FSU Names New President, Eric Barron
Barron was widely considered the best candidate of the 19 who were originally considered. He has an impressive resume that includes research and administrative duties. He killed his interview the other day.
Here is is bio from FSU.edu:
Eric J. Barron — director, National Center for Atmospheric Research (2008-present). Previously served as dean of the Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin (2006-2008); dean, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Pennsylvania State University (2002-2006); and professor of geosciences, Pennsylvania State University. (1989); Received his bachelor's degree in geology from Florida State in 1973.
This is good for the state of FSU athletics, as I wrote a couple months ago we need to find someone who will stay out of the athletic department's way. Barron has no connection to football at all, he is purely an academic candidate. This is great news especially for all of us that are alumni. He is very respected in the scientific community. The National Research center that he runs is a gigantic campus which will help him transition into the job. As a research institution Florida State's Board of Trustees decided to make the right call and pursue an academic candidate.
People I know who have met him say that he is very charismatic which is helpful in raising funds. He raised funds at Penn State and Texas which are both bigger and better schools than FSU. Most people in Tallahassee have been genuinely impressed over the last week. He has experience in speaking with legislators in Washington as well. This is a very good hire, academically and administratively.
7 months ago
SWFLNole.
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Honestly I hope he is comitted to Academics
and that he replaces our current AD with a competent one who can handle the athletics. Wish we could have Hart back.
by BS37FSU on Dec 8, 2009 4:13 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Bobby and TK
forced him out with the cheating scandal
"Reporter: What will you tell the team at halftime Bobby?
Bobby: I'll tell 'em what I always tell 'em when were winning. Boys if they don't score we'll win this game"
The Indoor Practice Facility
Will be taken care of by the new AD….Don’t get frustrated that a RESEARCH university hired a researcher. Which would you rather have, someone in bed with the head coach, or someone who will evaluate and make informed decisions.
"Reporter: What will you tell the team at halftime Bobby?
Bobby: I'll tell 'em what I always tell 'em when were winning. Boys if they don't score we'll win this game"
guess
but you can’t possibly think that if bobby and TK are gone that Spetman will stay…
"Reporter: What will you tell the team at halftime Bobby?
Bobby: I'll tell 'em what I always tell 'em when were winning. Boys if they don't score we'll win this game"
I think Spetman showed good decision-making
with the volleyball and softball hires. I think TK told him to stfu in regards to football.
My concern is that Spetman is very much a 'Yes' man due to his military background
and he leaned on TK for direction. With a new president who will in all likelyhood be hands off with athletics will he have the ability to make important decisions on his own.
The volleyball and softball hires were great but in the end it is still volleyball and softball. Maybe we should give him a chance and see if he can get out from under TK’s shadow.
It's a beautiful day in Tallahassee
I was ready to give Spetman the benefit of the doubt...
…until the embarrassing way that the whole Bowden retirement was handled. He should be fired for that atrocity alone…
In bed with the head coach of course!
Dont forget who we are….“Bobby Bowden University” (Darnell Dockett)
I thought he might say that on sunday night when they introduced him in SNF
glad he still claimed FSU
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
My degree is going to look even more awesome in a few years. I love Florida State.
Welcome President Barron!
As academic rankings change, the value of a degree changes
He is inferring that our academics will get better under President Barron
365 days, until I change my ways.
Because Barron is highly regarded in the scientific world
And, uh, universities are big on science and research, so their opinion of FSU will go up. It could ONLY go up after TK, anyways.
Real question here
Will Randy Spetman learn to feed himself in time for the new president’s arrival? TK will have to start weaning him.
>>---l>
by DKfromVA on Dec 8, 2009 4:28 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
I revisted this article last night and found some of his reponses interesting especially since what has transpired between now and then
The Randy Spetman interview: uncut
My favorite:
OS: If you had to give yourself a grade for your first year or so on the job, what would it be?
RS: Guess I’d have to do the same thing I did when I was in school – I’d probably give myself a C+. It never seems to get any better than that (laughter). It has been an interesting year. The budget [has] really … taken me by surprise, and where we’re going to go. And I’ve done probably just above average. I think there’s a lot of other things we can do and be better. I haven’t lit anybody’s fire or [done] something extraordinary. I think the place is so well organized for the long term and the tradition here that it doesn’t need someone to come in here and turn the place upside down. And what we’ve tried to do is maintain, and make it better.
I wonder where he would grade himself today?
It's a beautiful day in Tallahassee
by RaysnNoles on Dec 8, 2009 4:33 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Nooooooooooo!
