On Campus - Tuesday, October 13, 2009 8:30 - 0 Comments
Dean: J-Sex Deserves Nobel Prize For Transforming “Moribund” NYU
All the hoopla around President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize has got the Washington Post wondering: if there were a Nobel Leadership Prize (y’know, for people who have actually done stuff), who would be most deserving?
University of Arizona Dean Paul R. Portney suggests that President John Sexton — hereby and always known as J-Sex — would be a worthy nominee. Although Portney, who holds the University Halle Chair in Leadership (whatever that means), would ultimately nominate Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, he praises Sexton “for showing that truly inspired academic leadership can turn around even large and moribund academic institutions.” (mor-i-bund – adjective: in a dying state; near death.)
Featured, On Campus - Monday, October 5, 2009 15:30 - 3 Comments
Decoding Sexton’s Marathon of a Welcome Message
Though I have never had the honor of taking one of his classes, John Sexton has certainly taught me a thing or two about writing. If you don’t want thousands of people to read information you are obligated to give them, sandwich it between a litany of banal greetings and vague references to your hopes and dreams for the future. Sexton’s belated welcome message (midterms this week!) is nearly 3,000 words long and covers the budget, infrastructure, NYU Abu Dhabi, NYU Poly, appointments, fundraising and student wellness. With minimal comment, here are the main points Sexton makes:
NYU is doing better than most colleges during the recession, but that still isn’t great. Sexton seems pretty annoyed about some obscure law that means NYU has 30 million agonizingly untouchable dollars in endowments. However, NYU is saving tens of millions of dollars thanks to “re-engineering efforts” (creepiest euphemism ever) introduced over the summer.
“Though less dire than when I wrote you last, the national and regional economy remains in difficult shape, and this is having and will continue to have an impact on all of the higher education sector; NYU will not escape this reality.”
Sexton claims NYU’s student per square foot ratio is significantly lower than other colleges, which is surprising given today’s post on our growing student body. Sexton recognizes the dissatisfaction of Greenwich Villagers with NYU’s immense presence in the area, so his solution is to dissociate the campus.
“Our strategic space planning initiative aims to provide a 25-year pathway for developing… 3 million square feet in the area close to our campus, and 3 million square feet in more removed locations such as the health and medical corridor on the East Side (near our Medical Center), downtown Brooklyn (where Poly is located), and on Governors Island.”
Featured, On Campus - Friday, September 18, 2009 14:00 - 1 Comment
JSex to Stay On for At Least Seven More Years
Most of you probably got this email earlier today from NYU Board of Trustees Chair Martin Lipton:
A key responsibility of a board of trustees is ensuring the successful future
of the institution it guides. With that in mind, the NYU Board decided to
request that John Sexton serve as our University’s President until at least
2016. We are delighted to report that he has agreed to do so.In making its request to John, the Board focused on the University’s
exceptional progress over the past 30 years and specifically on its remarkable
advance during his time as President. The Board focused as well on the need to
ensure that the University has powerful and imaginative leadership in the
coming period, a time-frame that is sure to be challenging for research
universities in general and for NYU in particular. With John as its President
the Board is confident that the University is capable of securing and advancing
its position among the great universities not only of the United States but
also of the world.
Full text continues below the fold.
Continue…
On Campus - Monday, September 14, 2009 6:08 - 2 Comments
J.Sex-ier?
The New York Times ran a brief but surprisingly revelatory Sunday Routine piece on our very own John Sexton. Though frequently accused of plotting to take over the world, the article manages to simultaneously paint a softer and substantially sexier portrait of the NYU President.
On Campus - Friday, May 1, 2009 14:57 - 1 Comment
WNYU To Interview Sexton, Ask Student Questions
NYU’s on-campus radio station, WNYU, will be sitting down with JSex on Monday, May 4th at 8 AM for a quick 30 minute interview. The station wants your questions! Drop them in the comments over the weekend or tweet them @ers320.
The interview will air on Earshot, a current events show, on Thursday, May 7th at 7:30 PM. You can tune into 89.1 FM, stream the show from the website, or listen through iTunes (Radio/Eclectic/WNYU).
On Campus - Tuesday, November 11, 2008 8:18 - 13 Comments
Take Back NYU Passive Aggressively Monopolizes JSex Town Hall
Munching on the delicious white chocolate chip cookies that the school provided, I wondered what JSex would be like. Prior to last night’s Town Hall event, I had never seen him person. In my head was the image of JSex walking into the auditorium, immaculately dressed, stoic and with a take-no-shit attitude, trailed by a large posse. Instead, I saw a genial fiftyish man saunter in with a smile on his face, dressed in a Brooklyn Prep blue sweatshirt with a grey cowboy hat. Not what I was expecting.
But then again, neither was the Town Hall itself. The meeting quickly devolved into a shouting match between JSex and members of Take Back NYU, who were essentially accusing him of deliberately deceiving the school.
I didn’t realize that TBNYU was in the audience until I noticed that there were a few students pointedly trying to ignore everything JSex was saying. One of them was reading a newspaper, noisily turning the pages with an unnecessary vigor. Another was drawing on a poster board, which didn’t even make sense. Why would these people come to a town hall if they weren’t going to pay attention?
And then they opened their mouths. Continue…
