Engstrom stepping down

[Proud Griz Man]

December 1, 2016

After careful discussion and consideration, University of Montana President Royce Engstrom and I have decided that he will step down as UM’s President effective December 31. I asked President Engstrom to consider this transition at this time based on my belief that a change in leadership direction is the right step for UM going forward.

Without RE around, What will you eGrizzers complain about now? rotesst:

 

[UMGriz75]

For those basking on the piling on moment, the glee will soon be replaced by the reality of replacing a president mid stream.

When do you do this? After the stream is dried up?

Indeed the challenges faced by Royce soon engulfed him re the resources available to him, (scant financials, downward trend in non stem institutions, student retention, etc...)

Engstrom inherited a campus with long-term, healthy enrollment trends, new construction in place to enhance recruiting efforts in the future, an excellent reputation, the unqualified position as the Flagship institution in Montana, record research budgets, and the most successful capital campaign in history.

Then, Engstrom began making a series of bizarre decisions designed, apparently, to show who was "in charge" and a'la Richard Brodhead at Duke, to show his true "PC" credentials to the world.

Since then, nearly all the advantages he inherited are gone. There is no blame to go elsewhere.

As the Missoulian correctly notes today:

The main campus has roughly 2,200 fewer students than it did five years ago, a 17 percent drop that ranks among the worst enrollment declines among public universities in the country.

 

[srgrizizen]

Yeah, forget the requirement of knowing anything about Universities. How about hiring someone from the football program? Anyway, I have been convinced on this board that we can now look forward to an unbroken string of FCS Championships now that the only thing that has been holding us back will be gone.
Oh wait, a few will say they still have to fire Stitt. :lol:

 

[VimSince03]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/SkylineSportsMT/status/804409715291787264[/tweet]

 

[BadlandsGrizFan]

For those that are ecstatic about this, be careful what you wish for. Contrary to posts of those on here with no knowledge, Royce was a tremendous supporter and defender of Griz athletics. That's unlikely to be the case with the new president. I would fully expect we may well see a decrease in funding and support of athletics under the new president.

This would be a HUGE mistake on the part of the next President. Especially to programs like football that GENERATE revenue. His first cuts should be to staff, considering the report that came out about over staffing at the U.

if this is anything like the private sector, stitt will really feel the pressure to perform next year.....it is NEVER good to lose the c.e.o. who put his stamp of approval on your hiring......the heat will be turned way up imo....

This is what I was thinking as well...BOR may act on his extension in advance of new president hire. I hope not.

The best case would be that the new prez leaves Haslam alone and let him do his job...Haslam has done well despite what many think of Stitt...again if were fighting deep in the playoffs in a year or two...your minds will change.

 

[SoldierGriz]

Yeah, forget the requirement of knowing anything about Universities. How about hiring someone from the football program? Anyway, I have been convinced on this board that we can now look forward to an unbroken string of FCS Championships now that the only thing that has been holding us back will be gone.
Oh wait, a few will say they still have to fire Stitt. :lol:

:roll:

 

[grizbrokebacker1]

I don't necessarily agree with some decisions made by him. I think the firing of Robin and Jim were premature and the lack of fight against the NCAA and the feds were puzzling to me. However, in the dealings my wife and I have had with Royce and his wife Mary have been very pleasant. If you ever had the time to introduce yourself to them, they were very gracious, kind, and sincere. He always remembered who we were on each subsequent meeting. I was rooting for things to turn around, because I think he truly loved the university and was a supporter of both the academic and athletic departments.

That being said, as the leader and face of any entity, sometimes you have to fall on your sword. The buck truly does stop at the president's office and it was apparent that this was going to have to happen, just to change the mood of alumni.

So in summary. I did like Royce, but this was a change that likely needed to be made because eventually donations were going to be affected if they already weren't.

For those basking on the piling on moment, the glee will soon be replaced by the reality of replacing a president mid stream. I recall the dearth of 'qualified' candidates actually wanting this post. It won't be easy to attract even mid level talent and experience!

Indeed the challenges faced by Royce soon engulfed him re the resources available to him, (scant financials, downward trend in non stem institutions, student retention, etc...)
I don't see much glee with the prospect of diminishing legislative support and a BOR that seems a bit reluctant to push UM's agenda.

This is way bigger than an athletic agenda, as it appears that national political trends bash traditional education as most of us knew it.

I am a UM guy from way back, I am very concerned about the viability of my school, the same school that educated my kids too. If this institution does not survive, nothing else going on there really matters.