Everybody mentions that he’s an FSU grad, but I kept trying to found out where his PH.D. is from and nobody seems to mention it in any article. It turns out that he has a Master’s and a Ph.D. in Oceanography from the University of Miami. As far as image goes, it sure looks good for them, not so great for us.
most universities will not take a PHD student from the same school as the one they got there undergrad and masters from.
D'oh
Except we did that with TK. Bachelors, Masters and PhD. And his prior experience was TCC. So sad.
Hence why you said “most”.
I never said I want'd him to have his Ph.D. from FSU
Just from somewhere other than Da U. It makes it look like we’re lucky to have one of their illustrious grads running our Mickey Mouse operation. Ivy league would be preferred.
Miami has one of the best programs in the country in oceanography
So do we, for that matter. But I don’t think that should be of any consequence. Undergrad is an entirely different animal than grad.
Maybe not
Barron got his FSU BS in Geology. I was meaning to say that our earth sciences in general were pretty good at FSU (meteorology and oceanography), right?
Key word....
were good. There is a lot of frustration with the earth sciences at FSU. Stability is an unknown. In short I don’t want to get into a debate but the geology program, oceanography program and meteorology program have been combined against wishes and will be a new department in the summer. The provost set to the destruction of the oceanography department and was trying to take out the geology department with it. In the fall next year there is supposed to be undergraduate degrees in for each discipline but nothing is concrete yet.
"You play to WIN the GAME"
I don't see any problem in condensing the earth sciences into one department
I did hear they were considering dropping geology as a major. Didn’t hear the last word on that. I still thought grad programs in meteorology and oceanography were strong though.
They’ve already combined colleges and they will likely combine a few more departments or something due to the shrinking budgets.
The issue
was the firing of well-renown tenured faculty. The oceanography program has been hammered. Meteorology can’t hire faculty to replace the ones that have left or leaving and yet this new department is supposed to field a new major and now the professors have to over extend themselves further to cover for faculty that have left due to a number of different reasons while still producing quality research.
"You play to WIN the GAME"
In short, yes.
One of my degrees was in Environmental Studies (offered through the Geogrpahy Dept.), and I spent a fair amount of time in the Oceanography Dept. as a result. The faculty that was there was great, and along with their grad students, they were doing good research. Additionally, the Geology Dept. owns the Antarctic Research Facility, and the only facility comparable to that is in Germany. Likewise, after my MS in the Geography Dept. (outstanding research going on there, though I am biased), I heard that they were on last year’s axe list due to the budget problems, but i Have not heard anything else regarding closure.
I would love to have every major and discipline and the best professors
But not even the Harvards are doing that.
I, by no means, am in the position to say what cuts should or should not be made. I just hope there was good reason for the cuts you’re talking about and that they don’t hurt the programs in the long haul.
Its more difficult but I know at least one writer here who would disagree
My professors have asked me to enter the PhD track and I did my undergrad at FSU as well
365 days, until I change my ways.
Before I graduated
I was looking at Phd. schools, basically the professor of the lab i was working in, told me not to apply to FSU. He called “Academic Inbreeding”.
"One score and fourteen years ago FSU brought us Bobby Bowden, a future legend, conceived in winning fashion, and dedicated to the proposition that all Seminoles are better than gators and 'canes" - Abra'Nole Lincoln
by Abra'Nole Lincoln on Dec 8, 2009 6:41 PM EST up reply actions
looks great for us.
shouldnt matter to FSU where he got his PhD. we finally have an academic that will make concrete decisions that better FSU’s academic reputation. i think we can all agree TK was in way over his head. i wonder if TK was asked to resign. i mean, the BOT must have known we needed someone of greater caliber to lead our school than him.
WHO GIVES A CRAP
where his degrees are from?
Guy is a DYNAMITE researcher. Mentioned the HUGE opportunity in health sciences, energy and materials sciences and research currently and the near future. Has dealt with budget cuts already at NCAR. Knows how to fundraise (did it extensively at Penn State and Texas, both better schools than FSU). Repeatedly said in his interview that FSU doesn’t “brag” about its accomplishments enough. Said that building lasting relationships with alumni, corporations and donors is KEY in sustaining programs, improving programs and more importantly, growing our endowment. Is big on the undergraduate experience.
The search committee, student committees and faculty committees all loved this guy. This guy is well regarded by his peers, and, I’ve heard (not sure if true), that he was recommended by a few applicants we went after and were denied by (like Mark Wrighton).
by tricknole on Dec 8, 2009 5:03 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
It shouldn't matter where his degree is from
but my understanding, which is imperfect, is that it does— to some degree. Our law school, for example, likes to see applicants with Ivy League degrees. Why? Perception by the public and other academics who control the rankings.
