Kelley has done it again

[Teeder11]

I see someone is missing the big picture...

While others are making a mountain out of a mole hill. Pick your idiom to fit your views on Kelley's leadership and him as a person, I guess. The jury is still out on my opinion of the man. Overall, as a whole, I have seen solid leadership (best in the University System, by far, though, that is not saying much right now). That is not to say that I have not seen some missteps. So far, I've seen a guy trying to make decisions for the good of the entire institution and not just a few parochial interests. I think this is a bad example of an "issue" for us to start oiling the torches and sharpening the pitch forks to run the guy out of town.

On balance, I give Kelley a C+.

[siouxforce19]

I don't have anything against Kelley as a person. I just don't think trying to control the atmosphere at college hockey games should be in his job description. Some things he has a right to micro manage. I think he should leave hockey alone and leave game atmosphere issues to the REA staff.

[the green team]

I don't have anything against Kelley as a person. I just don't think trying to control the atmosphere at college hockey games should be in his job description. Some things he has a right to micro manage. I think he should leave hockey alone and leave game atmosphere issues to the REA staff.

Nothing against REA- but let's not forget this is a University of North Dakota product. The product even while in that building is managed by UND.

[Teeder11]

I don't have anything against Kelley as a person. I just don't think trying to control the atmosphere at college hockey games should be in his job description. Some things he has a right to micro manage. I think he should leave hockey alone and leave game atmosphere issues to the REA staff.

Good point. However, as more stuff is revealed it appears that this whole thing stemmed from a passing comment or a request made over a year ago to REA staff members and not an ultimatum or dictate that it was originally made out to be. Though, I disagree that the "beer gramma" is detrimental to the image of the University, I do think that it is definitely in Kelley's job description to worry about the image of his organization. You can call it micromanaging, but it sounds like he left it up to REA to decide if they would honor the request.

To that end, I've also been told that the REA has actually been looking to feature the "beer gramma" on the big screen for the past few games, but they have not been able to spot her. So it appears that maybe the request was that REA just feature her less instead of do away with it altogether. The reason I believe that it was a passing comment and not an official request is that Kelley tends to use the "chain of command" in those instances, meaning that an official request to the arena management would have come from Faison and not straight from the top.

[Oxbow6]

While others are making a mountain out of a mole hill. Pick your idiom to fit your views on Kelley's leadership and him as a person, I guess. The jury is still out on my opinion of the man. Overall, as a whole, I have seen solid leadership (best in the University System, by far, though, that is not saying much right now). That is not to say that I have not seen some missteps. So far, I've seen a guy trying to make decisions for the good of the entire institution and not just a few parochial interests. I think this is a bad example of an "issue" for us to start oiling the torches and sharpening the pitch forks to run the guy out of town.

On balance, I give Kelley a C+.

That's generous to say the least.

[Teeder11]

That's generous to say the least.

Thanks! I'm a giver.

[ScottM]

On balance, I give Kelley a C+.

That's a pretty generous curve.

[LeftyZL]

"UND spokesman Peter Johnson said President Robert Kelley recently decided to take the focus off Delano as a way of highlighting other students and fans at home games

.

But he said the main reason is to not feed into the reputation the university has gained from recent national rankings as a school with a high rate of student drinking."

Does anyone that watches the games on TV know if they show this lady on the TV? I only remember seeing her on the in-house screens.

If so, how is anyone that is watching our games on national TV being turned off by our rankings in some silly survey. The people at the games already know what goes on on campus for the most part. It's not like we're opening their eyes to something new here.

IMO the only reason we are ranked so high in this survey is because midwestern people are more honest on the anonymous polls than other places in the country. I remember filling out this survey and almost being proud that I was so effecient in drinking to pull off the grades I received.

[the green team]

What is the problem if they show her? In my opinion very little. What is the problem if they don't show her (for whatever reason)? Imho, again very little. It's really not that big of deal.

[VMeister]

What is the problem if they show her? In my opinion very little. What is the problem if they don't show her (for whatever reason)? Imho, again very little. It's really not that big of deal.

I think her holding a beer is the only problem. Give her a glass of milk and call her the "Healthy Grandma". Bet her and the students would have fun with it.

[Let'sGoHawks!]

What is the problem if they show her? In my opinion very little. What is the problem if they don't show her (for whatever reason)? Imho, again very little. It's really not that big of deal.

The problem is that Kelley is trying to control the general public like he controls the University. This is the reason for the majority of the backlash. It is kind of like how if Obama slips up at all, even in the slightest of ways, the public grills him since there is so much disdain for him.