Depends on what the "required qualifications" are. If they lose the PhD requirement, and get outside the academia bubble - they may find plenty of competent people who have led and managed enormous changes in resource constrained environments. I guarantee the majority of retired General Officers/Admirals in our military would thrive at the UM. That's just one small pool...many, many more IMO.

C'mon... all that really matters is hiring someone that cares about football. Once the Griz are successful again, the students will come swarming back in droves. My vote is for Hauck.

 

[grizcountry420]

I don't necessarily agree with some decisions made by him. I think the firing of Robin and Jim were premature and the lack of fight against the NCAA and the feds were puzzling to me. However, in the dealings my wife and I have had with Royce and his wife Mary have been very pleasant. If you ever had the time to introduce yourself to them, they were very gracious, kind, and sincere. He always remembered who we were on each subsequent meeting. I was rooting for things to turn around, because I think he truly loved the university and was a supporter of both the academic and athletic departments.

That being said, as the leader and face of any entity, sometimes you have to fall on your sword. The buck truly does stop at the president's office and it was apparent that this was going to have to happen, just to change the mood of alumni.

So in summary. I did like Royce, but this was a change that likely needed to be made because eventually donations were going to be affected if they already weren't.

For those basking on the piling on moment, the glee will soon be replaced by the reality of replacing a president mid stream. I recall the dearth of 'qualified' candidates actually wanting this post. It won't be easy to attract even mid level talent and experience!

Indeed the challenges faced by Royce soon engulfed him re the resources available to him, (scant financials, downward trend in non stem institutions, student retention, etc...)
I don't see much glee with the prospect of diminishing legislative support and a BOR that seems a bit reluctant to push UM's agenda.

This is way bigger than an athletic agenda, as it appears that national political trends bash traditional education as most of us knew it.

I am a UM guy from way back, I am very concerned about the viability of my school, the same school that educated my kids too. If this institution does not survive, nothing else going on there really matters.

Depends on what the "required qualifications" are. If they lose the PhD requirement, and get outside the academia bubble - they may find plenty of competent people who have led and managed enormous changes in resource constrained environments. I guarantee the majority of retired General Officers/Admirals in our military would thrive at the UM. That's just one small pool...many, many more IMO.

C'mon... all that really matters is hiring someone that cares about football. Once the Griz are successful again, the students will come swarming back in droves. My vote is for Hauck.

You cant be serious.. :?

 

[gotgame75]

I don't necessarily agree with some decisions made by him. I think the firing of Robin and Jim were premature and the lack of fight against the NCAA and the feds were puzzling to me. However, in the dealings my wife and I have had with Royce and his wife Mary have been very pleasant. If you ever had the time to introduce yourself to them, they were very gracious, kind, and sincere. He always remembered who we were on each subsequent meeting. I was rooting for things to turn around, because I think he truly loved the university and was a supporter of both the academic and athletic departments.

That being said, as the leader and face of any entity, sometimes you have to fall on your sword. The buck truly does stop at the president's office and it was apparent that this was going to have to happen, just to change the mood of alumni.

So in summary. I did like Royce, but this was a change that likely needed to be made because eventually donations were going to be affected if they already weren't.

For those basking on the piling on moment, the glee will soon be replaced by the reality of replacing a president mid stream. I recall the dearth of 'qualified' candidates actually wanting this post. It won't be easy to attract even mid level talent and experience!

Indeed the challenges faced by Royce soon engulfed him re the resources available to him, (scant financials, downward trend in non stem institutions, student retention, etc...)
I don't see much glee with the prospect of diminishing legislative support and a BOR that seems a bit reluctant to push UM's agenda.

This is way bigger than an athletic agenda, as it appears that national political trends bash traditional education as most of us knew it.

I am a UM guy from way back, I am very concerned about the viability of my school, the same school that educated my kids too. If this institution does not survive, nothing else going on there really matters.

Depends on what the "required qualifications" are. If they lose the PhD requirement, and get outside the academia bubble - they may find plenty of competent people who have led and managed enormous changes in resource constrained environments. I guarantee the majority of retired General Officers/Admirals in our military would thrive at the UM. That's just one small pool...many, many more IMO.

C'mon... all that really matters is hiring someone that cares about football. Once the Griz are successful again, the students will come swarming back in droves. My vote is for Hauck.

Be very careful what you wish for regarding the PhD requirement. See Clay Christian, our distinguished academic Commissioner of Higher Ed, who not only doesn't have a PhD, but by his own admission barely received his BA in his 30s. The impotence of the BoR that many complained about stems from this disconnect.