As a whole, FSU may generate many PhD’s, but note how few of our tenured staff members have their doctorates from FSU. Why? Same as above, plus there is a belief that degrees from other institutions lead to a a diversity of thought and experience that makes our school better and up to date.
In other words, it’s good for our rankings that his degree is from somewhere other than FSU, so we don’t look “inbred”. And while I might have preferred an Ivy or Patriot Leaguer myself, in his particular discipline, miami probably has one of the top schools.
I think the amount of publications the Profs. can generate have a lot to do with it
as well as the SBA student interviews of candidates.
You know how FSU selects law school students, right?
They pin all the students names up on the board on 5X7 sheets of paper.
Then they get a retarded midget half drunk, spin him around, hit him in the head with a frying pan, and have him throw darts at the board with the names.
If your name gets hit, congrats! You’re admitted!
That would certainly explain how I got in.
Of course, the profs then proceeded to lie to US about how our class was “handpicked by D’Almeberte” and a “watershed class” and all that.
But considering myself and my classmates, I’d have to go with your explanation.
I thought we were handpicked by Prof. Atkinson
I think he liked my application essay. I think I compared myself to Mikey from the Life cereal commercial.
I don't think the school on the diploma means as much as the experience
Yes, I would love to have a guy with his Bachelors from Stanford and his MD from Johns Hopkins, but what good is it if their resume looks like junk?
Obviously that’s a simplistic way to look at this. As for why our professors are mostly not from FSU…wasn’t FSU not that big into grad enrollment until the past 15 years or so? I thought FSU went through a huge enrollment boom in the 90s. Our graduate programs are currently going through a boom themselves. Speaking of law, our program isn’t even 45 years old. It’s just now reaching top 50 status. It’s safe to assume that when most of our law professors were going to school, FSU Law wasn’t well regarded, which could explain why most are not FSU grads.
I agree with most of what you say. Just explaining myself better, I think. But mainly I think this is a very good hire. Certainly there are better names out there, but most are already at better jobs, and the rest weren’t willing to apply for various reasons. Certainly a better hire than TK and better than Mel Martinez, Bill Law or Jim Smith would’ve been.
my understanding 20 years ago
was that FSU was much more of a graduate institution than uf— we produced many more PhD’s.
In the arts and performing arts?
I don’t see how I could agree with us being more of a graduate institution when UF had a better law school, a med school, pharmacy, dentistry, vet school, its own engineering school, architecture and journalism.
I know professional degrees are not PhD’s, but I just find it hard to believe with all that going for them that we had more PhD students.
I remember at graduation of all the PhDs handed out it seemed that 90% of them were music related
It's a beautiful day in Tallahassee
I also love the fact is he is an educator
not a politician. Too many public schools have politicians for presidents because they are good at raising money. You have no business being a president of a public institution if you have not been in research or education at some level. I like this hire.
What we do in life, echoes in eternity.
Cool...
He got his degree from FSU in Geology in 1973 and I got my BS in Geology in 1978 and an MS (in Geology as well) in 1981. Although we didn’t overlap we are both former denizens of Carraway Hall so there is a sort of brotherhood thing happening there. Beyond all that, I like the fact that he will obviously have a strong academic focus, and I especifically like the fact that he has a science background. As to the fact that he is also a Hurricane, it doesnt bother me. My guess is he has stronger feelings of loyalty to FSU than UM. I earned a PhD in Geology from UNC and, even though I was there during the great years of Jordan, Worthy, etc., and there was certainly alot to root for on the hardcourt, I remained a Seminole first and foremost. I have to admit that Football at Carolina was extremely boring then, especially compared to FSU. But what could be expected from a football team with a head coach named Dick Crum? I pull for Carolina except, of course, when they play FSU in anything. I think most people always hold their strongest loyalty to the school where they did their undergraduate work, kind of like first love!
scUM's Rosenstiel school of oceanography, marine, and atmospheric studies is probably the best college in the country and works closely with the NOAA.
>-----:----:------>Spear 'em then Scalp 'em
Really Nice Hire
I watched the bulk of his interview online last night and came away very impressed. He actually mentioned how he wants to beat UF in football in the interview, which I thought was great.
by Dent Street Nole on Dec 8, 2009 5:02 PM EST reply actions
I honestly thought he just said that to rally the troops
He did mention, in his experience, though, that good athletics help the donor profile of a university and the applicant pool of students. But athletics seemed more like an instrument he would use to enhance academics than a major focus of his presidency.
