Nobody knew what the scope of the lawsuits was going to be, and certain state reps were talking defunding the university as a whole. You have to say the right things, but ultimately simply surviving as an institution was the only goal at that point. So you bring in a guy who has Lansing connections, and can quiet threats on that front, and can push through the lawsuits, then once you've ensured your own survival, you can begin the healing. I've said repeatedly how horribly they handled it, but I still think they needed someone like that to get them through this portion, I just wish he had handled aspects of it better.
They announced this morning the 19 member panel to select the full time President. That's the story now, and that's where we will see if they meant what they said. Engler was never here for that purpose, and that was why he was never a permanent candidate. I am obviously skeptical about how well any 19 person committee can work, but the purpose of it, is to fulfill their promise of inclusivity in the selection process, and I guess to include everyone, you somehow get to 19. I'd be better off without any BOT members on the committee, but that was obviously impossible. I just don't know how Ferguson, the worst of them all, made the cut. But the representation of faculty, students, and others in higher education from around the state seems to me that they are taking their promise of inclusiveness seriously. I just don't see how that ends in any sort of consensus, and as soon as you have people who don't think it's going in a direction they like (and with 19 people that's impossible to avoid) I imagine they'll be running to the press.