 

[SeattleBobcat]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/SkylineSportsMT/status/804409715291787264[/tweet]

Good God, I hope we aren't offering him a job...

 

[SoldierGriz]

For those basking on the piling on moment, the glee will soon be replaced by the reality of replacing a president mid stream. I recall the dearth of 'qualified' candidates actually wanting this post. It won't be easy to attract even mid level talent and experience!

Indeed the challenges faced by Royce soon engulfed him re the resources available to him, (scant financials, downward trend in non stem institutions, student retention, etc...)
I don't see much glee with the prospect of diminishing legislative support and a BOR that seems a bit reluctant to push UM's agenda.

This is way bigger than an athletic agenda, as it appears that national political trends bash traditional education as most of us knew it.

I am a UM guy from way back, I am very concerned about the viability of my school, the same school that educated my kids too. If this institution does not survive, nothing else going on there really matters.

Depends on what the "required qualifications" are. If they lose the PhD requirement, and get outside the academia bubble - they may find plenty of competent people who have led and managed enormous changes in resource constrained environments. I guarantee the majority of retired General Officers/Admirals in our military would thrive at the UM. That's just one small pool...many, many more IMO.

C'mon... all that really matters is hiring someone that cares about football. Once the Griz are successful again, the students will come swarming back in droves. My vote is for Hauck.

Be very careful what you wish for regarding the PhD requirement. See Clay Christian, our distinguished academic Commissioner of Higher Ed, who not only doesn't have a PhD, but by his own admission barely received his BA in his 30s. The impotence of the BoR that many complained about stems from this disconnect.

And.....be very careful about the inclusion of the PhD requirement...Royce failed. We could do anecdotes all day. It goes both ways.

The point is they should widen their aperture and hire the absolute best candidate to lead effectively in this complex time.

 

[Griz!ron]

I see Sheila Sterns was just named interim president. I think that she's the perfect hire for an interim.

It will also be interesting to see they type of applicants they are are able to attract. At this point I'm not sure if UM is a job that's attractive because "hey, I can't be any worse than the last guy" or one people will stay away from because "that last guy really f*cked sh!t up beyond repair"

UM long had a reputation as a "graveyard of presidents." Robert Johns was so frustrated he couldn't wait to leave because he felt the dysfunction was the result of the structure of the University system and politicians in Helena that never wanted to "rock the boat" and so did nothing, year after year, regarding higher education in Montana.

Engstrom is an example of a decision too long delayed. The hole is now much deeper than four years ago, the culture of failure ingrained. The "Fifteen Day" enrollment numbers this Fall showed a 6.1% drop. UM didn't point to the fact that undergraduate in-state enrollment had dropped by 9%. And the "November" enrollment numbers, which should have been available November 18, and which show final numbers for funding purposes (and which are invariably lower than the "Fifteen Day" numbers) have not been released. That means the numbers are bad. Indeed, given the timing, it may be those enrollment numbers that finally pushed the decision, esp since they have not been published according to the usual schedule.

Recovering will be a long, uphill battle, much longer and much more uphill than it should have been. That is the price of delay; the increased cost of not recognizing failure when it occurs.

At Tom Curry's press conference a couple of weeks ago, it was clear he had discovered woeful negligence in the recruitment process, Despite the problems, Engstrom had not increased the recruiting budget, he had cut it. Despite the need for increased IT support and involvement, he had cut the gentleman's (Chris) hours in half. So, just within the last two weeks, the BOR became fully aware that Engstrom, in fact, was doing all the wrong things with respect to recruitment; unfathomable decisions that made no sense whatsoever, and making the same mistakes over and over. I suspect that was the straw.

I can relate;
I work at a high school that is on a similar path, including the declining enrollment. With 'leadership' that is playing defense only; trying not to do anything wrong prevents them from doing anything right.
The feeling on campus is anemic, it takes great effort & time to get problems solved (ie a $200 repair part took 7 months to get approved to order, 2 day to get delivered and a hour to install.) So many of the smaller issues that make the place function don't get complained about because it simply isn't worth the effort. Apathy sets in as the campus culture. It takes the higher ups a long time to recognize the root cause of the problems because there isn't egregious mistakes, just a chronic lack of problem solving. I am sad to think that my beloved university is following a similar course.

 

[wbtfg]

Sheila is a great hire as an interim. I've known her for 30 years and she loves and cares about UM. She is also a big Griz fan. I went to grad school with her in the early eighties. Great person and educator.

I had occasion to visit with her Dad, Hal Stearns, many times. Fascinating guy and great family.

