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

Moderators: jcmanson, Sly Fox, BuryYourDuke

User avatar
By Ill flame
Posts
#653080
Regularly working with relatively high ranking leaders in the military has left me more jaded of those individuals than many of you on this board. With that being said chaplains are the exception to that rule, I'm almost always impressed by what they bring to the military. Clearly this man knows how to impress all of the right people because getting promoted as a chaplain isn't easy (at least in the army) since there are so few positions at the higher ranks. He skipped a rank to reach major general so that tells me a lot about how well respected he is.

I love that he has a ton of degrees from various universities and that he already has several years of successful experience as the president at another university. I haven't watched the presser yet and this is about the extent of my knowledge of him but there's no doubt in my mind that he's qualified for the job and that's all I can really ask for with this board. I'll be curious to see what his top priorities are.
LUOrange, rtb72, Baybird liked this
User avatar
By Purple Haize
Registration Days Posts
#653085
I love your first sentence. I mean I read the rest but am in total agreement with you on the first sentence
User avatar
By TH Spangler
Registration Days Posts
#653086
Purple Haize wrote: April 1st, 2023, 12:04 am I love your first sentence. I mean I read the rest but am in total agreement with you on the first sentence
Our military was fundamentally changed a few years back via fourced retirements. We've discussed it before. Would love to hear Costin's opinion.
User avatar
By Purple Haize
Registration Days Posts
#653089
thepostman wrote: April 1st, 2023, 6:15 am No it didn't. 8)
I know you ‘know a guy’ currently in the service 8) However, based on conversations with several veterans who I’m close with it really has. And these dudes aren’t that
Political. Few if any are optimistic about the future efficacy of the US Armed Forces. Granted these guys are pretty much non coms a below but they’ve talked about the changes they’ve seen towards the end of their tenure and when they got out and they are concerned. The emphasis on non ‘mission critical’ training has them concerned. To the point where one of my navy friends said he was spending more time on ‘non essential’ training then on training on how to perform their actual duties. Army DI has next to 0 confidence in recruits out of basic now because of all the restrictions that have been put in place.
Again, I’m not there, but it’s undeniable that the military has changed.
Baybird liked this
User avatar
By TH Spangler
Registration Days Posts
#653091
Purple Haize wrote: April 1st, 2023, 7:45 am
thepostman wrote: April 1st, 2023, 6:15 am No it didn't. 8)
I know you ‘know a guy’ currently in the service 8) However, based on conversations with several veterans who I’m close with it really has. And these dudes aren’t that
Political. Few if any are optimistic about the future efficacy of the US Armed Forces. Granted these guys are pretty much non coms a below but they’ve talked about the changes they’ve seen towards the end of their tenure and when they got out and they are concerned. The emphasis on non ‘mission critical’ training has them concerned. To the point where one of my navy friends said he was spending more time on ‘non essential’ training then on training on how to perform their actual duties. Army DI has next to 0 confidence in recruits out of basic now because of all the restrictions that have been put in place.
Again, I’m not there, but it’s undeniable that the military has changed.
And as a result, an internal Defense Department survey found that only 9% of young Americans eligible to serve in the military had any inclination to do so, the lowest number since 2007.
LUOrange liked this
User avatar
By thepostman
Registration Days Posts
#653092
Purple Haize wrote: April 1st, 2023, 7:45 am
thepostman wrote: April 1st, 2023, 6:15 am No it didn't. 8)
I know you ‘know a guy’ currently in the service 8) However, based on conversations with several veterans who I’m close with it really has. And these dudes aren’t that
Political. Few if any are optimistic about the future efficacy of the US Armed Forces. Granted these guys are pretty much non coms a below but they’ve talked about the changes they’ve seen towards the end of their tenure and when they got out and they are concerned. The emphasis on non ‘mission critical’ training has them concerned. To the point where one of my navy friends said he was spending more time on ‘non essential’ training then on training on how to perform their actual duties. Army DI has next to 0 confidence in recruits out of basic now because of all the restrictions that have been put in place.
Again, I’m not there, but it’s undeniable that the military has changed.
Those are much more complicated conversations and isn't what TH was referencing at all. What you bring up are legit concerns. Now you have given him some logical, thought out reasoning for his lunacy.

But if you talk to people towards the end of their career in all eras you'll find a good portion complaining about things not being what they use to be when they first joined. It's the ballcoach syndrome. Is there some truth? Of course. But its not nearly as drastic as many would have you believe.
User avatar
By TH Spangler
Registration Days Posts
#653097
ballcoach15 wrote: April 1st, 2023, 8:57 am Anytime there's a Democratic president, military readiness suffers. Our military is the strongest when a Republican is in White House. Biden would love a Pentagon full of officers assigned based on demographics, not merit.
Pure lunacy BC :lol:
User avatar
By thepostman
Registration Days Posts
#653099
It's not "pure facts" but neither of you 2 deal well with nuance.

