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Post by res on May 17, 2019 9:09:23 GMT -5
I think you've captured it perfectly, Chuck.
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Post by Pinnum on May 17, 2019 10:55:56 GMT -5
On the enrollment topic, the turnaround actually started during Sister Margaret’s administration. Above statement is truthful, but it is extremely misleading. -- The turnaround started with the hiring of Bernie Valento, which occurred during Sister Margaret's last year as president. -- Bernie Valento deserves the credit for the turnaround in enrollment and not Sister Margaret. Enrollment under Sister Margaret declined until hiring of Bernie Valento. -- In attached May 13, 2015 article "St. Bonaventure Says Cost Cutting Is Sign of Times, Not Cause For Alarm" Sister Margaret herself acknowledges Bonas' declining enrollment "we aren't growing revenues as fast because enrollment is being challenged because of the declining demographics," Carney said. -- In attached BV article "Enrollment figures declining for 2014-15" enrollment was at it's highest the year prior to Sister Margaret. Since Sister Margaret became president "student population was down 19.6 percent from 10 years ago" which is when Sister Margaret became president. At the time, Sister Margaret was a much needed president. -- I agree Sister Margaret becoming Bonas' president happened, because it was politically correct, but it was something desperately needed. Sister Margaret's impeccable integrity was critical in order for Bona to move forward from the Wickenheiser scandal. Looking back is not important. What is important is the future looks bright with Dr. Dennis DePerro and Bernie Valento. spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/jamestown/news/2015/05/12/st--bonaventure-struggleswww.thebvnewspaper.com/2014/09/18/enrollment-figures-declining-for-2014-15/Executives don't do the heavy lifting. They set priorities and allocate resources. Hiring the right people is a big part of being an executive. And giving them the resources to be able to succeed once hired makes the executive responsible for the progress. This is like saying a losing season is on the Athletic Director. It isn't. They are responsible for getting the right people in place to succeed and then working to give them the tools they need to be able to succeed. |
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Post by thebonafan08 on May 17, 2019 11:55:29 GMT -5
Above statement is truthful, but it is extremely misleading. -- The turnaround started with the hiring of Bernie Valento, which occurred during Sister Margaret's last year as president. -- Bernie Valento deserves the credit for the turnaround in enrollment and not Sister Margaret. Enrollment under Sister Margaret declined until hiring of Bernie Valento. -- In attached May 13, 2015 article "St. Bonaventure Says Cost Cutting Is Sign of Times, Not Cause For Alarm" Sister Margaret herself acknowledges Bonas' declining enrollment "we aren't growing revenues as fast because enrollment is being challenged because of the declining demographics," Carney said. -- In attached BV article "Enrollment figures declining for 2014-15" enrollment was at it's highest the year prior to Sister Margaret. Since Sister Margaret became president "student population was down 19.6 percent from 10 years ago" which is when Sister Margaret became president. At the time, Sister Margaret was a much needed president. -- I agree Sister Margaret becoming Bonas' president happened, because it was politically correct, but it was something desperately needed. Sister Margaret's impeccable integrity was critical in order for Bona to move forward from the Wickenheiser scandal. Looking back is not important. What is important is the future looks bright with Dr. Dennis DePerro and Bernie Valento. spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/jamestown/news/2015/05/12/st--bonaventure-struggleswww.thebvnewspaper.com/2014/09/18/enrollment-figures-declining-for-2014-15/This is like saying a losing season is on the Athletic Director. It isn't. They are responsible for getting the right people in place to succeed and then working to give them the tools they need to be able to succeed. Sister Marg had about 9 losing seasons. As Chuck said she was needed at the time but it was also time for her to move on. Continuing with your analogy if we had 9 losing seasons in basketball my shift in blame goes from the coach to the guy hiring the coach. |
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Post by Bona84 on May 17, 2019 12:09:32 GMT -5
Why the dis of the Ss. Margaret admin group? Improvements like this are never instantaneous; what we are seeing now is the result of the previous admin recognizing a problem and putting in a long-term plan to improve, including hiring the right people. The seeds of success were planted years ago, just like the poor numbers of prior years were primarily the result of the poor work of the prior administration, yes, including the hugely negative publicity of you-know-what, which impacted the entire university, not just the hoops program. I am hopeful and confident the current group in Hopkins will continue and improve upon the recent success, but the seeds of this success go back to the prior admin. On the enrollment topic, the turnaround actually started during Sister Margaret’s administration. Above statement is truthful, but it is extremely misleading. -- The turnaround started with the hiring of Bernie Valento, which occurred during Sister Margaret's last year as president. -- Bernie Valento deserves the credit for the turnaround in enrollment and not Sister Margaret. Enrollment under Sister Margaret declined until hiring of Bernie Valento. -- In attached May 13, 2015 article "St. Bonaventure Says Cost Cutting Is Sign of Times, Not Cause For Alarm" Sister