2008 Woodie Awards
Q & A with chairman of the board of trustees David Hoover
Issue date: 10/30/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Compiled by Meghan Kazer and Liesl Goecker
—news@thedepauw.com
At Friday’s press conference, WGRE and The DePauw spoke with the new chairman of the Board of Trustees, David Hoover, and President Robert G. Bottoms about sustainability on campus, greek housing and the presidential search process.
The DePauw: As the new chairman, do you have an agenda?
David Hoover: The top thing that we’re working on is replacing Dr. Bottoms as president of course. That’s on the agenda, it’s being worked very hard. We are hopeful and are expecting to find someone to replace Dr. Bottoms who will lead the University into even better times.
WGRE: How do you feel about DePauw staying in the SCAC collegiate conference?
DH: I think it’s been a positive place to be. I think that athletics, being kind of a sports fan myself, that athletics generally in an institution are a positive thing. Div. III athletics are probably in many ways superior to Div. I because it’s not a business necessarily. People who participate do it more for the love of the game, if you will. But I believe, just from observation, that participation in this conference is helped in many ways to helping to build and grow the University.
Bottoms: As you look down the road, it does cost more money to travel, but you also have to do an assessment of what DePauw gets out of that in terms of exposure that would recruit more students, in terms of the University being better known, in terms of playing institutions that have the same academic priorities that you do.
TDP: Regarding the Greek Fact Finding Commission, it says here that the work on the houses should be complete by fall of 2008. Is that dependent on receiving the IRS grant?
DH: Not really. I think that we’re going to find a way to be able to do this. The preferred way would be to get a favorable IRS ruling that would permit the University to fund the needed changes. We’ve budgeted for it, we know where the money is. I’m hopeful, and we all are, that by the end of the year, as it says in that piece, that we’ll get a favorable answer to that request, but it’s going to happen.
WGRE: With this year’s DePauw Discourse talking about global sustainability, I know there have been some questions about why DePauw’s public safety drives around in SUVs all around campus, when they could be driving more globally friendly cars. Do you have an opinion about that?
DH: I don’t necessarily have a direct comment about it. I’m still trying to sort out in my own mind what a lot of these things, how they all interrelate together. I’m certainly in favor of sustainability.
WGRE: Well the SUVs are just sort of one particular thing. But I mean, looking on this campus, you can even factor that back into the SCAC travel, with all the miles that goes into it. I mean all the buildings on this campus are constantly running lights and their power and everything, there are recycling problems.
DH: We could go sit and freeze to death in the dark, you know, would that help the world? I don’t know. When you see things that you think are wasteful, or bad or whatever, do what you can to change it. We’re trying to make people who are going to be good citizens and caring citizens and make changes and make a difference.
TDP: Could you go ahead and give us an update on the presidential search, where the committee is at currently?
DH: We’ve just, during these last few days, reviewed a number of candidates, and we’re preparing some time in November to interview several of them as step one in this process, to then winnow that down into fewer and fewer again. There are no set numbers, or even time frame.
TDP: What exactly is being reviewed? Is it resumes? Are proposals being submitted?
DH: The kinds of things that we receive are letters of interest from the individuals stating, you know, they read our Web site, they talk to the people who are helping us recruit, and they learn as much as they can about the University, and then they write sort of a letter that is an application showing interest. They also include their curriculum vitae, and all the publications that they have done in their life, if they happen to be from academia, and other accomplishments.
TDP: Could we get a few comments on James Stewart, the outgoing chairman?
DH: I think he did a remarkably good job of leading us through the last three years, and he continues to be a trustee, and a real good one, and is really supportive. I like him personally, but I think that the job he did was very, very good. I hope to be able to be as good as that, or at least not get fired.
—news@thedepauw.com
At Friday’s press conference, WGRE and The DePauw spoke with the new chairman of the Board of Trustees, David Hoover, and President Robert G. Bottoms about sustainability on campus, greek housing and the presidential search process.
The DePauw: As the new chairman, do you have an agenda?
David Hoover: The top thing that we’re working on is replacing Dr. Bottoms as president of course. That’s on the agenda, it’s being worked very hard. We are hopeful and are expecting to find someone to replace Dr. Bottoms who will lead the University into even better times.
WGRE: How do you feel about DePauw staying in the SCAC collegiate conference?
DH: I think it’s been a positive place to be. I think that athletics, being kind of a sports fan myself, that athletics generally in an institution are a positive thing. Div. III athletics are probably in many ways superior to Div. I because it’s not a business necessarily. People who participate do it more for the love of the game, if you will. But I believe, just from observation, that participation in this conference is helped in many ways to helping to build and grow the University.
Bottoms: As you look down the road, it does cost more money to travel, but you also have to do an assessment of what DePauw gets out of that in terms of exposure that would recruit more students, in terms of the University being better known, in terms of playing institutions that have the same academic priorities that you do.
TDP: Regarding the Greek Fact Finding Commission, it says here that the work on the houses should be complete by fall of 2008. Is that dependent on receiving the IRS grant?
DH: Not really. I think that we’re going to find a way to be able to do this. The preferred way would be to get a favorable IRS ruling that would permit the University to fund the needed changes. We’ve budgeted for it, we know where the money is. I’m hopeful, and we all are, that by the end of the year, as it says in that piece, that we’ll get a favorable answer to that request, but it’s going to happen.
WGRE: With this year’s DePauw Discourse talking about global sustainability, I know there have been some questions about why DePauw’s public safety drives around in SUVs all around campus, when they could be driving more globally friendly cars. Do you have an opinion about that?
DH: I don’t necessarily have a direct comment about it. I’m still trying to sort out in my own mind what a lot of these things, how they all interrelate together. I’m certainly in favor of sustainability.
WGRE: Well the SUVs are just sort of one particular thing. But I mean, looking on this campus, you can even factor that back into the SCAC travel, with all the miles that goes into it. I mean all the buildings on this campus are constantly running lights and their power and everything, there are recycling problems.
DH: We could go sit and freeze to death in the dark, you know, would that help the world? I don’t know. When you see things that you think are wasteful, or bad or whatever, do what you can to change it. We’re trying to make people who are going to be good citizens and caring citizens and make changes and make a difference.
TDP: Could you go ahead and give us an update on the presidential search, where the committee is at currently?
DH: We’ve just, during these last few days, reviewed a number of candidates, and we’re preparing some time in November to interview several of them as step one in this process, to then winnow that down into fewer and fewer again. There are no set numbers, or even time frame.
TDP: What exactly is being reviewed? Is it resumes? Are proposals being submitted?
DH: The kinds of things that we receive are letters of interest from the individuals stating, you know, they read our Web site, they talk to the people who are helping us recruit, and they learn as much as they can about the University, and then they write sort of a letter that is an application showing interest. They also include their curriculum vitae, and all the publications that they have done in their life, if they happen to be from academia, and other accomplishments.
TDP: Could we get a few comments on James Stewart, the outgoing chairman?
DH: I think he did a remarkably good job of leading us through the last three years, and he continues to be a trustee, and a real good one, and is really supportive. I like him personally, but I think that the job he did was very, very good. I hope to be able to be as good as that, or at least not get fired.
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