Costin is leading the university. Not the pentagon so this conversation is pointless.
User avatar
By cruzan_flame13
Posts
#653100
thepostman wrote: April 1st, 2023, 10:32 am It's not "pure facts" but neither of you 2 deal well with nuance.

Costin is leading the university. Not the pentagon so this conversation is pointless.
You should know this happens a lot here in this forum :lol:. At least we see what idols folks are struggling with here; Jesus loves you all! Back to the the topic yes?
User avatar
By Purple Haize
Registration Days Posts
#653102
thepostman wrote: April 1st, 2023, 8:42 am Anyways. Let's not hijack yet another thread about this nonsense. I am cautiously optimistic about the future of LU. Even if I'm still uneasy about the state of the board.
No! Don’t tell me what to do! :D
User avatar
By cruzan_flame13
Posts
#653104
Ill flame wrote: March 31st, 2023, 8:12 pm Regularly working with relatively high ranking leaders in the military has left me more jaded of those individuals than many of you on this board. With that being said chaplains are the exception to that rule, I'm almost always impressed by what they bring to the military. Clearly this man knows how to impress all of the right people because getting promoted as a chaplain isn't easy (at least in the army) since there are so few positions at the higher ranks. He skipped a rank to reach major general so that tells me a lot about how well respected he is.

I love that he has a ton of degrees from various universities and that he already has several years of successful experience as the president at another university. I haven't watched the presser yet and this is about the extent of my knowledge of him but there's no doubt in my mind that he's qualified for the job and that's all I can really ask for with this board. I'll be curious to see what his top priorities are.
I believe this sentence should be the main focus. I was looking at the article about the upcoming president, and I kept going back to this paragraph. I'll leave the link to the article and then the paragraph that I'm referring to:

https://newsadvance.com/news/local/educ ... afd4c.html
Costin has most recently served as president of Charleston Southern University, where he oversaw the construction of several facilities and the expansion of academic programs, including doctoral programs and an engineering program within the university’s college of science and mathematics.
The bolded section is what I believe will be Costin's first objectives. I recall mentioning the expansion of academia was a must and can be "easily" done. If Costin and supporters can cause growth at CSU in a small period of time, the same can be done at LU for the rest of the '20s. This also continues the vision of Sr. of growing a big christian university.
User avatar
By rmiller1959
Registration Days Posts
#653105
I remember reading that he spent the first year as Charleston Southern's president conducting listening sessions across the campus. I was hoping he would do the same thing at Liberty. Even if we showed the board the maximum amount of grace, I would bet that most of them have never interacted in any meaningful way with the student body, the faculty, or the staff, and their perspective on the climate at LU is confined to what they hear in the periodic board meetings from executive leadership. They are not the sole or complete source of knowledge about LU, and if President Costin wants to know LU, he needs to talk to the people who do the daily work of "training Champions for Christ," the students under their instruction and mentorship, and the staff that cares for both.

Therefore, I was glad to see this quote from him in the Charleston newspaper:
He spent the first year at Charleston Southern holding listening sessions across campus and said that’s the approach he’ll take at Liberty.

“The new person knows less than anybody about the culture,” Costin said.
I am also optimistic about the collaboration between him and Jonathan.
In announcing Costin as president, trustees also announced that Jonathan would serve as the university’s chancellor. It’s a move that harkens back to Liberty’s origins, Costin said.

“I can’t wait to lock arms with him and see how the Lord uses us together,” he said.
Some are disappointed that Jonathan hasn't been more outspoken or visible in dealing with the issues confronting LU, but I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt and presuming he's playing the long game here. As chancellor and a counterpart and counselor to the president, he may have more influence on campus than ever. I don't know him personally, but I've seen him in private, and he is self-effacing, genial, and lacks the need to feed his ego. All in all, I have hope!

https://www.postandcourier.com/charlest ... bae49.html
LUOrange, Baybird, flamehunter and 1 others liked this
User avatar
By Ill flame
Posts
#653106
cruzan_flame13 wrote: April 1st, 2023, 12:32 pm
Ill flame wrote: March 31st, 2023, 8:12 pm Regularly working with relatively high ranking leaders in the military has left me more jaded of those individuals than many of you on this board. With that being said chaplains are the exception to that rule, I'm almost always impressed by what they bring to the military. Clearly this man knows how to impress all of the right people because getting promoted as a chaplain isn't easy (at least in the army) since there are so few positions at the higher ranks. He skipped a rank to reach major general so that tells me a lot about how well respected he is.

