Jay- If this story
is true, I hope that all the people who were antagonistic to Olson and the
direction of NIU are now satisfied. Not that I expect that they will be,
but they got their wish. Congrats, guys...you forced a man out of his
job. Nice going!
David O- Yes, a few
internet miscreants steer the ship of a whole university. If that's
the case, they have bigger problems than the ones their critics have been
alleging.
GregH- If it was
not the rabid bloggers that made the difference, what did make the difference?
So let them pat themselves on the back for a while. They won a battle though I
don't think there is much evidence they are winning the war.
Such is the nonsense being spewed at SI of late. Do these guys really think that a couple of bloggers really brought down Matt Olson? Really? You guys don’t think very highly of the current board members by such foolish statements. You make the board out to be some kind of marionette puppets with the bloggers pulling the strings behind the scenes. No NIU board of director ever contacted this blogger and I haven’t contact any board member. As a matter of fact, I don’t even know who is on the board of directors. The above listed commentators are only fooling themselves with such nonsensical keyboard ranting. Instead they are trying to shift the blame about the departure of Matt Olson from NIU. Obviously, Matt Olson caused his own departure…that we do know. Why the board dismissed Matt Olson…that remains the unknown and it is foolish to try to state facts when none are known at this time.
To be
quite honest in reply, right now no one knows exactly why the board
released Matt Olson at their April 25th meeting and made his
departure effective May 11th; a rather short time by most anyone’s
standards. What does this mean? We don’t know and at this point in time with
all the dust still up in the air we won’t know for a while. We do know that
much of what Matt Olson instituted is still at this time operative, but we don’t
know if those things will continue long term. We do know that when a new
president is announced a sense of the direction which the board is desirous of
taking will be made known.
It will
be difficult for the institution to remain a viable place of education
regardless of the direction, whether continuing on its present course initiated
by Matt Olson, but under the helm of another or if they seek to return to their
former course. To remain on their current course but with a new president still
has the challenge of gathering a new clientele of churches for the student
population. If a return is sought to their former course, they are confronted
with credibility, integrity issues in trying to regain that former clientele of
churches, not to mention the faculty and staff necessary to put them back on
their former footing.
No, the
future of NIU is, I believe, tottering, like an inverted triangle trying to balance
itself on a corner. Either of the two scenarios I give knock the structure
over, possibly collapsing it irreparably. The equilateral triangle is one of
the most stable geometric designs…when placed on a side, but is also one of the
most unstable when trying to balance on a corner. NIU shifted off its base and
has been tottering on a corner. The outcome doesn’t look pretty and that is a
tragedy, for I do not take joy or find any sense of satisfaction should NIU
cease to exist. Like other institutions which have left their solid foundation,
it forms yet another sad chapter in history.
7 comments:
DavidO comment was sarcastic, I believe, in direct response to Jay. He was saying the opposite. Just a clarification, brother.
Thank you, Ben, for the effort in clarification of DavidO's comment at SI. I can see that he intended it to be sarcastic.
Brian:
Thanks for sharing your perspective on Olson's termination by the NIU board. At present the board is made up of people who are in support of NIU's changes. Therefore, I highly doubt we'll see a course correction and I also believe that it is only a matter of time before NIU joins PIllsbury in demise.
Lou
Hello, Brian. It's too bad. But you know, whatever the board thinks the future direction should be, you can't have someone continually saying, "We haven't changed," when he is changing.
It's an integrity / ethics issue. If a student went to Northland on that "no change" assurance, they have been harmed. Matt Olson was one people trusted.
I'm not saying that he had an intent to deceive. That's between him and the Lord, I guess. But he has to take responsibility for his assurances that nothing was changing.
We'll get the usual cries of "foul" from those who liked the direction. But whatever direction you are going to go, Biblical leadership means you make it clear to the people you want to lead, rather than leaving them feeling like you've been pulling wool over their eyes. That perception has been made far worse by the removal of press releases, pictures, videos, etc. If they are going to pursue a more broadly evangelical path, they need to do so openly and transparently, so students and churches can make informed decisions.
It's tough days for people at NIU. I've suspected that not everyone was on the same page, and that's why things have been posted, then pulled down, etc. They'd better get on the same page, decide what they are going to be, and let everyone know, and they'd better do it quickly, or they won't have anything left except some buildings. Perhaps it is already too late.
Remember that NBBC/NIU had a tough road before all this started. The death of Papa Patz and his financial support left an uncertain future in any event. Not to mention the declining economy and other factors that are hurting the enrollment at all fundamental schools. Even the ones in "good places" with "good standards" are suffering.
So it is entirely possible, and perhaps even likely, that "staying the course" would have resulted in hard times, dwindling student body, and closure even without the changes.
So I would at least be cautious to tying the future of NIU too closely to the changes. It may be that, but it may not be. Ultimately we will never know, probably.
Anonymous, while the economy certainly has/is playing a part in the decreased enrollment across the board at our colleges the happenings at NIU over the past 2 1/2-3 years is also bearing fruit increasing that decline in enrollment. I know from personal experience, had NIU "stayed the course" and not turned left as they had, they would still be an acceptable institution to encourage our young people to attend. Instead, they are not. I have a young man who last attended 2008, he is not returning on his own accord. He has viewed the happenings at NIU since he was there in disbelief. I know of other churches who have likewise followed suit and encouraged their young people to attend elsewhere. So no, it's not the economy that has caused the down turn of some 50% of the student body population from 2008 to 2013. Other institutions have not seen similar percentages in their drop of enrollment.
To Joe Fox,
Try engaging the issues presented. Try actually reading the articles rather than attempting clairvoyance at what the author is saying. This and other blogs have brought to the fore happenings at NIU which they are reluctant to showcase to us their constituents. Our colleges serve the local churches, not the other way around. What happens at those institutions is critical to the local churches who send their young people to those institutions to further their education and prepare them to serve the Lord. When directions change, it's time to make those changes known. You may very well agree with the changes that have happened at NIU, bully for you. I do not and I will voice my concerns just as those who think the changes are good voice their support.
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