[LUOrange]

Honestly it is much tougher to identify a President or Chancellor than a Head Football Coach. The latter are visible and the former typically rise through the ranks of academia or slide into a role coming out of public life.

I am fine with someone stepping out of the political space as long as they are spiritually focused. But honestly I can't thnk of too many viable candidates.

I actually like the idea of a pastor as long as they have strong academic credentials. Again I don't think that would be a very long list.

Frankly I like the idea of a spiritual leader as Chancellor and an academic leader as President.

On a related note, I wonder if it is too late to install Emily Heady as provost for this calendar year. She is already in town.

If he'd take it, Mike Huckabee would be great. Former Baptist preacher, Governor, and businessman who's very gracious and soft spoken.

[thepostman]

No more politics! For the love of all things that are holy!

Prevo and the board will take the fall semester to investigate things and give a little bit of stability in the interim. I'd expect the search for the new president to start next spring with him/her in place July 1 of next year.

Yeah, that seems like a pretty good timeline. I don't think this needs to be rushed at this point. Especially if this is done correctly.

[ballah09]

LOL at Huckabee. Jr lite. We want to move on from politics.

[flameshaw]

Agree with you Sly. Should be a position for Mark on the board. As whatisthetruth mentioned earlier, there were others removed, just not as openly as Mark because his criticism of JJ was so public. I, too, would like to see some of those members restored. However, in order for them to be removed, there must have been complicity on the part of remaining BoT members. It’s one thing to remove JJ in the face of such egregious moral violations. It’s another to admit further mistakes and bring back on removed members - if they even want to. I think it may be telling to find if those extricated from the BoT in the past 8 years would a) be welcomed back, and/or b) accept the invitation.

Fool me once... you all know the rest.

You do understand that some of those removed did have some baggage that was fairly heavy? Not going to identify anyone by name. I am not a big fan of Mark D. last time I saw him, he was wearing skinny jeans.

[bluedevilflame]

If we've learned anything from this scandal is that we need to move away from being hyper political.

[flameshaw]

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

Don't know where the board is going with the organizational structure. But I would add Campus Pastor to your list. He definitely needs to walk the plank. IMHO

[JK37]

Agree with you Sly. Should be a position for Mark on the board. As whatisthetruth mentioned earlier, there were others removed, just not as openly as Mark because his criticism of JJ was so public. I, too, would like to see some of those members restored. However, in order for them to be removed, there must have been complicity on the part of remaining BoT members. It’s one thing to remove JJ in the face of such egregious moral violations. It’s another to admit further mistakes and bring back on removed members - if they even want to. I think it may be telling to find if those extricated from the BoT in the past 8 years would a) be welcomed back, and/or b) accept the invitation.

Fool me once... you all know the rest.

You do understand that some of those removed did have some baggage that was fairly heavy?

You may have misread my statement to mean I wanted all of them back. I was simply saying that if/as the BoT restructures, it will be interesting to see if any formers are invited back, and if that subset would even accept the offer. That is all.

Sometimes what is not said is more interesting than what is.

[flameshaw]

Agree with you Sly. Should be a position for Mark on the board. As whatisthetruth mentioned earlier, there were others removed, just not as openly as Mark because his criticism of JJ was so public. I, too, would like to see some of those members restored. However, in order for them to be removed, there must have been complicity on the part of remaining BoT members. It’s one thing to remove JJ in the face of such egregious moral violations. It’s another to admit further mistakes and bring back on removed members - if they even want to. I think it may be telling to find if those extricated from the BoT in the past 8 years would a) be welcomed back, and/or b) accept the invitation.

Fool me once... you all know the rest.

You do understand that some of those removed did have some baggage that was fairly heavy?

You may have misread my statement to mean I wanted all of them back. I was simply saying that if/as the BoT restructures, it will be interesting to see if any formers are invited back, and if that subset would even accept the offer. That is all.

Sometimes what is not said is more interesting than what is.

No, I didn't think you meant bring them all back. It's all good my friend. We are certainly in for some interesting times ahead. Praying that it all works out for LU and the leadership team.

[rhezick]

I'm concerned about this... why continue the monarchy? Towns has it right. I want to give that man a standing ovation, and hire one of those sky plans with the giant ribbon behind it, and fly it continuously over campus with those words trailing behind for everyone to remember.

