President Saller: Stanford Athletics: A Great Tradition - Printable Version
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President Saller: Stanford Athletics: A Great Tradition - 82lsju - 02-20-2024
I don't recall the last time I read anything about Stanford Athletics from the University President...
from the Stanford Magazine
Quote:In the first months of my presidency, the Israel-Hamas war and its ramifications on campus have occupied the largest share of my attention. Not far behind is intercollegiate athletics and the historic change that is occurring nationally.
...
Fortunately, I have been able to rely on the advice of Professor Condoleezza Rice, trustee emerita Mariann Byerwalter, ’82, and a new Athletic Affairs Committee to chart a course that navigates these dynamics and stays true to our values while minimizing the financial impact of the transfer to the ACC.
https://stanfordmag.org/contents/stanford-athletics-a-great-tradition
RE: President Saller: Stanford Athletics: A Great Tradition - SkiBum80 - 02-20-2024
(02-20-2024, 03:43 PM)82lsju Wrote: I don't recall the last time I read anything about Stanford Athletics from the University President...
from the Stanford Magazine
Quote:In the first months of my presidency, the Israel-Hamas war and its ramifications on campus have occupied the largest share of my attention. Not far behind is intercollegiate athletics and the historic change that is occurring nationally.
...
Fortunately, I have been able to rely on the advice of Professor Condoleezza Rice, trustee emerita Mariann Byerwalter, ’82, and a new Athletic Affairs Committee to chart a course that navigates these dynamics and stays true to our values while minimizing the financial impact of the transfer to the ACC.
https://stanfordmag.org/contents/stanford-athletics-a-great-tradition
Thanks for posting.
Was heartening to read.
RE: President Saller: Stanford Athletics: A Great Tradition - BostonCard - 02-20-2024
(02-20-2024, 03:43 PM)82lsju Wrote: I don't recall the last time I read anything about Stanford Athletics from the University President...
from the Stanford Magazine
Quote:In the first months of my presidency, the Israel-Hamas war and its ramifications on campus have occupied the largest share of my attention. Not far behind is intercollegiate athletics and the historic change that is occurring nationally.
...
Fortunately, I have been able to rely on the advice of Professor Condoleezza Rice, trustee emerita Mariann Byerwalter, ’82, and a new Athletic Affairs Committee to chart a course that navigates these dynamics and stays true to our values while minimizing the financial impact of the transfer to the ACC.
https://stanfordmag.org/contents/stanford-athletics-a-great-tradition
I hate to say it, particularly on a board devoted to Stanford Athletics, but it seems like his priorities are misplaced. I can understand the Israel/Hamas war because it has had a very significant downstream impact on questions of campus discourse, free speech, student safety, etc. You would expect it to occupy a lot of time *right now* with the knowledge that its saliency will pass (though the need to address issues uncovered by it will continue).
While I welcome some attention at the highest levels on collegiate athletics, I worry that in the large scheme of things, it is the tail that is wagging the dog. We should not strive to become a University the Football team can be proud of (to paraphrase Dr. George L. Cross). It seems to me that issues like student experience (of which sports are one of many aspects), mental health, academic integrity, admissions (in light of the recent Supreme Court decision), broader changes in the place of elite academic institutions in society, not to mention ongoing issues around fundraising, budgetary allocations, etc. that a president always has to deal with, are more important questions for a College President than collegiate athletics and should probably be consuming a proportionate amount of time.
BC
RE: President Saller: Stanford Athletics: A Great Tradition - 82lsju - 02-20-2024
(02-20-2024, 06:14 PM)BostonCard Wrote:(02-20-2024, 03:43 PM)82lsju Wrote: I don't recall the last time I read anything about Stanford Athletics from the University President...
from the Stanford Magazine
Quote:In the first months of my presidency, the Israel-Hamas war and its ramifications on campus have occupied the largest share of my attention. Not far behind is intercollegiate athletics and the historic change that is occurring nationally.
...