Margaret herself acknowledges Bonas' declining enrollment "we aren't growing revenues as fast because enrollment is being challenged because of the declining demographics," Carney said. -- In attached BV article "Enrollment figures declining for 2014-15" enrollment was at it's highest the year prior to Sister Margaret. Since Sister Margaret became president "student population was down 19.6 percent from 10 years ago" which is when Sister Margaret became president. At the time, Sister Margaret was a much needed president. -- I agree Sister Margaret becoming Bonas' president happened, because it was politically correct, but it was something desperately needed. Sister Margaret's impeccable integrity was critical in order for Bona to move forward from the Wickenheiser scandal. Looking back is not important. What is important is the future looks bright with Dr. Dennis DePerro and Bernie Valento. spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/jamestown/news/2015/05/12/st--bonaventure-struggleswww.thebvnewspaper.com/2014/09/18/enrollment-figures-declining-for-2014-15/I didn't make my post to be controversial, it was merely to point out that the turnaround didn't instantly appear with the new administration. And, I'm not sure why you decided to modify my post when you quoted it, Chuck, or why others find the need to denounce Sister Margaret and the prior administration, sometimes in a nasty manner. Very un-Franciscan, if you ask me. The nastiness and un-Franciscan observations are most certainly not directed at you, Chuck. Sister Margaret entered the fray at arguably one of the most difficult times our beloved university faced. To build on Chuck's observations regarding her hiring, she may have been the perfect choice for President at the time. In my humble opinion, her administration, together with the guidance of the Board over the years, were critical to stabilizing the University and beginning the long recovery process. Yes, enrollment declined during her tenure, much like at other small or Catholic colleges and universities. As others have pointed out, Sister hired Bernie Valento. And, the new administration, which I admire very much, has, and I'll use a basketball analogy since this is the sports section of the Bandwagon, taken the game plan, done a great job of enhancing it, recruited well, and put the team on a roll. Go Bonnies! |
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Post by firstdev on May 17, 2019 12:19:50 GMT -5
admissions acceptance rate is absolutely NOT an irrelevant stat. Its an important one Definitely not an irrelevant stat, as we were a joke when we were accepting that many applicants. That is the very definition of a safety school and we weren't even charging the tuition of a true safety school. At the same time, you can't bankrupt the kingdom while fixing the walls. While trying to restore the acceptance rates, they needed to also figure out how to get more qualified students to apply. They went about the one without looking at the impact of it which leads me to believe it was not a matter of incompetance or malfeasance, but of one lacking experience in the area. Sister did a number of good things for the school, but admissions was not her strong suit. The only joke was having empty dorms, 345 frosh, and financial issues that emanated from those factors. She was the Chapman of SBU administration. This great university only prospers when we have a full house not a half empty house. Her Bonahil merger plan was pure desperation (and the real joke), and an indicator that her tenure as President was rapidly coming to an end. I don't care if we have a 100% acceptance if that is what it takes to get great students (many average students mature only at the college level with the help of small class sizes and dedicated professors) into the classroom seats. Bonas will do the rest to shape these fine folks into functioning and successful adult citizens. Acceptance rate envy is just more pc rubbish. Her small cadre of Ft Duquesne operatives were good at that. |
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Post by firstdev on May 17, 2019 12:29:29 GMT -5
Why the dis of the Ss. Margaret admin group? Improvements like this are never instantaneous; what we are seeing now is the result of the previous admin recognizing a problem and putting in a long-term plan to improve, including hiring the right people. The seeds of success were planted years ago, just like the poor numbers of prior years were primarily the result of the poor work of the prior administration, yes, including the hugely negative publicity of you-know-what, which impacted the entire university, not just the hoops program. I am hopeful and confident the current group in Hopkins will continue and improve upon the recent success, but the seeds of this success go back to the prior admin. Above statement is truthful, but it is extremely misleading. -- The turnaround started with the hiring of Bernie Valento, which occurred during Sister Margaret's last year as president. -- Bernie Valento deserves the credit for the turnaround in enrollment and not Sister Margaret. Enrollment under Sister Margaret declined until hiring of Bernie Valento. -- In attached May 13, 2015 article "St. Bonaventure Says Cost Cutting Is Sign of Times, Not Cause For Alarm" Sister Margaret herself acknowledges Bonas' declining enrollment "we aren't growing revenues as fast because enrollment is being challenged because of the declining demographics," Carney said. -- In attached BV article "Enrollment figures declining for 2014-15" enrollment was at it's highest the year prior to Sister Margaret. Since Sister Margaret became president "student population was down 19.6 percent from 10 years ago" which is when Sister Margaret became president. At the time, Sister Margaret was a much needed president. -- I agree Sister Margaret becoming Bonas' president happened, because it was politically correct, but it was something desperately needed. Sister Margaret's impeccable integrity was critical in order for Bona to move forward from the Wickenheiser scandal. Looking back is not important. What is important is the future looks bright with Dr. Dennis DePerro and Bernie Valento. The Board of Trustees hired Bernie, not the former President. It was the BoT who took the reins from the President when the enrollment continued to slip, and only bland excuses were issued from the second floor bunker of the fort |
