Des Moines Register
04-01-06
Hansen: University presidents fly under radar
MARC HANSEN
REGISTER COLUMNIST
The really big decisions are out of the way. The new basketball coaches are in
place.
Let's recap: Greg McDermott moved from Northern Iowa to fill the vacancy at
Iowa State. Northern Iowa promoted Ben Jacobson.
And after some uncertain moments, Steve Alford of Iowa City is looking more
and more like a permanent resident.
Which means everyone can finally relax and move onto lesser concerns, such as
figuring out who'll actually run the universities that employ these guys.
I don't remember focusing much on the presidential search during March
Madness. Feeling guilty, I finally told my neighbor Spike that there were more
important things to worry about than whether Alford was coming back.
"You're right," Spike said. "Like how he's going to replace those four seniors."
I asked him to name the four seniors.
"Horner, Brunner, Hansen and Thomas," he said.
Then I asked him to name the three presidents.
"Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln. Can we get back to the game now?"
You don't hear quite as much buzz about Skorton and Koob, which is
understandable. David Skorton at Iowa and Robert Koob at Northern Iowa aren't
media creatures.
They don't do their jobs in front of thousands of people twice a week. That and
other twisted market forces are the reason big-time coaches make two or three
or six times as much as their presidents.
The public cares more about the coach than the president. You're not going to
change that. I'm not going to change it here, but I will offer equal time.
Who are these guys? And should we be sad they're leaving? Or glad?
Iowa State, for the record, is not looking for a president. Gregory Geoffroy
is staying put. Given his recent pay raise and his salary (both higher than
Skorton's), Geoffroy appears to be the Board of Regents' pet.
His fans tell me he's a first-rate strategic thinker. If Geoffroy were a basketball
coach, you could point to NCAA Tournament appearances as proof. Since he
isn't, the following random factoid from the Association of University Technology
Managers will have to do.
In one survey, Iowa State was 55th out of 165 universities in research
expenditures — and second in the number of licenses issued to businesses for
university-developed technology.
Don't ask me what that means, but it sounds cutting edge.
Northern Iowa has had a good run under Koob, who announced his retirement
after 11 years on the job. Like his colleagues, Koob operated in a time of fierce
budget cuts and tuition increases. To his credit, enrollment kept rising.
Koob's great strength might have been his understanding that a university can't
stand alone in its community and that all levels of education, from preschool to
grad school, should be part of an integrated policy.
He also gets credit for the "Students First" initiative. Will it benefit the student?
That's supposed to be the first question anybody at UNI asks in a strategy or
planning session.
Koob never took Northern Iowa to three straight NCAA Tournaments, but it's
conceivable he'll be missed even more than the guy who did.
On to Skorton. It didn't make the Drudge Report, but a few people noticed last
summer when he received just a 3 percent raise while Geoffroy and Koob got 5
percent bumps.
Teresa Wahlert, one of the regents, told the Iowa City Press-Citizen all three
schools had good years, adding that Northern Iowa and Iowa State "had really
excellent years in certain areas."
Possible translation: Iowa didn't do quite so well in certain Pierre Pierce and
Wellmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield areas.
Skorton canceled the insurance plan. The regents jumped in to reinstate it. Then
they gave Geoffroy more money than Skorton and watched Cornell University
whisk Skorton away.
If you're connecting the dots, Skorton would prefer you stop. He says that's not
why he's leaving. He's leaving because Cornell is a great fit and a wonderful
opportunity.
Maybe so, but that isn't the question today. The question is will we miss him?
Everyone who knows Skorton personally says yes, terribly. He's the renaissance
man of the group.
A medical doctor. A cardiologist who still sees patients twice a month at the
clinic. He plays saxophone and flute and hosts a weekly jazz show on the radio.
He and his wife host a block party for the students every year. He's accessible, a
good listener, fun to hang out with.
Skorton could never hit the three like Alford. He isn't an NCAA or Olympic
champ. But the Ivy League doesn't go after underachievers.
What would you rather have, a world-class university hospital system or a Final
Four team? Take a few moments to think it over.