Pssssssst. That's her husband.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RobGriz]

Sheila is a great hire as an interim. I've known her for 30 years and she loves and cares about UM. She is also a big Griz fan. I went to grad school with her in the early eighties. Great person and educator.

I had occasion to visit with her Dad, Hal Stearns, many times. Fascinating guy and great family.

Pssssssst. That's her husband.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Uh...this.

 

[mtgriz]

Sheila is a great hire as an interim. I've known her for 30 years and she loves and cares about UM. She is also a big Griz fan. I went to grad school with her in the early eighties. Great person and educator.

I had occasion to visit with her Dad, Hal Stearns, many times. Fascinating guy and great family.

Pssssssst. That's her husband.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hal Stearns Sr.

http://helenair.com/news/local/journalist-historian-hal-stearns-dies/article_12f9d9e6-1336-56a2-a02a-83cfcdb14025.html

 

[IdaGriz01]

There is a LOT going extremely well at UM right now. Better than ever, actually.

But you simply cannot overlook the enrollment problems. A change was needed, even if just for public perception reasons.

For those that are ecstatic about this, be careful what you wish for. Contrary to posts of those on here with no knowledge, Royce was a tremendous supporter and defender of Griz athletics. That's unlikely to be the case with the new president. I would fully expect we may well see a decrease in funding and support of athletics under the new president.

Whatever you feel about President Engstrom, there will never be another first family at UM with more grace and class than Royce and Mary. Ultimately they will be viewed positively by history for all they've accomplished on campus.

Have to agree with all three points.

But those things going "extremely well" are not sustainable with the kinds of enrollment declines UM has had in recent years. Yes, we are all aware that college enrollment, in general, also declined for awhile. Yet MSU has managed to increase enrollment substantially -- which some have attributed to their "more employable" degrees in engineering, etc. That may or may not be true. UI, which has had its enrollment bounce around erratically, has also managed a reasonable gain over the past few years (although I understand they may have had a downward blip just recently). While they have a good engineering department, I'd say their overall course offerings were more similar to UM than to MSU. BSU, which has vastly expanded its research side in the past ten years, increased their overall student enrollment by over 10% from 2010 to 2015. The official "FTE" count is not up so dramatically, but it is still up. So it is possible to buck college enrollment trends, despite being in low populations states (and, in Idaho, one that's "allergic" to higher taxes) that do not generate a lot of positive national buzz. But UM has not managed to do that.

As to the last point: I can't see how anyone could have a crystal ball as to how any new president would view UM athletics. From comments on this board, I get the impression that the BOR sees value in those programs as a way to promote the state -- so I lean toward the view that they would not select a replacement that was strongly down on them. (But I have no other way to judge that point.) My very limited contacts with UM faculty suggest that Royce was a very nice person -- as a person -- but a miserable executive. (But, again, I have no way to personally judge that point.)

 

[RobGriz]

Sheila is a great hire as an interim. I've known her for 30 years and she loves and cares about UM. She is also a big Griz fan. I went to grad school with her in the early eighties. Great person and educator.

I had occasion to visit with her Dad, Hal Stearns, many times. Fascinating guy and great family.

Pssssssst. That's her husband.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hal Stearns Sr.

http://helenair.com/news/local/journalist-historian-hal-stearns-dies/article_12f9d9e6-1336-56a2-a02a-83cfcdb14025.html

So her husbands dad... You can see where we got confused. Hal (Jr.) was my MT history teacher

 

[grizatwork]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/SkylineSportsMT/status/804409715291787264[/tweet]

Good God, I hope we aren't offering him a job...

Well if you are going to hire him as a chemistry professor, it would be hard to find someone as qualified.

 

[mtgriz]

I had occasion to visit with her Dad, Hal Stearns, many times. Fascinating guy and great family.

Pssssssst. That's her husband.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hal Stearns Sr.

http://helenair.com/news/local/journalist-historian-hal-stearns-dies/article_12f9d9e6-1336-56a2-a02a-83cfcdb14025.html

So her husbands dad...

What a perfect example of message board "picking the fly shit out of the pepper".

Like I said, a fascinating guy and great family.

 

[RobGriz]

Pssssssst. That's her husband.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hal Stearns Sr.

http://helenair.com/news/local/journalist-historian-hal-stearns-dies/article_12f9d9e6-1336-56a2-a02a-83cfcdb14025.html

So her husbands dad...

What a perfect example of message board "picking the fly shit out of the pepper".

Like I said, a fascinating guy and great family.

Wasn't trying to pick anything. Hal (Jr.) was my MT history teacher. I did not know his dad was named Hal as well. Kinda threw me off when you said "her dad"