Kennedy vs donors... again?

[The Sicatoka]

People who've had to make (and made) tough decisions generally turn some folks off. 

Kennedy has been handed some crap budgets from Bismarck.
Unlike his predecessors he made decisions and acted.
Yup, a few folks didn't like his decisions.
But now I'm forced to ask, how would've the critics done better with the same circumstance. 

[talksalot83]

I don't have even a small fraction of the money that Engelstad McGarry has, but I do not have an interest in donating. And I was a small donor at one time. I removed my donation while he's been President. 

I can't imagine I'm the only small donor/alum turned off. *shrug*

[darell1976]

1 hour ago, Kab said:

Kennedy needs to go for many reasons but not for threats from a donor.

he will keep doing stupid things and leave on his own, maybe take a job in Florida

I agree. I think he needs to resign on what has happened recently, but for KEM to come out and say they are withholding funds to the primary user of “her” arena is not the way to go about it. 2030 when UND takes over the arena is she going to go out with pride or while kicking and screaming the whole way out.

[farce poobah]

Herald coverage of Kennedy has been pretty one-sided against.   I can't help but be suspicious of their political motives.

[fightingsioux4life]

5 minutes ago, darell1976 said:

I agree. I think he needs to resign on what has happened recently, but for KEM to come out and say they are withholding funds to the primary user of “her” arena is not the way to go about it. 2030 when UND takes over the arena is she going to go out with pride or while kicking and screaming the whole way out.

Spot on.

[SWSiouxMN]

He’s not getting canned over this.

 

[SWSiouxMN]

25 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

People who've had to make (and made) tough decisions generally turn some folks off. 

Kennedy has been handed some crap budgets from Bismarck.
Unlike his predecessors he made decisions and acted.
Yup, a few folks didn't like his decisions.
But now I'm forced to ask, how would've the critics done better with the same circumstance. 

My guess: kick the can down the road 

[The Sicatoka]

At risk of repeating myself ... 

35 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

What I do see are two egomaniacs at work. 

 

[The Sicatoka]

Just now, SWSiouxMN said:

My guess: kick the can down the road 

You mean do what his predecessors did. That's the coward's approach. 

[SWSiouxMN]

It’s funny how this came out just after Kennedy had his mid-year review.

[siouxkid12]

55 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

People who've had to make (and made) tough decisions generally turn some folks off. 

Kennedy has been handed some crap budgets from Bismarck.
Unlike his predecessors he made decisions and acted.
Yup, a few folks didn't like his decisions.
But now I'm forced to ask, how would've the critics done better with the same circumstance. 

When do we stop groveling to the Engelstads? They donated an arena to UND years ago, we thanked them and now it’s time to move on. They are the ones who hurt the University with their refusal to work with UND and the logo change. I’m about done with this family. UND sold its soul for the glitz and glamour of a Vegas pimp and we’ve all fell for it.

[Siouxperfan7]

7 minutes ago, siouxkid12 said:

When do we stop groveling to the Engelstads? They donated an arena to UND years ago, we thanked them and now it’s time to move on. They are the ones who hurt the University with their refusal to work with UND and the logo change. I’m about done with this family. UND sold its soul for the glitz and glamour of a Vegas pimp and we’ve all fell for it.

This right here.  So sick of KEM thinking she calls the shots at UND.  And UND isn't the only University she has done this to (see Sic's UNLV story).  I get it.  you never want to have any donor, let alone the largest donor UND has ever had, say they are going to stop sending donations.  But when they start thinking they have control over who the President is, that is where you need to draw the line.  If UND sets a precedence and gets rid of Kennedy becasue of threats from a donor, what else will KEM think she can control here at UND.

I say call her bluff.  Without donations to UND, she will lose all "Control" she thinks she has at UND.  Fire back an email and let her know that if donations stop, the usage agreement with the REA and UND expires at the end of 2019 and UND will take over all control of the REA beginning January 1, 2020.  UND will be better off without KEM and the Engelstad Foundation telling UND how to operate.