Fortunately, I have been able to rely on the advice of Professor Condoleezza Rice, trustee emerita Mariann Byerwalter, ’82, and a new Athletic Affairs Committee to chart a course that navigates these dynamics and stays true to our values while minimizing the financial impact of the transfer to the ACC.
https://stanfordmag.org/contents/stanford-athletics-a-great-tradition
I hate to say it, particularly on a board devoted to Stanford Athletics, but it seems like his priorities are misplaced. I can understand the Israel/Hamas war because it has had a very significant downstream impact on questions of campus discourse, free speech, student safety, etc. You would expect it to occupy a lot of time *right now* with the knowledge that its saliency will pass (though the need to address issues uncovered by it will continue).
While I welcome some attention at the highest levels on collegiate athletics, I worry that in the large scheme of things, it is the tail that is wagging the dog. We should not strive to become a University the Football team can be proud of (to paraphrase Dr. George L. Cross). It seems to me that issues like student experience (of which sports are one of many aspects), mental health, academic integrity, admissions (in light of the recent Supreme Court decision), broader changes in the place of elite academic institutions in society, not to mention ongoing issues around fundraising, budgetary allocations, etc. that a president always has to deal with, are more important questions for a College President than collegiate athletics and should probably be consuming a proportionate amount of time.
BC
of course he's only interim President for likely another few months so not sure what he writes in the Stanford Magazine matters all that much, we'll see what his successor has to say....
I did find it interesting that there is now a "new Athletic Affairs Committee", which I had not heard of, I wonder who is on it and what their charter is.
Some googling turns up one possible member
- Marisa Brutoco https://www.linkedin.com/in/mbrutoco/
she lists it as a role starting in Dec 2023
she joined the BoT In Oct 2023
https://news.stanford.edu/report/2023/08/04/stanford-board-trustees-elects-four-new-members/
Quote:Marisa Brutoco is a partner at Sheppard Mullin’s Orange County and Silicon Valley offices and a team leader of the firm’s national technology transactions team.
Brutoco was previously in-house counsel at Amazon, Google/YouTube, GoPro, and Apple, as well as outside counsel at Wilson Sonsini and Davis Wright Tremaine.
She serves on her firm’s national pro bono committee and was a founding member of pro bono committees at previous technology companies. Brutoco is a member of her office’s diversity and inclusion working group and is active in the firm’s national Latinx group.
Brutoco has served on the SAA Board of Directors, as the SAA board liaison to the Stanford Associates Board of Governors; the Stanford Athletic Board; Stanford’s Lifelong Engagement and Advocacy for Development (LEAD) Council; and the Stanford Law School Board of Visitors, and as co-chair of the Stanford Law School Silicon Valley Law Society.
Brutoco received the Stanford Associates Governors’ Award in 2023.
Brutoco was a founding board member of the Santa Clara University-based Institute of Sports Law and Ethics and served on its executive committee. She is on the board and volunteers as a strategic advisor for the regional chapter of ChIPs, a national nonprofit advancing women in intellectual property and technology law and policy.
Brutoco earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford in 2000 and her law degree from Stanford in 2004. She lives in San Juan Capistrano, California.
not sure how this committee differs from the BoT "Special Committee on Athletics.""
