[GK3]

Hennessey (sp) was pretty good.

I think lots of people would agree with you. He ran the University in a manner that corresponded to his goals, basically like a business. I think he was effective and respected. However, I totally disagree with his emphasis. He fostered/assisted in creating a University that is much more bureaucratic than he found it. This bureaucracy consumes lots of money but in many cases produces no educational value added and in quite a few cases actually gets in the way. It does provide a vehicle for many empires to be built however.

He also fostered a physical plant that I think is in many ways very overbuilt yet does not serve the needs of the students. Although he is an engineer, I think the engineering faculty is a mere shadow of what it was in former times. We could undoubtedly have a discussion about his tenure, but as you may gather I am not at all happy with his results. He was in many ways effective, and that is the problem :-)

Since I graduated, long ago, I have had few opportunities and not a lot of interest in meeting the then President's of the University.  My father and Wally Sterling were graduate students together at Stanford in the early 1930's.  When I showed up on campus I was invited along with many of my fellow Frosh to a reception at Sterling's residence.  The man turned Stanford from a regional school in need of money to a school with a national reputation.  We may well have had Presidents as good as Wally Sterling, but I am not sure we have had any better.
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[GK3]

Hennessey (sp) was pretty good.

I think lots of people would agree with you. He ran the University in a manner that corresponded to his goals, basically like a business. I think he was effective and respected. However, I totally disagree with his emphasis. He fostered/assisted in creating a University that is much more bureaucratic than he found it. This bureaucracy consumes lots of money but in many cases produces no educational value added and in quite a few cases actually gets in the way. It does provide a vehicle for many empires to be built however.

He also fostered a physical plant that I think is in many ways very overbuilt yet does not serve the needs of the students. Although he is an engineer, I think the engineering faculty is a mere shadow of what it was in former times. We could undoubtedly have a discussion about his tenure, but as you may gather I am not at all happy with his results. He was in many ways effective, and that is the problem :-)

Since I graduated, long ago, I have had few opportunities and not a lot of interest in meeting the then President's of the University.  My father and Wally Sterling were graduate students together at Stanford in the early 1930's.  When I showed up on campus I was invited along with many of my fellow Frosh to a reception at Sterling's residence.  The man turned Stanford from a regional school in need of money to a school with a national reputation.  We may well have had Presidents as good as Wally Sterling, but I am not sure we have had any better.
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