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Post by alum on Jan 3, 2024 11:44:01 GMT -5
I am sure that someone will say, just don't make diversity hires and all will be good but that misses the point for several reasons. Sometimes the best answer is the most obvious one -- hire the best person for the job based on merit. No kidding but how do we know which person is best? As I mentioned, a BOT could consider scholarship, leadership, or fundraising. I think that they probably consider all of those. Which is more important than the other two? Should you weight them? Does each member of the BOT get to decide which factor controls. Does the personal interview matter? Does the person's vision matter? Does the candidate want to make changes to the status quo? Do some BOT members want to keep things the same and reject that person for those reasons?
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Post by hcpride on Jan 3, 2024 11:54:07 GMT -5
I am sure that someone will say, just don't make diversity hires and all will be good but that misses the point for several reasons. Sometimes the best answer is the most obvious one -- hire the best person for the job based on merit. Harvard has a very hard time admitting kids on merit (remember, they clung to the lost cause of race-based admissions for as long as humanly possible until the US Supreme Court had to slap them down) so there is absolutely no reason to believe they want to hire folks on merit. Not a surprise a privileged woman (Phillips Exeter - Stanford - Harvard ) would seem out of touch (or idiotic) to normal viewers when she claimed Harvard had so much public antisemitism because Harvard has so much free speech. LOL (Note: Harvard is routinely named as the least free US campus in regards to to speech and diversity of opinion. Also, there are many many US campuses without public displays of antisemitism who are quite accepting of free speech and diversity of opinion - Holy Cross being one.)
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Post by Sons of Vaval on Jan 3, 2024 12:02:34 GMT -5
Sometimes the best answer is the most obvious one -- hire the best person for the job based on merit. No kidding but how do we know which person is best? As I mentioned, a BOT could consider scholarship, leadership, or fundraising. I think that they probably consider all of those. Which is more important than the other two? Should you weight them? Does each member of the BOT get to decide which factor controls. Does the personal interview matter? Does the person's vision matter? Does the candidate want to make changes to the status quo? Do some BOT members want to keep things the same and reject that person for those reasons? We can start by ensuring Penny Pritzker isn't anywhere close to the search committee.
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Post by Tom on Jan 3, 2024 12:03:17 GMT -5
Former President Gay has stepped down and will "settle" for her $800,000 salary as a tenured faculty member. Make no mistake, there are plenty of fellow-travelers up at Harvard (and beyond) that believe she is the latest victim of racial injustice. According to Newsweek Magazine, In the resignation letter, President Gay cited "personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus"
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Post by hcpride on Jan 3, 2024 12:09:01 GMT -5
What can Harvard, and all of us who are interested in higher education, learn from this debacle? Many folks already knew that public antisemitism on a college campus is unacceptable and that serial academic plagiarizing is unacceptable conduct for a college president. But, a few folks (prospective applicants and their parents, etc.) may have learned quite a bit about Harvard and its leadership and values by watching the slow-motion train wreck in Cambridge.
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Post by sader1970 on Jan 3, 2024 12:31:39 GMT -5
In case this hasn’t been posted previously, the Jewish president of Assumption University speaks out on behalf of Catholic colleges and universities in this turbulent time:
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Jan 3, 2024 13:11:47 GMT -5
Amazing- very interesting reading.
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Jan 3, 2024 13:37:26 GMT -5
Several points. Gay's immediate compensation prior to becoming President. Her compensation amount was based on her position as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, not as a tenured professor. This is an administrative position. The provost, and now interim President, Allan Garber, made nearly $950,000, for being provost, not for being a member of the tenured faculty. For 2021-22, the average salary of a full professor at Harvard was $253,000, Source: www.univstats.com/salary/harvard-university/faculty/Assuming she returns to being a tenured full professor, her compensation will be closer to $250,000 than $900,000. --------------------------- Re; $5 billion 'profit' in 2022 for Harvard in fiscal 2022. The source is supposedly Form 990s. I can find no such number in Harvard's Consolidated Financial Statement for 2022. The operating surplus was $400 million. From memory, which can be flawed, HC's operating surplus was around $8 million. As a percentage of the total endowment value, HC's and Harvard's operating surplus is about the same. As a percentage of total net assets (excluding the endowment), Harvard's is higher than HC's. ---------------------- Regarding the 'naming' of the College of the Holy Cross. Very truncated version Jesuits suppressed in France in 1764. Jesuits had engaged in a large commercial enterprise to underwrite the cost of educating the bourgeois families in France, particularly in Ile de France. The enterprise was based on income derived from operating great plantations in the West Indies. These plantations primarily cultivated and refined sugar, and exclusively employed slave labor. At the start of the Seven Years' War, the British Navy seized ships enroute to France with their cargo of sugar, and spices. The Jesuits had been paid in advance for this cargo, had already spent the money, and now were bankrupt. The commercial bankruptcy was one of several key factors that resulted in their suppression in France. As a result of the suppression in France, the King of France and the Holy See no longer had Jesuit missionaries to bring Catholicism to the New World. The colonies were Protestant and English, and France had ceded Canada to the English in 1763. It appears that French secular priests were then enlisted to replace the Jesuits in this missionary endeavor. One such priest was Claude Bouchard de la Poterie who arrived in Boston in 1788. In Abbe Bouchard's pocket was a relic, a fragment of wood from the True Cross found by St. Helena, the mother of Constantine, Roman emperor, the In Hoc Signo Vinces guy. Except that Abbe Bouchard's relic was a fraud, likely manufactured by him in the West Indies. Regardless, Abbe Bouchard establishes the first Catholic church in Boston, the first in Massachusetts, and IIRC, the first in New England. He names the church, the Church of the Holy Cross, and displays the relic as an object of veneration. (Bouchard de la Poterie well knew that the veneration of relics could be a substantial source of revenue. See, for example, the purpose-built L' eglise de la Sainte-Croix on Ile-de-la-Cite in Paris, adjacent to Notre Dame de Paris.) The Church of the Holy Cross became the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in 1808. The College is named by Benedict Fenwick after the Cathedral.
