Steven Leath Out As AU President.

[AURex 1,995]

Apparently he and his wife were on a plane within hours after the BOT meeting. There will be someone to come in and pack up all their stuff to move it. Definitely a quick exit.

 

[AURex 1,995]

 

Was Leath "fired" at Auburn? After all, technically, he resigned.
Was Bruce Pearl "fired" at Iowa after the huge mess he created and the stink he caused for Iowa in that imbroglio? After all, he got a job coaching at Southern Illinois.
Was Bruce Pearl "black-balled" by Div I schools? After all, it took only a decade at Southern Illinois, riding around in a bus, he finally landed a job at Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

I'm not a CBP hater. He wins BB games and is a popular coach. Maybe he's hexed. Maybe things just sorta happen wherever he is. It doesn't change the fact that his reputation beyond Auburn is not pretty.

But I love Auburn and I love college BB. I'm along for the ride, however long it lasts.

 

[McLoofus 35,182]

17 minutes ago, AURex said:

Was Leath "fired" at Auburn? After all, technically, he resigned.
Was Bruce Pearl "fired" at Iowa after the huge mess he created and the stink he caused for Iowa in that imbroglio? After all, he got a job coaching at Southern Illinois.
Was Bruce Pearl "black-balled" by Div I schools? After all, it took only a decade at Southern Illinois, riding around in a bus, he finally landed a job at Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

I'm not a CBP hater. He wins BB games and is a popular coach. Maybe he's hexed. Maybe things just sorta happen wherever he is. It doesn't change the fact that his reputation beyond Auburn is not pretty.

But I love Auburn and I love college BB. I'm along for the ride, however long it lasts.

I agreed with someone else that folks don't care about Auburn nationally, but I also agree with you that people do care about Bruce Pearl nationally. And I've been approached by folks who are big college hoops fans and couldn't care less about SEC football, much less Auburn anything, but who had very strong opinions about Bruce. 

[passthebiscuits 6,845]

On 6/24/2019 at 4:48 PM, AURex said:

Looking at this from the OUTSIDE, the view of potential president candidates, Leath comes out of this smelling like a parade of roses, Auburn comes out smelling like a steaming pile.

Leath had a record of tangible accomplishments that were pretty impressive for less than 2 years on the job:
1. New medical school
2. New performing arts center
3. Expanded engineering/tech programs
4. Plan for increasing tenure track faculty positions

Did he ruffle feathers along the way? Leaders with a vision of growth and advancement often do.

Auburn, on the other hand:
1. He didn't kiss BOT fannies the way they like? By a BOT with a history of micro-management.
2. He threatened to fire a popular coach with a lifelong history of trouble, now again in the trouble spotlight
3. Some of the faculty and alumni didn't like him
4. Funding per student, underachieving faculty, poor state funding

Unless there is something else that prompted this ouster by the BOT, no outstanding candidate from a top tier land grant university will step into that.

1) I was heavily involved with this move and remain on the faculty:  The medical school was privately owned, and they were coming here anyway. The fact that Auburn met them halfway as an institution was out of necessity. It also occurred despite Auburn’s initial resistance. 

2) the GPAC is almost entirely funded by donations. Lots of them. $$$ 

3) ok. I guess he can take credit for a move made, in large part, from the great money-raising campaigns in Engineering over the last decade. (Here’s a kudos to M. Arnold!)

4) this was a compromise between academia and athletics. It had more to do with state assistance in tenured spots. 

So yes...Leath did one thing. He was terrible. He can go suck on lemons. My opinion, there should be some accountability on the knuckleheads who hired him.

As far as Bruce is concerned, I don’t think his history is “Lilly White” as Pat Dye would say, but every time he talks, engages, works, takes time in the community—he helps Auburn. I sure hope he has learned his lessons and plays by the rules. Or at least if he cheats, he cheats like Kansas and Kentucky and UNC. 

Just my opinion.

 

[ellitor 33,092]

9 minutes ago, passthebiscuits said:

So yes...Leath did one thing. He was terrible. He can go suck on lemons. My opinion, there should be some accountability on the knuckleheads who hired him.

Just my opinion.

 

[EagleEye67 1,939]

On 6/27/2019 at 11:31 AM, AURex said:

 

Was Leath "fired" at Auburn? After all, technically, he resigned.