[jdub27]

54 minutes ago, farce poobah said:

Herald coverage of Kennedy has been pretty one-sided against.   I can't help but be suspicious of their political motives.

If you only knew.....

 

Just now, Siouxperfan7 said:

I say call her bluff.  Without donations to UND, she will lose all "Control" she thinks she has at UND.  Fire back an email and let her know that if donations stop, the usage agreement with the REA and UND expires at the end of 2019 and UND will take over all control of the REA beginning January 1, 2020.  UND will be better off without KEM and the Engelstad Foundation telling UND how to operate.

That won't work, the REA Foundation has control of the arena. The soonest they could pull a move like that is 2030/31. And I hope it doesn't come to that, there is a lot to be said with a private party partner is something like the REA. It just needs to work for both sides.

[Siouxperfan7]

25 minutes ago, jdub27 said:

That won't work, the REA Foundation has control of the arena. The soonest they could pull a move like that is 2030/31. And I hope it doesn't come to that, there is a lot to be said with a private party partner is something like the REA. It just needs to work for both sides.

Well, I might have been a little extreme in a response I suggest they use.   

Are they still not required under the usage agreement to give UND money after they cover all their costs?  KEM can say she won't donate anymore, but doesn't teh agreement force her to?  Looking for some clarification oh wise one!!

[fightingsioux4life]

26 minutes ago, jdub27 said:

That won't work, the REA Foundation has control of the arena. The soonest they could pull a move like that is 2030/31. And I hope it doesn't come to that, there is a lot to be said with a private party partner is something like the REA. It just needs to work for both sides.

I get the distinct feeling that KEM feels burdened with REA. She inherited it from her dad, she didn't ask for it. She has made it clear that she did not go to school at UND and does not have the same attachment to this place that Ralph did. And I guess I cannot blame her for feeling that way. Then perhaps we can lift the burden from her shoulders and negotiate an earlier handover time for the REA Complex (REA-BESC-Practice Rink). Like I have said before, hire the firm that runs the Alerus Center and write a new usage contract that gives more money to UND (and stops the asinine practice of taking FB revenues).

[Siouxperman8]

1 hour ago, talksalot83 said:

I don't have even a small fraction of the money that Engelstad McGarry has, but I do not have an interest in donating. And I was a small donor at one time. I removed my donation while he's been President. 

I can't imagine I'm the only small donor/alum turned off. *shrug*

Serious question.  What did he do that got you to that point and what would you have done differently?  

I see his allowing a remote chief of staff decision as really bad but that only happened recently.  

[fightingsioux4life]

54 minutes ago, siouxkid12 said:

When do we stop groveling to the Engelstads? They donated an arena to UND years ago, we thanked them and now it’s time to move on. They are the ones who hurt the University with their refusal to work with UND and the logo change. I’m about done with this family. UND sold its soul for the glitz and glamour of a Vegas pimp and we’ve all fell for it.

Another related thought: Why don't we cultivate relationships with other potential donors (i.e. former athletes, families of former athletes and so on)? There are many successful people who went to school here and probably would give if we reach out to them. We need more revenue streams than just season tickets, 50/50 raffles and the Champion's Club or we'll be wallowing in mediocrity and obscurity for the foreseeable future.

[nodak651]

25 minutes ago, Siouxperfan7 said:

Well, I might have been a little extreme in a response I suggest they use.   

Are they still not required under the usage agreement to give UND money after they cover all their costs?  KEM can say she won't donate anymore, but doesn't the agreement force her to?  Looking for some clarification oh wise one!!

Please do not refer to this as a donation, because it's not!  It's UND's cut of the profit from revenue generated by UND Athletics!  UND gets all the money left over after money is set aside for reserve funds and future upgrades.  If the REA wanted, they could allocate as much money as they wanted to these funds to starve UND of cash.  The thing is, they pretty much already do that anyway.  The usage agreement aims for a minimum 500k allocation of these profits to UND each year, and that's what I would expect UND to receive going forward if they want to try to prove a point. 