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Jan 3, 2024 13:42:06 GMT -5
Holy Cross did not admit non-Catholics until 1942.
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Post by alum on Jan 3, 2024 14:15:49 GMT -5
--------------------------- Re; $5 billion 'profit' in 2022 for Harvard in fiscal 2022. The source is supposedly Form 990s. I can find no such number in Harvard's Consolidated Financial Statement for 2022. The operating surplus was $400 million. From memory, which can be flawed, HC's operating surplus was around $8 million. As a percentage of the total endowment value, HC's and Harvard's operating surplus is about the same. As a percentage of total net assets (excluding the endowment), Harvard's is higher than HC's.
Looking at the most recent and several prior 990s , I see that around half of the revenue is from "sale of assets." Not being an accountant, I have no idea what that means on a tax return like this vs on an audited financial statement but I suspect that this is where the discrepancy you identify is found.
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Post by rgs318 on Jan 3, 2024 14:16:43 GMT -5
Holy Cross did not admit non-Catholics until 1942. What is the source of this insight?
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Jan 3, 2024 17:16:06 GMT -5
Holy Cross did not admit non-Catholics until 1942. What is the source of this insight? Fr. K's book, or a video HC made with him about the history of HC. Can't remember which. HC would have closed but for the Federal government and training young men to become naval officers in WWII. The Federal government was not about to let HC discriminate against Protestants, Jews, Buddhists, the Eastern Orthodox, atheists, etc. Boston College began admitting women, albeit to selected degrees/programs, in 1924. About 50 years before HC. HC may have been among the last of the Jesuit colleges and universities to admit women. Notre Dame admitted women coincident with HC, but Notre Dame also had St. Mary's. St. Mary's is also about as old as Notre Dame. So HC may have been one of the most monolithic Catholic institutions through much of the 20th Century: almost exclusively white, all-male, exclusively Catholic. The old proverb admonishing those who are throwing stones while living in glass houses comes to mind...........
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Jan 3, 2024 17:22:48 GMT -5
--------------------------- Re; $5 billion 'profit' in 2022 for Harvard in fiscal 2022. The source is supposedly Form 990s. I can find no such number in Harvard's Consolidated Financial Statement for 2022. The operating surplus was $400 million. From memory, which can be flawed, HC's operating surplus was around $8 million. As a percentage of the total endowment value, HC's and Harvard's operating surplus is about the same. As a percentage of total net assets (excluding the endowment), Harvard's is higher than HC's.
Looking at the most recent and several prior 990s , I see that around half of the revenue is from "sale of assets." Not being an accountant, I have no idea what that means on a tax return like this vs on an audited financial statement but I suspect that this is where the discrepancy you identify is found. If the basis is asset sales, that would include the sale of stocks, other financial instruments in the endowment / retirement portfolios. Net assets for both Harvard and HC includes each school's retirement system, which has, relatively speaking, a substantial amount of funds to underwrite pensions / other retirement benefits. I believe both schools have a defined benefit retirement system.
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Jan 3, 2024 18:04:21 GMT -5
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Post by Sons of Vaval on Jan 3, 2024 20:01:28 GMT -5
No kidding but how do we know which person is best? As I mentioned, a BOT could consider scholarship, leadership, or fundraising. I think that they probably consider all of those. Which is more important than the other two? Should you weight them? Does each member of the BOT get to decide which factor controls. Does the personal interview matter? Does the person's vision matter? Does the candidate want to make changes to the status quo? Do some BOT members want to keep things the same and reject that person for those reasons? We can start by ensuring Penny Pritzker isn't anywhere close to the search committee. Speaking of the Pritzkers, Tom looks to have made trips to Epstein Island.