As a current graduate student studying Higher Education and Student Affairs,
I am very pleased with this hire. I have aspirations to return to FSU in a top-level sdministrative position well down the road, so I will be watching Barron closely to see how he does.
Great attributes in fund-raising, university development and advancement, research prowess, affability to improve faculty and staff morale (crucial), consensus-building (also crucial), and perhaps most important, he is student centered through all of it. I feel one of the most important qualities of a university president is staying grounded among students- do not put yourself on a pedestal, make yourself available. I think he will do well.
Only time will tell but I am pleased. Welcome President Barron!
Co-conductor of the "Kirby Smart for DC 2010" Train!!!!
Thank God!!!!
This man is highly respected, articulate, focused and very intelligent. It is what we need to bring FSU up to snuff as an ACC school. With the dips**t TK in there, we looked like an SEC school. And if you notice, no matter how their academic ranking stands, SEC schools just don’t have a very good image. If you want to see a comparison, watch the video of TK talking about the cheating scandal and the interview video of Barron.
TK was a powerful, crafty politician who was able to get himself into the position of President at FSU but (like many leaders) really didn’t know how to handle himself once he got there. The Peter Principle was in action with both he and Jeff Bowden.
I think he will put Football in its proper perspective at an academic institution.
http://s825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/unclefestus/
absolutely, for too long academics have taken a backseat to athletics at FSU.
i like his opinion that athletics should be used to enhance the school’s image for donations, applicants, etc…but athletics should not DEFINE an institution. TK was nothing more than a glorified athletic director. i’ve heard he’s a great guy, but was in WAY over his head. anyone have any insight as to if he was asked to resign or not?************
TK wasn't the worst thing that happened to FSU
TK had issues, don’t get me wrong. A little on the vindictive side every now and then among them. However, the improvements that were made in the buildings around campus as well as the general appearance of the campus was needed. It is nice to have modern classrooms as well as modern research facilities. These things were put in place under TK.
The guy wasn’t the best but he wasn’t the worst thing that ever happened to FSU either.
Just my 2 cents.
Sandy started most of the building improvements/new construction
Good things for FSU that TK directly had an impact in are differential tuition, the Legacy Walk and saving our symbol, the Seminoles. As for differential tuition, TK got lucky with this one. Machen, UF’s pres, took this idea before the Capitol, literally asking the state declare UF the flagship of Florida (there is no true flagship designate, currently) and to allow UF to raise tuition to the national average to better compete. Too many FSU politicians in office to allow this. So he recruited TK and this thing passed. I think the Legacy Walk will be nice for a returning alum or visiting parent/prospective student. I don’t think this project is anything world changing by any means. And obviously he kept us the Seminole name, but I think any doofus would’ve been able to do that.
TK may have been the president credited with the track building, swimming/diving facility and the materials science buildings finished up in the last year. I’m not sure. But things like the Psych buildings, new Bio, med school and Chem buildings were in the works before he came along.
I will also say that our US News rankings improved like 6 spots in his tenure and that our incoming freshman profile increased nicely. I’m not sure why the US News rankings improved, but with the budget cuts the last 2 years, we admitted less students and that lead to the dramatic improvements.
I’d grade TK out with a C.
But he didn't do that while president, which I thought is what we were talking about
He has his name on the stadium because of that, rightfully so.
And I'm glad you wrote this piece
And I’m even more glad that so many are taking an interest in this and seem to genuinely care about the direction of the institution as a whole.
My first post....
As the subject line states this is my first post so I would like to say hello to everyone… really glad I found this site. I’m a FSU alum and booster hoping for positive changes in our future.
I’m glad to read we hired the best candidate we could get… hoping he can reach the 1 Billion dollar amount / goal that has been laid down on him which was reported in the Alum paper. From his pedigree it seems he will do well, fingers crossed, for academics and our sporting activities (cough) (cough) Football (cough) (cough) :)
GO NOLES!
Welcome, glad to have you aboard!
Co-conductor of the "Kirby Smart for DC 2010" Train!!!!
by NoleThruandThru on Dec 8, 2009 8:01 PM EST up reply actions
Fundraising and setting in place demanding research benchmarks
We need to double our endowment and research if we want to be competitive. Well, if we want to be competitive with our ACC peers.
The Number 1 job of a good university president is FUNDRAISING!
and FSU needs MONEY. Can this guy go out and get the funds and raise the money FSU so desperately needs? Academics is 2nd or 3rd on the list of the priorities of a university president. Most of the academic direction of the university is left to the deans of the particular schools within the university.
Also looks like this guy is a major proponent of the global warming scam. Hope this turns out ok for FSU.