https://boardoftrustees.stanford.edu/committees/
RE: President Saller: Stanford Athletics: A Great Tradition - 2006alum - 02-20-2024
(02-20-2024, 07:05 PM)82lsju Wrote: of course he's only interim President....+1. His sole ambit is keeping the lights on for the next guy (or gal) without leaving much damage in the interim. Given that Israel/Hamas felled two Presidents of peer institutions, and given that conference realignment was about to leave Stanford athletics in its dust at the exact moment he was stepping into the shoes of the President, I'd say he has precisely identified the two most existential issues of his first few months at the job
RE: President Saller: Stanford Athletics: A Great Tradition - GK3 - 02-20-2024
(02-20-2024, 07:13 PM)2006alum Wrote:It will become much clearing in 10 months. The people at the top will either walk the talk, or they won't. If Muir and Haase are still here next Jan 1, then we will know the answer.(02-20-2024, 07:05 PM)82lsju Wrote: of course he's only interim President....+1. His sole ambit is keeping the lights on for the next guy (or gal) without leaving much damage in the interim. Given that Israel/Hamas felled two Presidents of peer institutions, and given that conference realignment was about to leave Stanford athletics in its dust at the exact moment he was stepping into the shoes of the President, I'd say he has precisely identified the two most existential issues of his first few months at the job
RE: President Saller: Stanford Athletics: A Great Tradition - BostonCard - 02-20-2024
(02-20-2024, 07:13 PM)2006alum Wrote:(02-20-2024, 07:05 PM)82lsju Wrote: of course he's only interim President....+1. His sole ambit is keeping the lights on for the next guy (or gal) without leaving much damage in the interim. Given that Israel/Hamas felled two Presidents of peer institutions, and given that conference realignment was about to leave Stanford athletics in its dust at the exact moment he was stepping into the shoes of the President, I'd say he has precisely identified the two most existential issues of his first few months at the job
Fair points, though I still think the aftermath of a highly publicized campus suicide, the general feeling that Stanford students don't have fun, a US Supreme Court decision that upended what factors the University can use for admission, the fact that the reason Sailor is even in this position is because of allegations of academic fraud against his predecessor are all more important and just as timely as what conference Stanford plays in.
BC
RE: President Saller: Stanford Athletics: A Great Tradition - needle - 02-20-2024
This seems very long overdue. The death of the Pac was very foreseeable once USC and UCLA bolted. I wish the committee had been formed then. Now Stanford is locked into the ACC, a hasty commitment that may end up being a bad decision.
RE: President Saller: Stanford Athletics: A Great Tradition - akiddoc - 02-20-2024
(02-20-2024, 08:28 PM)needle Wrote: Now Stanford is locked into the ACC, a hasty commitment that may end up being a bad decision.
Stanford was actually far too slow in seeking a conference affiliation. Not hasty, but late to the party. There were no other choices other than forming a weakling conference with WSU and OSU.
(02-20-2024, 06:14 PM)BostonCard Wrote:(02-20-2024, 03:43 PM)82lsju Wrote: I don't recall the last time I read anything about Stanford Athletics from the University President...
from the Stanford Magazine
Quote:In the first months of my presidency, the Israel-Hamas war and its ramifications on campus have occupied the largest share of my attention. Not far behind is intercollegiate athletics and the historic change that is occurring nationally.
...
Fortunately, I have been able to rely on the advice of Professor Condoleezza Rice, trustee emerita Mariann Byerwalter, ’82, and a new Athletic Affairs Committee to chart a course that navigates these dynamics and stays true to our values while minimizing the financial impact of the transfer to the ACC.
https://stanfordmag.org/contents/stanford-athletics-a-great-tradition
I hate to say it, particularly on a board devoted to Stanford Athletics, but it seems like his priorities are misplaced. I can understand the Israel/Hamas war because it has had a very significant downstream impact on questions of campus discourse, free speech, student safety, etc. You would expect it to occupy a lot of time *right now* with the knowledge that its saliency will pass (though the need to address issues uncovered by it will continue).
While I welcome some attention at the highest levels on collegiate athletics, I worry that in the large scheme of things, it is the tail that is wagging the dog. We should not strive to become a University the Football team can be proud of (to paraphrase Dr. George L. Cross). It seems to me that issues like student experience (of which sports are one of many aspects), mental health, academic integrity, admissions (in light of the recent Supreme Court decision), broader changes in the place of elite academic institutions in society, not to mention ongoing issues around fundraising, budgetary allocations, etc. that a president always has to deal with, are more important questions for a College President than collegiate athletics and should probably be consuming a proportionate amount of time.
BC
What's published in Stanford Magazine is not going to tell you how the President's time and effort is divvied up. He's addressing the issues that are getting the most press.