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Post by hc6774 on Jan 3, 2024 20:12:48 GMT -5
What is the source of this insight? Fr. K's book, or a video HC made with him about the history of HC. Can't remember which. HC would have closed but for the Federal government and training young men to become naval officers in WWII. The Federal government was not about to let HC discriminate against Protestants, Jews, Buddhists, the Eastern Orthodox, atheists, etc. In the summer of ’43, 600 V-12 program sailors selected by the Navy came on campus. The non-Catholics were advised that daily Mass was not required. The program was 18 months of college level courses; then sent to midshipmen school for 3 months before commissioning. Boston College began admitting women, albeit to selected degrees/programs, in 1924. About 50 years before HC. HC may have been among the last of the Jesuit colleges and universities to admit women. Notre Dame admitted women coincident with HC, but Notre Dame also had St. Mary's. St. Mary's is also about as old as Notre Dame. So HC may have been one of the most monolithic Catholic institutions through much of the 20th Century: almost exclusively white, all-male, exclusively Catholic. The old proverb admonishing those who are throwing stones while living in glass houses comes to mind...........
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Post by hcpride on Jan 3, 2024 22:24:20 GMT -5
One suspects she resigned because The Harvard Corporation told her to. Because she was an embarrassment to the university. But that would make for a rather boring (and brief) NYT essay.
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Post by td128 on Jan 4, 2024 7:33:10 GMT -5
I appreciate and respect all the thoughtful points made here at what has to be the single best board of this sort in the country.
I revert back, though, to my original premise and would state that just as our good name is our greatest asset the same holds true for the crowd in Cambridge. That name, "HARVARD" is worth a lot for a number of reasons.
Think what some might pay to have a Harvard 'stamp of approval' so to speak or an alliance with this institution. All of which begs the question, have those overseeing this institution sold that name, compromised both the institution and perhaps far more than that up to and including our national security?
How to address and ascertain some insights and perspectives on those questions? Follow the money.
I view this as studying the forest while the other topics bandied about relative to Ms. Gay et al are akin to the trees. To be perfectly frank, I view Ms. Gay as little more than a pawn or puppet while the Members of the Harvard Corporation are the puppeteers. Who are the puppeteers playing for and what are they looking to achieve? Are the activities involved consistent with an institution that has the benefit of being tax-exempt?
Let's reflect again on what I believe is the most damning statement re Harvard within the WB Submission: "behaves more like a cartel with a hedge fund attached than a university . . . "
Does anybody know why Holy Cross does not include a Schedule B when filing its annual 990 Tax Form so as to highlight the largest donors and contributions? www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f990ezb.pdf
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Post by alum on Jan 4, 2024 8:35:14 GMT -5
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Jan 4, 2024 8:46:09 GMT -5
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Post by mm67 on Jan 4, 2024 8:51:29 GMT -5
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Jan 4, 2024 9:00:06 GMT -5
The President of the Baupost Group, and chair of its management committee, is also the vice-chair of the Board of Trustees of Holy Cross. The vice chair of the BoT will likely become the chair in several years.
The Baupost Group is a successful hedge fund.
I'll leave it at that.
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Post by sader1970 on Jan 4, 2024 9:10:28 GMT -5
67, you are now ready to announcer Bucknell athletic events!
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Post by td128 on Jan 4, 2024 9:14:41 GMT -5
Although many do disclose so it is interesting that Holy Cross would not. I would think many would appreciate knowing which companies, organizations, foundations et al contribute to Alma Mater. Simply so as to know that there are no conflicts of interest or otherwise questionable situations. Again, all simply for the purpose of protecting our greatest asset, that is, our GOOD name. I would imagine/hope that most -- and hopefully all -- of the college's largest donors would welcome having their name made public as a sign of their support and belief in the college and its Mission.
Wouldn't you think?
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Post by sader1970 on Jan 4, 2024 9:33:18 GMT -5
Well, look outside the front of Hogan for the Cornerstone Society members who've given at least $1 million (small potatoes nowadays) and whose names are carved in stone. Others, like the Luths, Park Smith, Edward Bennett Williams and his wife have their names on the buildings and their tens of millions donated are not a secret. And then, of course, we have Cornelius Prior . . . . 'nuf said.
Holy Cross is not like Harvard, Princeton, Yale who have people donating hundreds of millions. I lose no sleep over this subject. Again, might be just me but I have enough other things that can keep me awake at night.
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