 

 

 

[steeleagle 2,945]

32 minutes ago, EagleEye67 said:

 

Yes, he was asked to resign, or face being fired. It looks better on his resume for the future to say he resigned. 

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

Leath was a terrible hire. He already had a history of spending money that wasn’t his in himself ( personal use of university aircraft at ISU). The BOT should have been watching the hen house after hiring this wolf to oversee it. It doesn’t mater what you think of BP ( I personally like how well he represents AU as much as his accomplishments on the basketball court) But for the University president to go to the media and try to make his coach look bad ( as well as the whole program) by complaining that BP hadn’t agreed to talk to him was juvenile at the least and totally stupid in reality. BOT should have fired him on the spot for that remark. Just glad he is gone and hope his career is over in administration.

[keesler 5,924]

3 hours ago, steeleagle said:

Yes, he was asked to resign, or face being fired. It looks better on his resume for the future to say he resigned. 

What's wrong with firing people?

Tubs resigned instead of being fired and walked away with +$5Million

Jacobs resigned instead of being fired and walked away with $2.5Million

Gouge retired and AU has still been paying him?  For What, he retired for crying out loud.....

Leath resigned instead of being fired and walked away with $$??$$??  How much?

[steeleagle 2,945]

7 minutes ago, keesler said:

What's wrong with firing people?

Tubs resigned instead of being fired and walked away with +$5Million

Jacobs resigned instead of being fired and walked away with $2.5Million

Gouge retired and AU has still been paying him?  For What, he retired for crying out loud.....

Leath resigned instead of being fired and walked away with $$??$$??  How much?

Nothing wrong with being fired but in Leath case he probably didn’t do anything to breach his contract but his actions and the way he did his job just wasn’t going to work for the BOT and Auburn. 

This happens a lot in high level positions and it is professional courtesy to let Leath save face for any future job he interviews for  

 

 

[AU64 10,122]

53 minutes ago, steeleagle said:

Nothing wrong with being fired but in Leath case he probably didn’t do anything to breach his contract but his actions and the way he did his job just wasn’t going to work for the BOT and Auburn. 

This happens a lot in high level positions and it is professional courtesy to let Leath save face for any future job he interviews for  

 

 

Lots of professional contracts have deferred compensation features and restrictions on both sides...Several years ago some baseball teams had a bigger payroll for non-players than for their active roster.   

[oracle79 3,569]

1 hour ago, steeleagle said:

This happens a lot in high level positions and it is professional courtesy to let Leath save face for any future job he interviews for

Exactly why incompetence thrives in education and government bureaucracy.

[The Freak 2,528]

4 hours ago, oracle79 said:

Exactly why incompetence thrives in education and government bureaucracy.

I'm incompetent.  Happy to be a university pres for 2 years.  Au BOT, give me a call. 

[akillshot 294]

22 hours ago, AU64 said:

Lots of professional contracts have deferred compensation features and restrictions on both sides...Several years ago some baseball teams had a bigger payroll for non-players than for their active roster.   

True. On the pro baseball comment, yesterday was Bobby Bonilla day for the NY Mets. "

It's time for Mets fans everywhere to wish each other a Happy Bobby Bonilla Day! Why? On Monday, 56-year-old Bobby Bonilla will collect a check for $1,193,248.20 from the New York Mets, as he has and will every July 1 from 2011 through 2035." 

The below article shows some of the other deferred contracts:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/27078321/happy-bobby-bonilla-day-why-mets-pay-119m-every-july-1

[AU64 10,122]

2 hours ago, akillshot said:

True. On the pro baseball comment, yesterday was Bobby Bonilla day for the NY Mets. "

It's time for Mets fans everywhere to wish each other a Happy Bobby Bonilla Day! Why? On Monday, 56-year-old Bobby Bonilla will collect a check for $1,193,248.20 from the New York Mets, as he has and will every July 1 from 2011 through 2035." 

The below article shows some of the other deferred contracts:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/27078321/happy-bobby-bonilla-day-why-mets-pay-119m-every-july-1

Thanks...that Bonilla contract is fantastic...ranks up there with Charlie Weiss for the amount of money for not doing anything.   

Maybe some guys on this board might negotiate a long term payoff with Gus and make the separation more affordable.