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2019 12:32:25 GMT -5
Definitely not an irrelevant stat, as we were a joke when we were accepting that many applicants. That is the very definition of a safety school and we weren't even charging the tuition of a true safety school. At the same time, you can't bankrupt the kingdom while fixing the walls. While trying to restore the acceptance rates, they needed to also figure out how to get more qualified students to apply. They went about the one without looking at the impact of it which leads me to believe it was not a matter of incompetance or malfeasance, but of one lacking experience in the area. Sister did a number of good things for the school, but admissions was not her strong suit. The only joke was having empty dorms, 345 frosh, and financial issues that emanated from those factors. She was the Chapman of SBU administration. This great university only prospers when we have a full house not a half empty house. Her Bonahil merger plan was pure desperation (and the real joke), and an indicator that her tenure as President was rapidly coming to an end. I don't care if we have a 100% acceptance if that is what it takes to get great students (many average students mature only at the college level with the help of small class sizes and dedicated professors) into the classroom seats. Bonas will do the rest to shape these fine folks in functioning and successful adult citizens. Acceptance rate envy is just more pc rubbish. Her small cadre of Ft Duquesne operatives were good at that. I don't necessarily agree with the Sister Margaret bashing, but acceptance rate can be manipulated in many ways. That is not really an indication of a "good" school. Bona is still not a difficult school to get into, but it is a great school. |
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Post by tastylicks on May 17, 2019 12:38:07 GMT -5
Definitely not an irrelevant stat, as we were a joke when we were accepting that many applicants. That is the very definition of a safety school and we weren't even charging the tuition of a true safety school. At the same time, you can't bankrupt the kingdom while fixing the walls. While trying to restore the acceptance rates, they needed to also figure out how to get more qualified students to apply. They went about the one without looking at the impact of it which leads me to believe it was not a matter of incompetance or malfeasance, but of one lacking experience in the area. Sister did a number of good things for the school, but admissions was not her strong suit. The only joke was having empty dorms, 345 frosh, and financial issues that emanated from those factors. She was the Chapman of SBU administration. This great university only prospers when we have a full house not a half empty house. Her Bonahil merger plan was pure desperation (and the real joke), and an indicator that her tenure as President was rapidly coming to an end. I don't care if we have a 100% acceptance if that is what it takes to get great students (many average students mature only at the college level with the help of small class sizes and dedicated professors) into the classroom seats. Bonas will do the rest to shape these fine folks into functioning and successful adult citizens. Acceptance rate envy is just more pc rubbish. Her small cadre of Ft Duquesne operatives were good at that. well as an alum, I would certainly care if we had a 100% acceptance rate LOL. |
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Post by Pinnum on May 17, 2019 12:38:22 GMT -5
Sister Marg had about 9 losing seasons. As Chuck said she was needed at the time but it was also time for her to move on. Continuing with your analogy if we had 9 losing seasons in basketball my shift in blame goes from the coach to the guy hiring the coach. Sure, by one metric. Just like most people say that we have had good leadership in the AD position the last ten years despite the women's lax team not having a winning season in that period. But that is part of the job of making priorities. You make the conscious decision to remove a focus from something in order to focus on something else that is more pressing at the time. And while it is probably the right call overall, you will be criticized by people who think that one thing should be a high priority item. |
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Post by 123Rob on May 17, 2019 13:27:21 GMT -5
The key is the yield rate which is something like #of enrollees divided by # accepted. It gives a better indication of how many actually wanted to attend
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Post by thebonafan08 on May 17, 2019 15:18:59 GMT -5
Sister Marg had about 9 losing seasons. As Chuck said she was needed at the time but it was also time for her to move on. Continuing with your analogy if we had 9 losing seasons in basketball my shift in blame goes from the coach to the guy hiring the coach. Sure, by one metric. Just like most people say that we have had good leadership in the AD position the last ten years despite the women's lax team not having a winning season in that period. But that is part of the job of making priorities. You make the conscious decision to remove a focus from something in order to focus on something else that is more pressing at the time. And while it is probably the right call overall, you will be criticized by people who think that one thing should be a high priority item. For a small school like Bonaventure after year 2 it should have been her priority number 1,2 & 3. So back to the AD analogy more like Mens Basketball program but more so. If we had a growing or stable enrollment and our arts department stunk no one would have a problem with her job. But let’s continue the apples to oranges game. |