"Some have called for Liberty’s leadership to remain in the Falwell family. The Rev. Jonathan Falwell, Jerry Falwell Jr.’s brother and the senior pastor at Thomas Road Baptist Church, has often been suggested as a possible successor. Jonathan Falwell could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Elmer Towns, a Liberty co-founder and a former dean, praised the Falwell family for its stewardship of the school but rejected the notion that a descendant of the Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr. must always lead the institution.

“I think it's God’s school,” he said. “God has always been at the head. I don’t think there's any type of heritage that we need to talk about. The school belongs to the graduates.”

https://newsadvance.com/news/local/libe ... c5a6b.html

[Jonathan Carone]

"The school belongs to the graduates" is such a great statement from him.

[thepostman]

I love Elmer

[ballah09]

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/2 ... gns-401688

Just what we would need, another politician with baggage of his own. Terrible.

[Jonathan Carone]

No thanks.

[flamesfilmguy]

Emily Heady would be great for Liberty. She’s done a lot of us. I don’t know if she would come back though

I agree with this. Dr. Heady was an awesome prof

[TH Spangler]

[*]

No thanks.

How about Mark Warner?

[thepostman]

I know what you're doing TH and it is kind of sad to me.

Anyways, no polticians. Period.

[ballah09]

Walker is under investigation for bribery and he said he finds women colleagues as "eye candy". So TH, no thanks.

[NeoFlame]

This won't be a splash name but one to keep an eye on, Dr. Steve Peterson, who is now at Houston Baptist University.

LU's growth happened under his leadership. A friend of mine who does some consulting in the Higher Ed space just reached out to me about the nonsense happening and mentioned Steve. I knew Steve was well respected but my buddy said he's viewed as a top 3 executive in online education.

For me, that doesn't matter. Liberty has money and resources to thrive regardless of if someone is an online guru. The part I like most about Steve's story is that he's a Dr. Falwell disciple. He served as Dr. Falwell's personal assistant for years and grew through the ranks at LU to the point he was overseeing a hundred million dollar budget with Liberty Online.

I never got the full story regarding why he left Liberty to go to Houston, but if you have followed any of the storylines from professors leaving LU to go to Houston it isn't hard to connect the dots. From what I'm told he could land any "Christian" Higher Ed job he pursues. Our company did a project with Steve back in the mid 2000's (?) when he was with Marketing, he certainly left an impression on me. He came across as a solid Christian guy, you want to do business with. In our short conversation, it was striking how much he admired the founder. I respect that and always have.

Liberty needs a Christian leader first and foremost, one who will take their daily challenges to prayer. In addition to that Liberty needs someone who can ensure the financial resources which has given LU so many opportunities won't diminish. I reached out to a few people who I know have done some work with him and they all give the same feedback regarding Steve.

[thepostman]

I had forgotten all about Dr Peterson. I don't know a ton about him but he is certianly someone to look at. Those are the kinds of people we should look at. He'd understand Doc's vision as well.

Great thought!

[Purple Haize]

He was #1 on my list

[NeoFlame]

He was #1 on my list

I'll need some regulars to let me know if that's a good thing or bad.

Truthfully I didn't read the first 5 pages of this thread so I didn't see your list, the thread about Jerry was enough of a headache for me. I just wanted to present my thoughts. I'm glad I'm not alone thinking he's the right fit, at the right time, for Liberty to prosper and return more to their Christian values.

[thepostman]

It's questionable but every now and then PH gets one right

[ballcoach15]

Whoever new president is, he needs to have a current or previous connection to Liberty. (in my opinion)

[Purple Haize]

He was #1 on my list

I'll need some regulars to let me know if that's a good thing or bad.

Truthfully I didn't read the first 5 pages of this thread so I didn't see your list, the thread about Jerry was enough of a headache for me. I just wanted to present my thoughts. I'm glad I'm not alone thinking he's the right fit, at the right time, for Liberty to prosper and return more to their Christian values.

Yeah, I’m pretty sketchy. I mean I wouldn’t buy a used car from me
I didn’t actually put out a list. But if I were to have he would have been #1. There’s a lot of other talent out there that could fit the bill but this guy checks Every. Single. Box. I mean I have a personal Dark Horse candidate but there’s no objective way could say they would be a better choice. This guy is a home run and he should be contacted tomorrow if he hasn’t already

[Purple Haize]

Whoever new president is, he needs to have a current or previous connection to Liberty. (in my opinion)

So your criteria are:
Baptist
Army General
Connection to Liberty
Must wear Black suit with red tie in public at all times.

That’s a pretty specific list. Which indicates you have someone in mind. So who is it?