Here we go ’round the mulberry bush of Marquette bureaucrats
Written by Brian on February 24, 2008 – 11:40 am - Welcome, if you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed or subscribe to our email newsletter. Thanks for visiting!
Most have probably heard that Marquette hired it’s top lawyer, Steve Cottingham, as the new Athletic Director, a person who prior to 14 months ago had no experience whatsoever in collegiate athletics.
Cottingham may be a nice guy (we’ll see - he is a Badger), but the poor selection process for finding an Athletic Director, if there even was one, speaks volumes about the inner workings of the Marquette bureaucracy.
The men’s hoops blog Cracked Sidewalks had an interesting reaction to the news:
So, like many things in life, there are trade-offs. We now have an AD well positioned in some areas of the business, but there is that glaring unknown. For that reason I ask why. Why? Cottingham has been the interim AD for over a year…why now make him the AD? Was it based on his efforts over the last 14 months? Certainly plausible and perhaps likely. Or was it the inability to attract any other good candidates? On one hand, I’m thrilled we actually have an AD permanently in place, on the other hand it really makes one scratch their head that an outside placement firm couldn’t find anyone else (nobody leaked anyway) with some serious AD experience as a candidate. Perhaps Cottingham just beat them all out. I don’t know and doubt any of us will ever know what the “process” was in selecting the AD, but it always fascinates me when firms or schools have this much time and spend money on outside firms only to settle on an inside candidate. Sometimes it works out to be a terrific hire. Sometimes it’s simply about settling. I hope it’s not the latter. [E/A]
Athletics is one beast unto itself, and while I can’t say that hiring a lawyer for anything would be the direction I would want to take an institution or department in an institution, I’ll admit that I don’t know the inner workings of collegiate athletics as much as those involved.
The AD position, though, is not the only high-rolling position up for grabs at Marquette. I can’t find the Tribune article from last year, but there are many Dean positions and, of course, the Provost position.
Does anyone have any doubt that when Marquette’s “national search” to replace Madeline Wake (formerly of the Nursing Dept) and Mike McKinney (formerly of the Chemistry Dept) in their respective posts as Provost and Dean of the CAS finish that we’ll end up with in-house bureaucrat-professors?
Does anyone have much doubt, for instance, that hyperliberal Heather Hathaway of the English Department is in line to become the Dean of the CAS? An out of house bureaucrat can be just as bad as an in-house bureaucrat, but please stop feigning the facade of a “national search” when filling these positions.
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Posted in Marquette Golden Chickens |
February 24th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
“Cottingham may be a nice guy (we’ll see - he is a Badger), but the poor selection process for finding an Athletic Director, if there even was one, speaks volumes about the inner workings of the Marquette bureaucracy.”
Hold on there, Brian — hiring a Badger is a great move by Marquette. Anytime you can pick someone up from higher up the food chain you are likely improving your lot in life. It worked out pretty well for the Law School with the late Dean Eisenberg at the helm, didn’t it?
On, Wisconsin!
February 24th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Thanks for clearing up why you’re an asshole, wally: You’re a Badger!
Actually, you’re probably more likely a UW-Parkside graduate who has convinced himself that he graduated from Madison and wears Badger apparel on a regular basis.
Thanks as always for your insightful comments. I know you come here to see what people “higher up the food chain” than you and your fellow UW Hyphen graduates are up to.
February 25th, 2008 at 7:46 am
Au contraire, Brian. My diploma reads “The University of Wisconsin,” which means it was earned before the shot-gun marriage of the great state university with the former teachers’ colleges.
A thousand pardons for playing to your insecurities with the sharp comment, but you “led with your chin” by implying that a Badger couldn’t be a “nice guy.”
February 25th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Steve Cottingham is, in fact, a great guy who is fully committed to Marquette and our mission.
The athletic department is lucky to have him.
February 25th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Wow, Christine, that didn’t seem formulated at all. Mind telling us what your relationship is to him? Are both of your families regulars at the Mequon supper club?
February 25th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Easy Brian. Give the guy a chance before you decide this move was completely without merit. Like you said, we’ll see if it works out or if this is another case of bureaucratic ineptitude. Give it time.
No need to attack everyone who posts in his favor.
February 25th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Scotty, where have I said that this was completely without merit? Seriously?
If it’s such an outstanding decision we’re going to need a little more than the typical Father Wild “do as I say” as a justification. There was ZERO attempt to explain why the University conducted ZERO interviews for the position, including one for one of Bill Cord’s own deputies.
February 29th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
[...] may want to subscribe to our RSS feed or subscribe to our email newsletter. Thanks for visiting!As previously noted, Marquette has named Steve Cottingham the Athletics Director, dropping the “interim” [...]