Granholm eyed to lead Wayne State

**French777** · August-05-10, 02:16 PM

http://www.freep.com/article/2010080...ed-to-lead-WSU

**Homer** · August-05-10, 02:24 PM

IMHO this would not be a high enough profile position for her. DC or Judgeship seems more likely, but what do I know.

**jcole** · August-05-10, 02:25 PM

Depends on if she wants to leave Michigan or not, I guess

**5speedz34** · August-05-10, 02:37 PM

As a Wayne State student I don't think she would be a terrible choice but I don't know if I would want someone from outside "Academia." Honestly though, what skills does one need to be president of a major research university?

**Mikeg** · August-05-10, 02:50 PM

I don't think she would be a terrible choice

There's a ringing endorsement!

....what skills does one need to be president of a major research university?

If you're referring to WSU, from the names floated in that article it appears all you need to have in the way of credentials is to be a "retired" Democrat politician.

**firstandten** · August-05-10, 03:38 PM

Originally Posted by Homer

IMHO this would not be a high enough profile position for her. DC or Judgeship seems more likely, but what do I know.

This might have to do. I don't think she's an Obama insider as one might believe.
Remember she supported Hillary, And I don't think he was all that happy by the way she dragged her feet with Kwame. This was during the time that the state was a toss-up and Obama was not sure he was going to win the state.

I believe the best Granholm would ever get from Obama is a sub-cabinet position

**5speedz34** · August-05-10, 03:47 PM

Originally Posted by firstandten

This might have to do. I don't think she's an Obama insider as one might believe.
Remember she supported Hillary, And I don't think he was all that happy by the way she dragged her feet with Kwame. This was during the time that the state was a toss-up and Obama was not sure he was going to win the state.

I believe the best Granholm would ever get from Obama is a sub-cabinet position

I really tend to disagree, after he became president-elect she was part of his "automotive task force" and his president-elect team. I think any animosity has been resolved.

**Ray1936** · August-05-10, 04:31 PM

Originally Posted by 5speedz34

As a Wayne State student I don't think she would be a terrible choice but I don't know if I would want someone from outside "Academia." Honestly though, what skills does one need to be president of a major research university?

Seems like the major job of nearly any college president is fund raising.

Hey, that's the American way, y'know.

**kathy2trips** · August-05-10, 04:48 PM

Why doesn't she go back to California and mess up one of their schools...preferably her beloved University of California, Berkeley?

**mwilbert** · August-06-10, 06:52 AM

If she wanted the job, she would make perfect sense as head of Wayne. As Ray1936 pointed out, the main job of a university president is fund raising. This is also the main job of a politician, so it could be an excellent fit. In the case of a state university, you also want to be able to get money from the legislature, and Granholm probably would be as good as anyone at that. Wayne could also use someone with a higher profile as president.

One possible problem is that universities generally choose someone with a PhD as president, and so far as I know she doesn't have one, but that isn't an invariable requirement, particularly with former politicians.

**guito13** · August-06-10, 09:41 AM

Crap, I better get on the fast track with my MBA there before she gets in and blows me away

**kryptonite** · August-06-10, 11:29 AM

Originally Posted by guito13

Crap, I better get on the fast track with my MBA there before she gets in and blows me away

Ha! that was a poor quote on her part. I still say her speeches often have a "dumb down" quality to them and remind me of our late president Duh-bya.

As much as I have disapproved of Granholm even though I voted for her once, I think her bungling of state leadership was at least done with benevolent intent. Bush just seemed to want the run the country like a far right-wing dictator, and an incompetent one at that. Granholm at least appears want to do the right things, but also lacks competence. She wouldn't be a good president of a major university in my opinion, her leadership of the state has left much to be desired.

but I wonder if she could run against Cox? To me Granholm would be great for that job. She does appear to know judicial process well.

**casscorridor** · August-06-10, 11:43 AM

If she could do big time fundraising I think she would be good. And she is a huge name, it would generate mad publicity for WSU.

I would like to see an expansion of the student population, and especially the percentage of students living on campus. The university could be at the center of the center in Detroit. The place where the redevelopment is flowing from. This is sort of the direction it has already taken, along with DMC, HFH in terms of Midtown, which is becoming more of a center than Downtown. Granholm could be a big booster for Detroit. And hopefully Benero beats Snyder and we have an urban agenda. They could work together to redevelop Detroit. But hey, maybe I'm just crazy. After all, they are democrats and love to talk and do nothing.

**kryptonite** · August-06-10, 11:53 AM

Very true, WSU is a critical part of the Midtown phenomenon - WSU, DMC, HFHS, CCS, etc. are coalescing into an impressive urban complex. Also linked to those entities are the Cultural Center insitutions, WSU theaters, The DSO/Max Fisher Center, various churches, and the impending loop project.

Altogether the various pieces of the Midtown puzzle hold a great deal of potential to help drive the future of the city. With an impressive entertainment industry Downtown, the Cass Corridor/Midtown area promises to become a center of education, arts, technology, medicine, etc.

WSU needs a leader that can work well with the other critical Midtown personalities and politicians. The future of that entire area is very promising.

**drjeff** · August-06-10, 12:14 PM

As a faculty member at WSU, I'm not really in favor of any politicians leading the University. The academic world is very different from the business world, so I'm not in favor of businesspeople having anything to do with it either.

WSU has been leading the transformation of midtown and I am amazed at how much has been done in a fairly short period of time. There are plans for more of this and I think they are good plans.

The major concern at WSU is obviously revenue- we have very, very low tuition compared to UM and MSU despite being a major research university as they are [[and actually ranked higher than MSU as a research medical school.) Getting more money from the state is obviously not going to happen in the near future, so the only ways to increase revenue are by raising tuition and increasing enrollment, both of which are desirable, but raising tuition is political kryptonite. The new president will have his/her hands full and it is not a job for someone with no knowledge of how an academic institution works.

**Fiddler** · August-06-10, 12:42 PM

In five years, Wayne State will be blown away.

**kryptonite** · August-06-10, 01:15 PM

[quote=drjeff;170539] but raising tuition is political kryptonite. quote]

I think I love you...

Thanks for the honorable mention!

**Jimaz** · August-06-10, 01:41 PM

Granholm not candidate for Wayne State presidency

**1KielsonDrive** · August-06-10, 08:40 PM

Originally Posted by 5speedz34

I really tend to disagree, after he became president-elect she was part of his "automotive task force" and his president-elect team. I think any animosity has been resolved.

If Granholm was a republicrat, Obama would've nominated her for a top level cabinet post in an attempt at reaching across the aisle and bi-partisanship.

**9936Sussex** · August-13-10, 02:55 PM

Kryptonite: I believe Granholm was AG before she ran for Governor.

**jerrytimes** · August-13-10, 04:09 PM

And now Wayne State will go into the sh!tter. Great.

**Stinger4me** · August-14-10, 07:10 AM

If she takes the job maybe the School of Medicine could remove the ugly warts. Then she could take the university to the same level she took the state to.