[the green team]

Whoa- control the general public? how? He's not saying she can't drink a beer-or can't even attend. This whole thing may be frivolous as far as him suggesting that they show her less. But when you're President of the University maybe you only want things paper clipped instead of staples- campus wide? Who knows? Again, I'm really trying to see it from this perspective as if it should bother me- but for some reason I just can't get there. I doubt I will enjoy the game any less. I may be in the minority, in that I actually like President Kelly, but something like this isn't going to make me change my opinion. Now if he overspent by billions on a new presidents house or was taking the entire family, their spouses and significant others to Washington DC for inaugurations on my dime- then I probably wouldn't like him. This whole thing is a little comical- including the fact that someone felt it warranted to be leaked to the paper as a story- and that the paper felt that it was actually a story. Pretty funny actually.

[Chewey]

End tenure please. Like someone said in the comments section of the GF Herald, these academics need to be cycled through the private sector and forced to find jobs. Bet your bottom dollar, Kelley's mindset would not be preoccupied with such a mundane and pedestrian issue. Gosh, that's sort of like the nickname isn't it? Seriously, what sort of hopelessly frazzled mind finds offense in the Beer Grandma or in the nickname or in not using the "gender neutral voice" in writing or some other such garbage? Focus on teaching students to get along better in the real world and have a thick skin and teach them how to produce widgets better than the Chinese and Indians and Koreans. Does anyone think that there is an entire emotional glass jaw segment of those societies that carp about such a trifling?

[CMSioux]

According to The Ralph, it was a single comment communicated over a year and a half ago.

[Sioux-cia]

My 'issue' with Kelley is his holding Mrs. Delano up as an example of a perceived problem at our University.

....he said the main reason is to not feed into the reputation the university has gained fro

m recent national rankings as a school with a high rate of student drinking

It's offensive to reference a 60+ year alum, fan, and university supporter in this manner.

[Goon]

End tenure please. Like someone said in the comments section of the GF Herald, these academics need to be cycled through the private sector and forced to find jobs.

Awesome idea but never happen, you would have rioting in the streets or at least protests like you did in Wisconsin this past summer.

[Oxbow6]

My 'issue' with Kelley is his holding Mrs. Delano up as an example of a perceived problem at our University.

It's offensive to reference a 60+ year alum, fan, and university supporter in this manner.

You forgot hostile and abusive...

[Teeder11]

You forgot hostile and abusive...

Mrs. Delano, the class act that she is, doesn't seem to mind it all that much.

[talksalot83]

The thing that really bothered me about this whole thing, even if it was just a comment in passing, was that Kelly and UND were completely fine with using Delano in a video to hock their online education during hockey games. Then it seems that Kelly doesn't want her shown because of the school's reputation. It's not fair to use her in selling the school and then say that she helps breed the negative imagine on the institution (this image given based on surveys).

I think it's also important to realize that outside of athletics, UND doesn't have a lot of traditions. Many of the traditions surround the nickname and logo and when that's gone, there will be things that are lost along the way throughout the years. Losing the logo is a loss, losing "beer grandma" just adds insult to injury for some who are already upset right now. It feels like an attack on the community for some people. I'm not saying that I feel this way, it's just an observation and what I get from other students I've talked with.

[Teeder11]

The thing that really bothered me about this whole thing, even if it was just a comment in passing, was that Kelly and UND were completely fine with using Delano in a video to hock their online education during hockey games. Then it seems that Kelly doesn't want her shown because of the school's reputation. It's not fair to use her in selling the school and then say that she helps breed the negative imagine on the institution (this image given based on surveys).

I think it's also important to realize that outside of athletics, UND doesn't have a lot of traditions. Many of the traditions surround the nickname and logo and when that's gone, there will be things that are lost along the way throughout the years. Losing the logo is a loss, losing "beer grandma" just adds insult to injury for some who are already upset right now. It feels like an attack on the community for some people. I'm not saying that I feel this way, it's just an observation and what I get from other students I've talked with.

That's a good point and I can appreciate your views. I had the same question about the ads featuring beer grandma, and here's the response I got. Those ads were used less and less to the point that they were pulled as UND steered toward a new marketing campaign, called "UND and Me." You might have seen some of them lately, with Dave St. Peter of the Twins and Karla Christofferson, co-owner of the LA Sparks.

However, the fact that they were used at all, I think, is one of those situations where UND marketing rode the waves of a popular, albeit, recent tradition, and Kelley initially thought it was ok because of its focus on online education instead of alcohol. But, again, my hunch is that Kelley started second guessing the ads and their loose association with alcohol and they were eventually phased out. That coincided with the move to a new marketing campaign.