[gr82be 14,423]

20 minutes ago, AU64 said:

Thanks...that Bonilla contract is fantastic...ranks up there with Charlie Weiss for the amount of money for not doing anything.   

Maybe some guys on this board might negotiate a long term payoff with Gus and make the separation more affordable.

If this season was to go south I recommend paying him 1,000,000 for every NC Auburn wins in future years. 

[1auburn1 1,119]

1 hour ago, AU64 said:

Thanks...that Bonilla contract is fantastic...ranks up there with Charlie Weiss for the amount of money for not doing anything.   

Maybe some guys on this board might negotiate a long term payoff with Gus and make the separation more affordable.

Ol’ “3 axe-handle” Charlie!

[aubiefifty 16,777]

TURNER: Auburn University’s Jetgate II comes and goes… We’re still asking, why Leath?

Troy Turner | Editor Opelika-Auburn News tturner@oanow.com

8-10 minutes

A little more than two years ago when the Opelika-Auburn News broke its weekend story about Steven Leath being tabbed as the search committee’s candidate to become Auburn University’s next president, he was sitting at an Iowa State basketball game in the NCAA tournament.

Then-president of Iowa State, there had been no announcement made yet about him leaving to accept his new role. Auburn’s trustees still had to attend a special-called meeting that following Monday to officially vote to hire Leath.

Much to Leath’s and Auburn’s chagrin, given that Iowa State seemingly was unaware of his plans and that the massive PR machine at Auburn has a mission of controlling its storyline, we purposely published the previously unannounced news based on trusted sources and one very important question:

Could the Auburn University board of trustees, before its Monday morning vote, truly be aware of Leath’s skeletons in the closet that weren’t just hanging, but still walking?

An ignored warning

Two years later, Leath and Auburn University have parted ways. But why was Leath hired in the first place?

We in the newsroom did not want to simply break a story back then, although that’s our business. Rather, through only a few hours of investigation, we uncovered a number of concerns that left us puzzled by the school’s pending decision to hire Leath.

Just to be sure the point was made before the board’s Monday vote, our Sunday story was accompanied on the Opinion page by a column from yours truly with the headline: “Is Jetgate II coming to Auburn?”

That commentary included this:

“Perhaps the Auburn University board of trustees will ask some of the same questions on Monday morning that I’m about to ask and decide to deny it has ever seriously considered Steven Leath. Or explain to us why it’s satisfied with answers it already has received from those questions.”

Longtime Auburn folks need little introduction to what Jetgate I was, but as a refresher for the younger or newer crowd, it involved a years-ago secret flight in a behind-the-back ploy to replace former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville. The entire episode did not bode well for the university.

The term Jetgate II was a play on words because of Leath’s previous troubles involving an infamous flight of his own.

Leath was mired in a controversy at Iowa State after it was revealed that he was learning how to fly and was building his personal flight credentials using a university aircraft.

Leath ended up paying the university back for use of the aircraft, which he used for personal travel out of state. However, in addition to use of the plane, he also seriously damaged it making a so-called hard landing, costing the university thousands more.

There also were questions raised about a high-paying job given to his flight instructor, among other things.

Those were but a few of the red flags that shot up when we started our investigation into Leath’s background, but when those flags started turning into a carpet, our attention instead turned to the Auburn trustees and the question again of: Why Leath?

Leath’s attributes

Surely, we thought, our Sunday story and commentary would do one of two things: either cause the Monday morning decision to hit a pause button, or prompt some sense of public reassurance as to how the now-publicized concerns were satisfactorily addressed.

Leath, after all, did seem to have many fine qualities as an educator and administrator. Primarily, he understood the mission of a land-grant university such as Auburn, in which there must be a certain dedication to agricultural research.

He also seemed to have high hopes for enhancing Auburn’s reputation on the national and international stages for various other types of research. And, to Leath’s credit, there were positive moves made during his brief tenure.

Auburn’s growth in the cyber security field, for example, has netted several impressive forums with big names attending.

Perhaps Leath’s best move was the hiring of former three-star general Ronald Burgess as the school’s chief operating officer.

Burgess, an Auburn alum, is considered a rock star in national security and intelligence circles, a qualified source told me. His enhanced association with the university has opened eyes from afar.

