadership search firm. It will be interesting to see if the board hires them or a secular search firm with proven track record. What I hope they avoid us setting up their own internal search committee. The credibility of the board is so low right now that such an endeavor could be disastrous.

I do suspect that the board is consulting with Mart Green who shepherded ORU through their own scandal-plagued recovery.
I don't know Mark but have observed his body of work in the PR business and its revolting. Church after church hiring his firm to do damage control and spinning their disastrous coverup of sexual abusers and abuse of victims.

Doc is my hero but hasn't always been. After graduating, I thought he was over the top for example referring to Ellen as Ellen Degenerate. However, now that pedowood is coming to light, I think Doc was more red pilled than any of us can imagine. Its also probably one the reasons he never hitched his wagon to the SBC. I'm not surprised that Doc defended your grandfather. He was the real deal which is VERY rare as a nationally know Christian.

I agree with those that say we should move away from the attraction of big names in christian circles. After 30 years of observing, running in circles near some of the biggest leaders in the church today and observing mind boggling indifference regarding the sexual abuse of children and members to outright defense and active coverup, I've come to realize the following reality.

- There is a deep church.
- The Vatican is satanic to the core and is covertly pulling the strings of almost every denomination
- Almost every "big name" christian "leader" is a controlled puppet usually controlled via sexual deviancy
- They move their respective organization further and further away from the gospel and truth over time and are incredibly deceptive
- When instructed, the puppets will suddenly consolidate christians behind the pope and a world church
- And most christians will fall for it.

Make no mistake, there are those that are all over LU and the BoT right now putting on a full court press to install their next leader that will carry out their agenda, weaken LU over time and eventually turn us into Baylor or worse.

I believe God blew up Jerry's boat because he loves LU and because of the lifetime of prayers from Doc (and many others), a man who truly loved his savior. I pray the next chancellor of LU knows and loves the Lord like Doc did.
By rhezick
Posts
#607450
gerb wrote: August 25th, 2020, 10:30 am
Sly Fox wrote: August 25th, 2020, 8:46 am I haven't talked to Mark in years. A decade ago he offered me a job at his firm and we used to be in touch regularly for a period of time. He has recovered from his cancer treatments at last check. He would make a strong board member with a track record of holding adminstrators accountable.

Gerb - I feel you on your concerns. You will not likely find a more passionate person on this board than me about rooting out sexual abuse in the church. We as Evangelicals have come a long way in acknowledging the horrific nature of this sin and the impact on the victims and the witness of the church to the lost. My grandfather who passed away a few years ago there in Lynchburg bravely exposed covered up sin at the largest church in America back in the '80s. It cost him friendships, financial support and resulted in death threats for years. Interestingly enough the only Christian leader who was willing to stand by my grandfather through this time was Doc. I have counseled churches through staff sex scandals over the years and have been consistent in shedding light on the darkness and supporting the victims the way Scripture demands us.

This only makes the events of the past few days all the more ironic and sad. Doc spent his entire life in full recognition of what a scandal like this would do to the university and his ministry. It is a primary reason he didn't follow the trend at the time of naming his school after himself when Oral Roberts and Jimmy Swaggart had their names front & center. Apparently his eldest wasn't paying close enough attention.

I am sure the board will hire a search firm. A guy I know here in Houston leads the largest Christian ministry leadership search firm. It will be interesting to see if the board hires them or a secular search firm with proven track record. What I hope they avoid us setting up their own internal search committee. The credibility of the board is so low right now that such an endeavor could be disastrous.

I do suspect that the board is consulting with Mart Green who shepherded ORU through their own scandal-plagued recovery.
I don't know Mark but have observed his body of work in the PR business and its revolting. Church after church hiring his firm to do damage control and spinning their disastrous coverup of sexual abusers and abuse of victims.

Doc is my hero but hasn't always been. After graduating, I thought he was over the top for example referring to Ellen as Ellen Degenerate. However, now that pedowood is coming to light, I think Doc was more red pilled than any of us can imagine. Its also probably one the reasons he never hitched his wagon to the SBC. I'm not surprised that Doc defended your grandfather. He was the real deal which is VERY rare as a nationally know Christian.

I agree with those that say we should move away from the attraction of big names in christian circles. After 30 years of observing, running in circles near some of the biggest leaders in the church today and observing mind boggling indifference regarding the sexual abuse of children and members to outright defense and active coverup, I've come to realize the following reality.

- There is a deep church.
- The Vatican is satanic to the core and is covertly pulling the strings of almost every denomination
- Almost every "big name" christian "leader" is a controlled puppet usually controlled via sexual deviancy
- They move their respective organization further and further away from the gospel and truth over time and are incredibly deceptive
- When instructed, the puppets will suddenly consolidate christians behind the pope and a world church
- And most christians will fall for it.

Make no mistake, there are those that are all over LU and the BoT right now putting on a full court press to install their next leader that will carry out their agenda, weaken LU over time and eventually turn us into Baylor or worse.

I believe God blew up Jerry's boat because he loves LU and because of the lifetime of prayers from Doc (and many others), a man who truly loved his savior. I pray the next chancellor of LU knows and loves the Lord like Doc did.
Did you just Jesus juke us into Qanon?
By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#607460
Jonathan Carone wrote: August 25th, 2020, 10:16 am For those of you who know more about University leadership, can you fill in some blanks for me? What positions do we need in executive leadership and what are their primary roles/responsibilities?

President
Chancellor
Provost
COO
I don't know the specifics on roles, but JR was both President and Chancellor. COO is Randy Smith and Provost is Scott Hicks, who has only been in that role for 2 years. Hicks was hired as a professor in 07 and has been promoted 3 times.
By rhezick
Posts
#607463
olldflame wrote: August 25th, 2020, 11:02 am
Jonathan Carone wrote: August 25th, 2020, 10:16 am For those of you who know more about University leadership, can you fill in some blanks for me? What positions do we need in executive leadership and what are their primary roles/responsibilities?

President
Chancellor
Provost
COO
I don't know the specifics on roles, but JR was both President and Chancellor. COO is Randy Smith and Provost is Scott Hicks, who has only been in that role for 2 years. Hicks was hired as a professor in 07 and has been promoted 3 times.
Smith is no longer listed as COO, but "management consultant" on the LU leadership page.
By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#607464
rhezick wrote: August 25th, 2020, 11:09 am
olldflame wrote: August 25th, 2020, 11:02 am
Jonathan Carone wrote: August 25th, 2020, 10:16 am For those of you who know more about University leadership, can you fill in some blanks for me? What positions do we need in executive leadership and what are their primary roles/responsibilities?

President
Chancellor
Provost
COO
I don't know the specifics on roles, but JR was both President and Chancellor. COO is Randy Smith and Provost is Scott Hicks, who has only been in that role for 2 years. Hicks was hired as a professor in 07 and has been promoted 3 times.
Smith is no longer listed as COO, but "management consultant" on the LU leadership page.
I'm guessing that the COO position is currently vacant then. Probably just as well.
By ALUmnus
Registration Days Posts
#607465
With the direction our society, and government, is headed, LU has to prepare for a life without federal dollars (IF we continue with our current mission). Maybe bringing in some people from places like Grove City or Hillsdale would be beneficial.
jimflamesfan liked this
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 61

I just want a 6' 8+ forward that moves like venz[…]

NMSU

You Green-McKay haters keep saying we need c[…]

Charlotte

Charlotte comes to Liberty Wednesday, for a 4:00 p[…]

Dondi Costin - LU President

This past weekend I saw my neighbor at HEB.