No one on the Harding campus today has a bigger rolodex than Cheri Yecke. Her political connections are impeccable, especially for the political connections the university would deem key. She has a PhD from the University of Virginia. She's smart, tough, and PR-savvy in a way that is currently lacking in the HU administration. Her fundraising abilities would be superb. In any other university, selecting Yecke as the university's next president would be a no-brainer. But Harding is no ordinary university. For the most part, it still must feel like its president can go into churches of Christ and preach, an outmoded view of CoC higher ed that needs to be put to bed. The job of a university president is to manage and fundraise. Period. Do you really think there's anyone better on the HU campus to do this than Cheri Yecke? We at HPS think not. But until the Churches of Christ get a little less misogynistic, she's hit her glass ceiling at HU.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Cheri Yecke
Let's face it: Cheri Yecke has no chance to become Harding's next president. Is it because she's too conservative? Absolutely not. One can't be too conservative for the Harding presidency. It it because she's too liberal? Of course not. She's Sarah Palin with a Church of Christ pedigree. Is it because she's incapable? No, she ran the state school systems of Florida and Minnesota. It's because of one reason and one reason alone: she's a she.
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I see that the 3rd tier institutional mentality continues by looking at this list. I am okay with Long. But come on -- this is not good.
ReplyDeleteEcarson, we'll address Long's chances in a later post. In sum, he's a bit too old and (more importantly) he likely doesn't want it.
ReplyDeleteWould she really count as Harding insider since she has only worked at Harding for only a few years?
ReplyDeleteI wonder if her short tenure at Harding would be another strike against her. Only three years of service pales in comparison to the lengthy pedigree of other candidates
ReplyDeleteI agree with you regarding Long. Why not go outside of the HU family to promote some type of diversity? It does not seem healthy to always look from within? I have always read and been told that in academia, inbreeding showcases the academic weakness of an institution. Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteThis is sad.
ReplyDeleteHer ties to Harding are much longer than her employment there. Both of her daughters attended Harding (with a year of overlap between them) 1994-2001 and were accomplished, involved students. She has had some relationship with Harding (Parent/Faculty) for almost two decades.
ReplyDeletehow likely do you think it actually is that Cheri Yecke (or any other female candidate) will actually land on an official list, versus the search only including male candidates?
ReplyDeleteI'd be horrified if she were to be the next president! Who do you think was behind the (national) flap over removing the Komen products from the HU Bookstore?
ReplyDeleteShe would be a micromanager, trusting no one to do their job. Trust me, I've watched her since she's been at HU.
A terrible choice!
Girl, do you even know how the Susan B. Komen “flap” went down or are you just repeating gossip? Dr. Yecke is, in fact, NOT the person responsible for removing the merchandise.
ReplyDeleteA concerned student went to talk to Dr. Yecke. The student showed Dr. Yecke the material she had been trying to get published in The Bison that supported her case, but the student’s request for an editorial or print debate had been denied. All Dr. Yecke did was call a higher-up and warn them that there might be people publicly raising issues about the merchandise – something she did to AVOID EMBARASSMENT AND A PUBLIC RELATIONS HEADACHE FOR THE SCHOOL. Again, Dr. Yecke is NOT the one who pulled the merchandise; she never even requested it.
She acted exactly how a Dean should in that situation. She perceived a potential problem (i.e.: the debate over the politics of the Susan B. Komen Foundation becoming an issue in a more public way) and she alerted the people who handle that sort of thing for the university so that they might be ready to handle any backlash. It was someone else completely who demanded that the items be pulled from the store and it was THAT person's actions and others' subsequent handling of the matter that caused it to become an issue.
Was the whole incident unfortunate? Absolutely. But Dr. Yecke was most definitely NOT the person who caused it. Please get your facts straight next time.