Board of Trustees

[Dooby]

Meeting this week.

On campus today.

Just saying.

[jtstang]

Wonder if any of them will make first team all-WAC administration.

[Dooby]

Never seen this posted here, but:

http://www.smu.edu/leadership/speeches/ ... ll2004.asp

In addition, during the current year there will be an evaluation of the advisability of creating a School of Education and Human Development. The dramatic development in the amount of the sponsored research in reading, language, and literacy acquisition within our Education Division; the ever-increasing requests of public and private secondary schools for specialized assistance; the need for new majors to match evolving interests; and the increasing opportunities at both this campus and SMU-in-Legacy for graduate and professional programs make this review both timely and necessary. The Provost will be working with the appropriate groups of faculty and administrators during the year to review this possibility before presenting it to the Board.

"School of Education and Human Development", eh? Wonder if it is up for a vote at this meeting?

Of course, I may not know what the hell I am talking about.

[Mexmustang]

Having reviewed the list of trustees, two things struck me. First, the relatively few SMU alumns that serve, and secondly, the large no. of former EDS people on the board--not including Ross Jr., but ex-officers. I am sure that they serve with distinction, etc. but, frankly don't represent people aware of SMU's traditions nor interested in our athletic programs.

[Stallion]

Ross Jr went to Vanderbilt but his wife went to SMU. Maybe we can keep some of that money home.

[Mexmustang]

Obviously, money drives everything...but, it looks as though we haven't included or created those Dallas alumns that used to move the board. In particular, those interested in our traditions and athletics. Perhaps when we lost the banks in the 90's, we lost that traditional organizations of business leadership in Dallas that also led the school. Look at TCU, it is still run by influential old line Fort Worth families and graduates--those that took an interest in riviving the school's programs and athletics.

[Stallion]

there was a conscious effort to drive the good ole boy network out at SMU because the good ole boys had their hand prints all over the evidence in the DP Payola scandal.

[OC Mustang]

The BOT is has certain structural requirements put into place post-DP. Actually, the impetus behind it was really SMU's investments taking a nose-dive with oil and real estate woes during the mid-late 80s, and the desire to have more diffused Board opinions over a wide variety of industries and interests (and $$). The DP was just a painful catalyst to promote the re-org from Board of Governors to Board of Trustees.

I do not recall the exact by-laws that govern the composition, but a certain number must be Methodist bishops and/or Methodist in denomination, a certain number must rotate off the Board for a period of 1-2 years, a certain number must be alum or similarly affiliated, and a certain number may not be alums. I recall that EDS has actually been very supportive of this structure and governance, as SMU has satellite campus in Plano, and EDS employs a good number of alums. Texas Instruments has similar influence, though both wax and wane depending on the year and board composition.

Bluntly put, the "good 'ole boys" are still around, but they share playing time with newer blood. This is institutionally a good thing (or so the conventional wisdom goes), and it is indicative of Dallas having a more diverse local and regional economy.

The "biggest and baddest" donors and supporters are still the old guard, whether they are still on the Board or not (and a number continue to have influence past the grave). Dedman, the Hughes-Triggs, Clements, Cox, Maguire, Hunt, etc., not to mention Roy Huffington (former pioneer of the Indonesian natural gas industry, former US Ambassador to Austria, and former father-in-law to that whack-job, Arianna Huffington). But frankly, in my humble opinion, having Perot Jr., the EDS execs who got bloody filthy rich, and even Cuban, if we could get him on the Board, is advisable to cement future financial as well as moral support and endowment.

I will segue a little...the President and First Lady's largest current philanthropy (and has been since the President's 2nd term as Governor of Texas) has been SMU. She as well as the Vice-President have served on the Board (not really news, but worth noting). Frankly, I would love nothing better than to have Bush (either of them) serve on the Board post-2008, and bring that library our way. What a coup for SMU. Think about it: 2000 election, 9/11, 2002 elections, Iraq War, 2004 election, and all sorts of things to come...all historically preserved from the White House point of view...in Texas, in Dallas, at SMU for our students first and the world to have an excuse to come see our campus.

Now, if our football team can put it together (along with the other moving parts of the university where football is concerned), then we could have the two biggest PR boosters for the school right across the street from each other.

[Mexmustang]

Of course...that goes without saying, again and again and again...but this group cared about the school and our traditions and our athletics...aren't we through judging them over and over and over...aren't we are finally getting over Viet Nam? The point I am trying to make is that they cared, not that they got fed up with the practices at other schools and did it the wrong way. I think that we learned that we handled it poorly and that there is a two-standard system at the NCAA. But, my question is where is the next generation of those alumns that care? that have the money? and have a power base?
Look, many of those people are now deceased, where are their replacements?

[Stallion]

No the incentive to modify SMU's governance was NOT the economy-it was almost 100% because the donors with all their names all over the buildings of our pretty campus knew all about the decision to "Meet the Payroll". That's why SMU was treated differently by the NCAA- lack of institutional control ie The BOARD OF GOVENORS. Who do you think they were talking about? Despite the repeated whinings on this board, no other school has been as stupid as SMU when it comes to institutional control.

[jtstang]

No the incentive to modify SMU's governance was NOT the economy-it was almost 100% because the donors with all their names all over the buildings of our pretty campus knew all about the decision to "Meet the Payroll". That's why SMU was treated differently by the NCAA- lack of institutional control ie The BOARD OF GOVENORS. Who do you think they were talking about? Despite the repeated whinings on this board, no other school has been as stupid as SMU when it comes to institutional control.

I knew if I hung around long enough you'd post something that I am 100% in agreement with. SMU deserved the death penalty, especially after thumbing its nose at the NCAA in response to previous probations. Whoever wants to argue that there are others who've deserved it too, feel free to do so--but SMU without a doubt got what it deserved.

[SoCal_Pony]

Wonder if any of them will make first team all-WAC administration.

My nomination for post of the week.

Short, Sweet and to the Point

[Sam I Am]

A crafty program would have slipped money to the players and given the admisntration "deniability" concerning the abuses. Once the BOT became officially aware of the scandal, their only recourse would have been "mea culpa," but it would not have spared SMU from the DP. Instead, they hoped they could quietly phase out the payments without causing some ungrateful player to snitch them out when he got cut-off from the dole. It happened anyway, and SMU got the worst of all worlds in the aftermath. Lots of people had to resign in the admistration and the Atheltic Dept. I am glad those days are past, even though they haunt us to this day.

[Stallion]

oh there's also that little detail of a former Govenor of the State of Texas seeking reelection in a razor thin Govenor's race who didn't want to reveal his knowing involvement, as Chairman of the Board of Govenors, in approving the decision to continue to "Meet the Payroll" until-oh yeah the very first day of his inauguration. Arguably, our program got thrown under the Bus so Clements could be Govenor again.

[Mexmustang]

I certainly did not mean to bring up the dp thing--only to comment that we don't seem to have a many alumns on the board with an interest in SMU's traditions and athletics. We should be grateful to anyone willing to serve (and donate or raise money), but I wish there were more alumns represented.