Leath also sat in our office after an invite to meet with us and our community editorial advisory board, a diverse group, and talked about his own goals of improving diversity at the university, something many Auburn followers don’t want to think about, but should.

Following through on that promise, he hired Auburn’s first black athletic director, Allen Greene.

Oh, but there’s that word athletic. And now we get to the heart of the matter.

What matters most?

Surely, by now, every human being on planet Earth knows that any SEC school must hire a president who understands SEC sports.

It just means more.

A good university president is measured by many attributes, hopefully most of them from the academic world, but in the Southeastern Conference athletic alliance, the competition is too fierce and the payout too immeasurable to disregard it as a top point of consideration for any presidential candidate checklist.

Steven Leath may aspire to great things in academic research, and he may know how to fly an airplane, but when it comes to SEC sports, Leath doesn’t know diddly.

Well, he might now.

Leath rubbed a lot of folks the wrong way with his sometimes blunt and abrasive approach, and with his dogmatic ownership of matters including in sports, various sources have told me. But people, especially in the politics of academia, will say that about most presidents, or something similar.

Not surprising since, speaking of diversity, a university faculty will have viewpoints and expectations that will come from all directions, with many different ideas on how best to run a university. Perfection and popularity never will be easy to find.

Throw athletics into the picture, and you might as well turn loose a porcupine in a nudist colony.

Auburn’s power base

Is Allen Greene a good athletic director? Was he leading, involved or on the distant sidelines of recent decisions such as coach contract negotiations?

He has a tough job. It’s another position sure to have its unfair share of critics, second-guessers and Monday morning quarterbacks.

However, his track record at Buffalo, his previous job, looks pretty darn good, and the talk is that we’ll find out more about him now that Leath is removed from office. About him, and the trustees, of course.

The Auburn University board of trustees is a powerful lot. It should be. Billions of dollars and thousands of influential jobs, not to mention the school’s primary role of providing academic contributions that this world needs, all are governed by this board.

There are board members who bleed orange and blue in their dedication to Auburn.

Among them, someone, or the entire board, obviously thought Leath would be a good president. However, the board made a mistake in not taking the challenge seriously to share more about why it hired Leath.

Questions were raised, but went unanswered.

Transparency in the hiring process was promised, but then denied.

The result two years later, therefore, cannot be considered a big surprise.

Here we are again

This next go-around, the trustees need to do better.

Better than finding a new president who can score touchdowns and hit home runs or sink three-pointers.

Better than finding a new leader who can inspire and open doors to greatness in research and academia.

Better… in sharing with us all why the school’s next president should be its next president.

Motivational leadership begins with trust.

Auburn University deserves nothing less.

Troy Turner is editor of the Opelika-Auburn News. He can be contacted at tturner@oanow.com and followed on Twitter @troyturnernews.

[auburn4ever 1,266]

Even from day one, Steven Leath was never a good fit to be Auburn's new president. Why he got the job? no one will ever know the truth. We need a president who realize football is the cash cow that brings in big bucks to the university and helps to spread the money to other sports programs.

[toddc 13,194]

There’s gotta be a better forum for this stuff other than football forum. I appreciate the posting though.

[CR 2,442]

Some very good points in the article. Glad the O/A News was willing to ask some tough questions. Thanks for posting.

[oracle79 3,569]

I view a good University President like I do a good sports official.  If they're doing their job correctly, you don't notice them or even realize they are there.  If they start to become noticed, something is wrong.

[toddc 13,194]

7 hours ago, oracle79 said:

I view a good University President like I do a good sports official.  If they're doing their job correctly, you don't notice them or even realize they are there.  If they start to become noticed, something is wrong.

Same way I am running the soundboard at church. If they know I’m there something is wrong!

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

On 7/1/2019 at 3:55 PM, keesler said:

What's wrong with firing people?

Tubs resigned instead of being fired and walked away with +$5Million

Jacobs resigned instead of being fired and walked away with $2.5Million

Gouge retired and AU has still been paying him?  For What, he retired for crying out loud.....

Leath resigned instead of being fired and walked away with $$??$$??  How much?

Sometimes it’s better to do that and pay the price rather than drag the university’s name and future through a spectacle in front of cameras that a court battle would have brought. Just saying.

[Pedaler 1,001]

Haha.. I thought the article was asking Leath, even though he's gone, why... WHY... did you give such a huge buyout?