Also, none of the numbers that are ever thrown around that involve UND hockey at the REA ever include concessions.  The REA pockets 100% of millions in concessions each year. 

[fightingsioux4life]

5 minutes ago, nodak651 said:

Also, none of the numbers that are ever thrown around that involve UND hockey at the REA ever include concessions.  The REA pockets 100% of millions in concessions each year. 

This is ridiculous. No wonder we can't afford anything. Imagine if the City of Fargo pocketed 100% of the concessions from NDSU football and other events?

This arena is one big cash machine and it was built to benefit UND, NOT REA, Inc.

Also, if all this money is being put into reserve funds for upgrades and improvements, why does FB have to sacrifice 52% of its revenue for the BESC?

Every penny of profit (after expenses and repairs) should go to UND. Period. End of story.

[BarnWinterSportsEngelstad]

52 minutes ago, Siouxperfan7 said:

Well, I might have been a little extreme in a response I suggest they use.   

Are they still not required under the usage agreement to give UND money after they cover all their costs?  KEM can say she won't donate anymore, but doesn't teh agreement force her to?  Looking for some clarification oh wise one!!

Need to understand that the Engelstad Foundation in Nevada is separate from The Ralph (which includes 3 non-profits, LLC and UND land) in GF.

KEM is involved in both. 
http://engelstadfoundation.com/esf/
http://www.theralph.com/about-the-arena/promoter-info

[BIGSIOUX]

Ive been able to have many conversations, with a lot of different folks from inside the University, inside the foundation and Mr Kennedy himself.  Ive been hesitant to change my opinion, since i really do think it is imperative to have someone in his role actually make decisions, but the man is such a egocentric individual, he has blinders up to common sense, and is not capable of being the CEO that showcases what makes UND, the community, and the people that contribute to it great.  He has no social tact what so ever, and Im sure there is more than 1 donor he has alienated.   Time to move on.

As for KEM, i think shes just as batshit, and probably wrong about the usage agreement, but i think she is a willing spokesperson for the people who dont have that voice and i hope that will help move things along.  

Great things happen at UND everyday, for some reason the spotlight doesnt shine there enough.

 

[fightingsioux4life]

1 minute ago, BarnWinterSportsEngelstad said:

Need to understand the the Engelstad Foundation in Nevada is separate from The Ralph (which includes 3 non-profits, LLC and UND land) in GF.

KEM is involved in both. 

Way too many fingers in this pie. No wonder it is next to impossible to figure out where all the money is going.

[Kab]

I quit my donations after kennedy mistakes, doesn’t stand up for employee raises yet comes up with hair brained ideas for himself.

i still hear Florida calling 

[Old Fella]

2 hours ago, The Sicatoka said:

Seems Ms McGarry believes she knows best on who should run which academic institutions. 

https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2018/4/17/unlv-len-jessup-engelstad-family-foundation 

It's a pretty low bar to know more than the NDBHE or UND's administration how best to run our academic institutions.

Chancellor just gave Kennedy glowing review on his performance.

[talksalot83]

47 minutes ago, Siouxperman8 said:

Serious question.  What did he do that got you to that point and what would you have done differently?  

I see his allowing a remote chief of staff decision as really bad but that only happened recently.  

There are many reason I stopped my donation. I'm not going to go into details because I don't want to argue with folks; I know I'm in the minority on this board in many opinion respects. What I can say is that I have valid reasons to stop my financial support. I don't want to be the President of a higher education institution, but I've spent a lot of time in one and there are certainly different paths I would have taken on some decisions.

I'm not completely alone, though. I'm a somewhat young alum and many of my friends feel the same way. I have a lot of friends who graduated between '07-'14 who are not pleased with the past few years. Many of whom have stayed in the area; many of whom have stayed in contact with folks who work at UND/have close relationships with UND. These are the folks who might be at a place in their careers where they could afford to give, but they might be choosing other places to give to. 

Leadership is important. I don't think Kennedy has done a good job. That's simply my humble opinion and I think it's fair that we all get to decide what to do with dollars we want to donate.