RE: President Saller: Stanford Athletics: A Great Tradition - Mick - 02-21-2024
(02-20-2024, 07:48 PM)BostonCard Wrote:(02-20-2024, 07:13 PM)2006alum Wrote:(02-20-2024, 07:05 PM)82lsju Wrote: of course he's only interim President....+1. His sole ambit is keeping the lights on for the next guy (or gal) without leaving much damage in the interim. Given that Israel/Hamas felled two Presidents of peer institutions, and given that conference realignment was about to leave Stanford athletics in its dust at the exact moment he was stepping into the shoes of the President, I'd say he has precisely identified the two most existential issues of his first few months at the job
Fair points, though I still think the aftermath of a highly publicized campus suicide, the general feeling that Stanford students don't have fun, a US Supreme Court decision that upended what factors the University can use for admission, the fact that the reason Sailor is even in this position is because of allegations of academic fraud against his predecessor are all more important and just as timely as what conference Stanford plays in.
BC
Of course, you're correct. Athletics is, and should be, down the list of the President's priorities. And I suspect that in real life, that's how Saller organizes his attention, and I suspect the same will be true for the next President.
At the same time...it is a quality which makes Stanford wholly unique in the collegiate environment. There are no other universities with the same blend of absolutely top quality athletics and academics. Athletics is important to the other universities...witness the percentage of student/athletes at these institutions. MIT has 32 sports, for goodness sake, and they're D3. And given that Stanford is at a crossroads (or just past it) athletically, I can understand his public comments...knowing that when he shuts his office door, all of the other items on your list are his true concerns.
RE: President Saller: Stanford Athletics: A Great Tradition - BostonCard - 02-21-2024
(02-20-2024, 09:33 PM)akiddoc Wrote: What's published in Stanford Magazine is not going to tell you how the President's time and effort is divvied up. He's addressing the issues that are getting the most press.
Your point is well taken. This may well be a communication strategy to let the audience of Stanford Magazine (Stanford alums, mostly) know that he is doing that things we (as a group) think are important.
Even as a messaging strategy, however, I thought he could have positioned athletics differently. Then again, the majority of his intended audience probably appreciated the increased attention (judging from the responses here).
I have, in the past, criticized others for reading too much into what coaches say in post game press conferences, and it is fair to apply a similar standard to Presidents giving canned interviews to alumni magazines. I do hope Sailer is dealing with the other issues I highlighted (and probably others that are higher impact but hidden from those of us on the outside) than he is letting on.
BC
RE: President Saller: Stanford Athletics: A Great Tradition - 82lsju - 02-21-2024
(02-21-2024, 11:52 AM)BostonCard Wrote:(02-20-2024, 09:33 PM)akiddoc Wrote: What's published in Stanford Magazine is not going to tell you how the President's time and effort is divvied up. He's addressing the issues that are getting the most press.
Your point is well taken. This may well be a communication strategy to let the audience of Stanford Magazine (Stanford alums, mostly) know that he is doing that things we (as a group) think are important.
Even as a messaging strategy, however, I thought he could have positioned athletics differently. Then again, the majority of his intended audience probably appreciated the increased attention (judging from the responses here).
I have, in the past, criticized others for reading too much into what coaches say in post game press conferences, and it is fair to apply a similar standard to Presidents giving canned interviews to alumni magazines. I do hope Sailer is dealing with the other issues I highlighted (and probably others that are higher impact but hidden from those of us on the outside) than he is letting on.
BC
well let's look at the most recent columns from the President in the Stanford Magazine before this one
Dec 2023 - The following is excerpted from the inaugural address President Saller gave in October.
https://stanfordmag.org/contents/excellence-and-trust
Sept 2023 - no column from the President
I would guess one had been written but was pulled given his resignation
July 2023 - Academic Freedom at Stanford
https://stanfordmag.org/contents/academic-freedom-at-stanford
May 2023 - creating a vibrant campus life
https://stanfordmag.org/contents/creating-a-vibrant-campus-life
Mar 2023 - creating global connections
https://stanfordmag.org/contents/global-connections
Dec 2022 - the future of learning
https://stanfordmag.org/contents/the-future-of-learning