My read of the tea leaves is that It looks like a clear case of a leader, through his administration, second guessing a decision and making moves to go another direction.

[bisonh8er]

There are some things that Kelly has done that I like. Such as emphasizing more dollars on research and trying to further improve the academics of the college. That being said there are issues that he simply has not acted like a leader. I know this thread is about Mrs. Delano but look no further than the name issue. He threw the school under the bus. He could have simply said something like I support our name and don't believe that the school is in any way hostile or abusive but in light of the sanctions being imposed by the NCAA I feel we have no choice but to retire the name. But instead basically told everyone that he doesn't support the alumni and states point of view when those are the people that he was, in fact, appointed to represent. That is not leadership, that is being a coward.

As a current student at the college I can tell you that myself and many other fellow students have been disappointed with how Kelly has handled some issues on campus because he doesn't listen to anybody except himself. Kelly thinks that Kelly knows best, just ask him. In my opinion Kelly has to realize that he has ostracized the majority of the alumni and current students on campus in an attempt to console peoples points of view that he wasn't hired to represent. He has come to hold a job in an area that he had no ties to and has imposed an outsiders view of how a campus should be run that doesn't match up with the people's point of view that he works for. If he keeps on the track that he is currently going, he is going to find himself out of a job sooner rather than later.

[Teeder11]

There are some things that Kelly has done that I like. Such as emphasizing more dollars on research and trying to further improve the academics of the college. That being said there are issues that he simply has not acted like a leader. I know this thread is about Mrs. Delano but look no further than the name issue. He threw the school under the bus. He could have simply said something like I support our name and don't believe that the school is in any way hostile or abusive but in light of the sanctions being imposed by the NCAA I feel we have no choice but to retire the name. But instead basically told everyone that he doesn't support the alumni and states point of view when those are the people that he was, in fact, appointed to represent. That is not leadership, that is being a coward.

As a current student at the college I can tell you that myself and many other fellow students have been disappointed with how Kelly has handled some issues on campus because he doesn't listen to anybody except himself. Kelly thinks that Kelly knows best, just ask him. In my opinion Kelly has to realize that he has ostracized the majority of the alumni and current students on campus in an attempt to console peoples points of view that he wasn't hired to represent. He has come to hold a job in an area that he had no ties to and has imposed an outsiders view of how a campus should be run that doesn't match up with the people's point of view that he works for. If he keeps on the track that he is currently going, he is going to find himself out of a job sooner rather than later.

If a leader did everything that we wanted and toed that perfect line, unquestioningly following the majority opinion without regard to anything else would he then be, in fact, a leader or a lemming?

[Cratter]

Here is what we are going to do. Anytime anyone is on the big screen we are going to proudly hold up our beer in honor of Beer Grandma and in dishonor of Kelley.

[bisonh8er]

If a leader did everything that we wanted and toed that perfect line, unquestioningly following the majority opinion without regard to anything else would he then be, in fact, a leader or a lemming?

Did you read my post? Or did you choose to not acknowledge the fact that I said that if he felt there was no other way to go about things other than losing the name then so be it. But you still don't throw your own university under the bus. Has anyone ever heard Kelly take umbrage with UND being called hostile and abusive? Has anyone ever heard Kelly say he supports the name? Has Kelly ever stuck up for the university during this whole fiasco? The answer is no. Being a leader means you sometimes have to do things that the majority doesn't like, you are correct, but there are other ways to go about it then to sell out on the people you represent. I have less of a problem with losing the name than I do with how Kelly handled the entire situation. He has let people rip on the school while he sits back in his luxury home on campus, both of which were paid for by the people that he routinely hangs out to dry.

I have said it before, Kelly preaches about turning this school into a premier university but he fails to act as presidents do at premier universities. Go take a look around the net for what the president of Florida State said when dealing with their name issue and compare it with what Kelly has said and I think you will see some major discrepancies. Just my opinion, but Kelly needs to get good or get gone.

[bisonh8er]

Nevermind, I found the statement that Florida State's president issued after the NCAA's policy came out.

http://www.fsu.edu/news/2005/08/05/tk.response/

Just a few snippets from the statement-

"Florida State University is stunned at the complete lack of appreciation for cultural diversity shown by the National Collegiate Athletic Association's executive committee, which announced today a policy banning schools using Native American names and symbols from hosting NCAA championship events. That the NCAA would now label our close bond with the Seminole Tribe of Florida as culturally "hostile and abusive" is both outrageous and insulting."

"The rules as we understand them would have us cover the Seminole name and symbol as if we were embarrassed, and any committee that would think that is a proper and respectful treatment of Native Americans should be ashamed."

Anyone ever hear Kelly have his school's back like that..........