I just talked to a friend who used to work in the presidents office
And he said this guy was VERY charismatic and an extremely smooth talker. Excellent for fundaising.
My bad...I have to read most of these on a mobile
so I slip in and out. You’re the man SWFL. You’re not quite “Hammer” status, but well on your way
I was just messing, but he is charismatic indeed. Today was my last day in the President's office.
365 days, until I change my ways.
Global Warming Scam?
wow that’s one of the dumbest things I’ve read on this site.
As a Master's student in Meteorology
I can tell you that the field of Atmospheric Scientists ALL agree that there is global warming. The debate is whether of not it is anthropogenic or not. Many are not quick (I included) to think that the globe is warming at the rate a certain Al Gore seems to think and that there is no true way to determine the anthropogenic effect due to a lack of a control. Take what you here from Al Gore with a grain of salt. For instance do a google search and look at the direction of the “hurricane’s” rotation on the front cover….For those of you who are not well versed in meteorology and/or hurricanes his hurricane coming out of a smoke stack is spinning the wrong way for the northern hemisphere…
"You play to WIN the GAME"
*search on inconvenient truth.
"You play to WIN the GAME"
As a geologist,
my perception of climate is that the only constant is that climate is constantly changing and has been throughout geologic time, without any help from humans. Temperature and CO2 correlate poorly and erratically through time. There was a major ice age during the Ordivician yet CO2 concentrations are estimated to have been about 4400 ppm (CO2 is currently about 350 ppm). During most of the Mesozoic (age of dinosaurs) temps were much higher, there were minimal to no icecaps with sea levels much higher than today, and CO2 levels were around 800-1000 ppm, yet life flourished (no catastrophy until a unwanted visit from an asteroid at end of Mesozoic). Pretty sure there was no anthropogenic CO2 during either of these periods of earth history. I could also mention that flat temps over the last 1000 years with a rapid increase this century, as illustrated by the infamous “hockey stick” graph conveniently left out (or smoothed out) the high and low temp anomalies of the Mideaval Warm period and the little ice age. I could go on but SWFLNole is correct, we shouldnt do this here. I appologize but couldnt help myself.
by kanole on Dec 8, 2009 8:19 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
you mustve not heard that the british agencies' cpus were hacked and emails leaked.
shows numbers were manipulated. i could give two shits of his stance on global warming….just so long as he’s successful in leading our university.
Doc Holiday, we need and are waiting for your input on this "scam." Paging Doc Holiday.
>-----:----:------>Spear 'em then Scalp 'em
hopefully he lets the deans know their jobs are on the line if they aren't willing to put forth the effort in reaching FSU's goals. pay for performance.
i graduated from SON 2005 and they have since transitioned to a new dean. the new dean came in and spun everyone’s heads. told them status quo is unacceptable, changed curriculum, and is placing STRONG emphasis on research. she was met w/ resistance initially by the lame ducks w/in the department. they have since left or been shown the door. strong leadership w/ a focus on research is very important at FSU. i feel dr. barron encompasses these values.
Pretty sure they mean nursing
That college got a new dean several years ago. As for what 81FSUnole says, in Barron’s interview, he says when he was Dean he gave pay raises to professors that their peers felt were both holding their weight teaching courses and publishing articles/doing research. I think that is very important at FSU in gutting some of the dead weight.
I think he was asking you
in case you werent in nursing…
ok, good. cuz i'm not aware of anyother "n" schools. thanks!
anyways, miss my time in tally. something to be said about going to school w/ mostly women ;-) duke just doesn’t have the “talent” that FSU does.
This was a HUGE hire for FSU...
like the head football coach, it means a huge change for FSU’s culture…..a much needed change.
Now time for a new AD. Sorry folks, Spetman needs to go as well. FSU has gone this far in making changes….it doesn’t need to stop now.
Agree. Randy Spineless will hopefully be asked to start clearing his desk in January. Although a new hire might want to give him a chance,
his ass should be canned for the whole Bobby retirement fiasco, his failure to meet the press, and his ignorant football scheduling.
>-----:----:------>Spear 'em then Scalp 'em
I think TK hired Spetman under the premise that he not say a word about football and let TK handle it all
I agree that his values should’ve come through during the announcement fiasco and he should’ve defied TK and answered some questions. Aside from that, I had thought he’d done a good job as AD (great volleyball and softball hires), assuming he had a gag order wrt football from TK.
This is a great hire for the school.
It will help out the school on a Edu. lvl and he should stay away from the football and other sports stuff. Its like FSU all together is going for a new look it seems.
Why is the sky blue? Because, God Loves the Infantry
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