I love that he has a ton of degrees from various universities and that he already has several years of successful experience as the president at another university. I haven't watched the presser yet and this is about the extent of my knowledge of him but there's no doubt in my mind that he's qualified for the job and that's all I can really ask for with this board. I'll be curious to see what his top priorities are.
I believe this sentence should be the main focus. I was looking at the article about the upcoming president, and I kept going back to this paragraph. I'll leave the link to the article and then the paragraph that I'm referring to:

https://newsadvance.com/news/local/educ ... afd4c.html
Costin has most recently served as president of Charleston Southern University, where he oversaw the construction of several facilities and the expansion of academic programs, including doctoral programs and an engineering program within the university’s college of science and mathematics.
The bolded section is what I believe will be Costin's first objectives. I recall mentioning the expansion of academia was a must and can be "easily" done. If Costin and supporters can cause growth at CSU in a small period of time, the same can be done at LU for the rest of the '20s. This also continues the vision of Sr. of growing a big christian university.
I read the same thing but my first thought is that Liberty is already doing all of those things despite our previous leadership. Enrollment is increasing across the board, new facilities are constantly being built, our STEM and postgraduate programs are growing, athletics are improving and finances are as strong as ever. If all of those things are happening with poor leadership what is the new guy going to step in and prioritize that wouldn't have happened under the old regime? Will his goal be to do the things I listed better and faster or is he going to focus his efforts on something else that was being overlooked such as increasing research or making changes to LUO or the think tank? All he's said so far is that he has the same vision as Falwell which says a lot and almost nothing at the same time.
User avatar
By Sly Fox
Registration Days Posts
#653108
Those of you who have been pining for a greater emphasis on engineering are likely to have gotten your wish. Costin took his engineering training from the AFA and spent the first decade of his military career putting it to good use. Something tells me that will likely be a priority.

If he is serious about listening, I am anxious to get some face time.
Purple Haize, flamehunter, Baybird and 3 others liked this
User avatar
By cruzan_flame13
Posts
#653109
Ill flame wrote: April 1st, 2023, 1:21 pm
cruzan_flame13 wrote: April 1st, 2023, 12:32 pm
Ill flame wrote: March 31st, 2023, 8:12 pm Regularly working with relatively high ranking leaders in the military has left me more jaded of those individuals than many of you on this board. With that being said chaplains are the exception to that rule, I'm almost always impressed by what they bring to the military. Clearly this man knows how to impress all of the right people because getting promoted as a chaplain isn't easy (at least in the army) since there are so few positions at the higher ranks. He skipped a rank to reach major general so that tells me a lot about how well respected he is.

I love that he has a ton of degrees from various universities and that he already has several years of successful experience as the president at another university. I haven't watched the presser yet and this is about the extent of my knowledge of him but there's no doubt in my mind that he's qualified for the job and that's all I can really ask for with this board. I'll be curious to see what his top priorities are.
I believe this sentence should be the main focus. I was looking at the article about the upcoming president, and I kept going back to this paragraph. I'll leave the link to the article and then the paragraph that I'm referring to:

https://newsadvance.com/news/local/educ ... afd4c.html
Costin has most recently served as president of Charleston Southern University, where he oversaw the construction of several facilities and the expansion of academic programs, including doctoral programs and an engineering program within the university’s college of science and mathematics.
The bolded section is what I believe will be Costin's first objectives. I recall mentioning the expansion of academia was a must and can be "easily" done. If Costin and supporters can cause growth at CSU in a small period of time, the same can be done at LU for the rest of the '20s. This also continues the vision of Sr. of growing a big christian university.
I read the same thing but my first thought is that Liberty is already doing all of those things despite our previous leadership. Enrollment is increasing across the board, new facilities are constantly being built, our STEM and postgraduate programs are growing, athletics are improving and finances are as strong as ever. If all of those things are happening with poor leadership what is the new guy going to step in and prioritize that wouldn't have happened under the old regime? Will his goal be to do the things I listed better and faster or is he going to focus his efforts on something else that was being overlooked such as increasing research or making changes to LUO or the think tank? All he's said so far is that he has the same vision as Falwell which says a lot and almost nothing at the same time.
My point isn't implying that nothing was improving, but the rate that it was growing was slower than expected. For those who are in the know understand that the leadership was not fully focus on expansion. You can see the difference of expansion from 2013-2017 and 2018- present. The focus was more about personal agendas and not much about the master plan. Costin can now continue that plan that was once the main priority which can truly boost our efforts academically, nationally, spiritually, athletically (continuation) and domestically (locals,alumi, donors,etc).
User avatar
By rmiller1959
Registration Days Posts
#653121
On a related note, the news reports keep mentioning Gen. Costin as LU's sixth president and Jonathan Falwell as its 3rd chancellor. I know the other chancellors were Jerry, Sr. and Jerry, Jr. Who are the two presidents other than the "three Jerrys" and Gen. Costin? I'm sure some folks around here would know!
NCAA Realignment Megathread

I find it interesting Grand Canyon can get two c[…]

24-25 Men's basketball

Porter’s the clear floor leader. Expect to […]

The Malik Willis NFL Experience

This could be a rough weekend for Malik. Detroit m[…]

Thanks for sharing that. SPOILER ALERT: Great wi[…]