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Post by efsboca on May 17, 2019 16:18:08 GMT -5
The only joke was having empty dorms, 345 frosh, and financial issues that emanated from those factors. She was the Chapman of SBU administration. This great university only prospers when we have a full house not a half empty house. Her Bonahil merger plan was pure desperation (and the real joke), and an indicator that her tenure as President was rapidly coming to an end. I don't care if we have a 100% acceptance if that is what it takes to get great students (many average students mature only at the college level with the help of small class sizes and dedicated professors) into the classroom seats. Bonas will do the rest to shape these fine folks in functioning and successful adult citizens. Acceptance rate envy is just more pc rubbish. Her small cadre of Ft Duquesne operatives were good at that. I don't necessarily agree with the Sister Margaret bashing, but acceptance rate can be manipulated in many ways. That is not really an indication of a "good" school. Bona is still not a difficult school to get into, but it is a great school. It depends on your definition of a "good" or "great" school is. The acceptance rate may be able to be manipulated a little, but not much. It's as simple as did you receive an actionable acceptance letter so if you paid your deposit, you are in. It is usually an indication, when combined with some other factors, of the quality of the education/future job potential/etc you will get. Great schools don't usually accept 90% of the applicants. FirstDev, you don't get "great" students with 100% acceptance rates, so you should care. Bonaventure is only as good as the people/students that are there and when you accept everyone, it means you have no standards. I agree that accepting 90% and STILL only getting 350 to attend is even worse, but that is, at least partially, because of the perception of lack of standards. We were truly operating as a safety school for most kids and it shows in those numbers. Really strong schools get applicants who want to reach to get accepted because they want to attend, and most reach applicants get turned down. Weaker schools get applicants from people who figure they will get accepted, and they will be happy to go there if needed, but otherwise prefer an alternate. That's what appears to have happened from the numbers. People applied, were accepted, but didn't want to come. I live in Florida now and both my kids graduated college in the past year. They were looking in 2013-2015 at colleges, and Bonas did not hit their radar because of those numbers. I could not even get them to visit, although they went to Siena, Manhattan, BC, Providence, and Holy Cross for visits. There are many many factors that contribute to how things happen, and this is clearly an over-simplification that touches on one area, but each factor is important in its own right, and each of those factor areas need to be addressed to make the school the best that it can be. Personally, I would love for the plan someday to grow Bonas to around 5000-8000 students. That would build some security in down times, be good for the local community, help build a future donation base with much larger alumni growth, allow for more student amenities on campus, and yet, still enable the school to maintain a small school identity. The new days are dawning on SBU, so no need to continually rehash what happened in the past, just like we aren't still talking about Wick and the basketball program. Things are clearly looking up with increased attendance, new majors, new buildings, renovation plans, and leadership that not only has a strong vision for the future, but the ability and know how to carry it out. Our biggest concern over the next several years will be making sure we hang onto the DePerro. |
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Post by Mad Dogs Foosball Champion on May 17, 2019 19:33:21 GMT -5
An observation from high school: I work in an American Embassy school overseas. Admission rates are one of the few statistics the kids are looking at today. They often place so much value on that single number that this is how I hear them comparing two schools.
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Post by towniegrad on May 17, 2019 21:30:11 GMT -5
I arm suprised that bona has had a couple of good enrollment years ,but i’m Not aware of recent major school improvements
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schools of its size face a lot of challenges as does western ny and olean.
allegany itself does not have a grocery store or a pharmacy, the closest is a waLmart.
Adding medical majors was overdue!but not innovative.
It will be interesting to see if the growth holds.
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Post by jjjacks17 on May 17, 2019 21:33:22 GMT -5
I arm suprised that bona has had a couple of good enrollment years ,but i’m Not aware of recent major school improvements . schools of its size face a lot of challenges as does western ny and olean. allegany itself does not have a grocery store or a pharmacy, the closest is a waLmart. Adding medical majors was overdue!but not innovative. It will be interesting to see if the growth holds. Tops isn’t a grocery store anymore? |
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