Stanford in great hands - Printable Version
+- The CardBoard (https://thecardboard.org/board)
+-- Forum: C-House! (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-4.html)
+--- Forum: The CardBoard (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-5.html)
+--- Thread: Stanford in great hands (/thread-13844.html)
+- The CardBoard (https://thecardboard.org/board)
+-- Forum: C-House! (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-4.html)
+--- Forum: The CardBoard (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-5.html)
+--- Thread: Stanford in great hands (/thread-13844.html)
Stanford in great hands - Bruce Wang - 06-01-2017
Last night I attended Marc Tessier-Lavigne's visit with the Stanford alums in the Boston area. He is not as dynamic a presence as John Hennessy, but I came away with the belief that he is the right person for the job at this moment in Stanford's history. He is clearly an introvert and that will suit him well in this role. Because they are such good listeners, I've come to the belief that introverts often make the best leader of leaders (an observation I've made here about Kevin Hogan). He also has the brains and academic track record that the faculty will support his leadership. He also has that extensive experience in industry (former CSO of Genentech) that made Hennessy such a good president for the school. No other university in the world operates in that nexus between the academy and industry as well as Stanford. The Board of Trustees chose wisely.
In a conversation with an officer of the University, I expressed my confidence that MTL would be a good caretaker. The officer took exception to that characterization. He shared his concern that at this moment in Stanford's history, the greatest danger is hubris. He said MTL was humble and unrelenting, and that was why he was the right choice for the job.
The biggest worry for me is MTL hiring the wrong successor for Rick Shaw i.e. Robin Mamlet 2.0.
Re: Stanford in great hands - StanfordMatt - 06-01-2017
I don't remember the exact quote from his introductory interview but MTL responded something to the effect of "I like to ski" when asked about his view of athletics at Stanford and within his personal life. The impression, perhaps unfair, that stuck with me was that he had no understanding of college athletics whatsoever. I certainly wasn't expecting the next Gerald Ford and perhaps it's not necessary to have a University President who knows anything about college athletics, but the fan in me has been a little concerned.
Re: Stanford in great hands - fullmetal - 06-01-2017
Paging John Hennessy...we have a knowledge/culture gap to fill...
Re: Stanford in great hands - PalmTree - 06-01-2017
Take heart - from a Stanford Magazine interview last summer,
"...He knows he has a lot to learn. He hasnt recently worked among undergraduates, although as the father of a current one, perhaps he has a leg up. He will be relating to a large, diverse and highly engaged alumni body. And he looks forward to immersing himself in intercollegiate athletics, a key part of Stanfords identity and a powerful agent for alumni bonding. This is a whole area that will be new to me, but Im really excited about it, he says. He has ample experience as a fan, having watched his kids compete in soccer, football, basketball, lacrosse and tennis. I love sports; I love watching sports.
Full article at: https://medium.com/stanford-magazine/a-leader-in-full-54acdebab07c
And, he did give a shout out to Stanford alums/students who participated in the Rio Olympics in his inaugural message to the Stanford community...
https://president.stanford.edu/2016/09/welcome-message/
Also, IIRC, the new provost is a football fan