Keene State College President Melinda Treadwell is treading off to another school after eight years of trying to fix Keene State College (KSC). She is packing her gotta go bags and heading to a new gig in Geneseo, New York, which is part of the SUNY system. I briefly attended SUNY Buffalo, and I’m familiar with SUNY Geneseo. I have partied there. Several of my high school friends attended, and some of them even graduated.
It is likely a good deal different now, but I can see why it would appeal to Treadwell. In the formal statement of departure,
Treadwell called Geneseo a strong next fit for her for several reasons, including its commitment to serving as a national exemplar of equity-centered access and excellence. “I am honored that Geneseo and the SUNY System recognize my leadership contributions to the exceptional work that was accomplished together at Keene State.”
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. If you search “Diversity” on the SUNY Geneseo website, you get over 7000 hits.
Lots of that #Woke crap there, despite the federal moratorium on it, so I’m guessing they aren’t concerned about federal money or are content to rise out of the Trump years and hope it all goes away.
I can’t speak to Melinda’s reasons for moving on, but Keene State College has had enrollment and money problems since the infamous Pumpkin Festival riot. In late August, Treadwell was on local radio to discuss it, in the wake of legislative cuts to funding to the University System of New Hampshire, which ought to be able to fund itself (in my opinion) if it’s so valuable.
… the large fish we must fry is why everyone thinks taxpayers have an obligation to fund colleges and universities at all for any reason or benefit (real or imagined)? The state attracts the university in the same way it would any other business, leaving the college or University to create value and compete for tuition-paying students. This strikes me as the sort of situation that might force the board and administrators to manage the ‘business’ better.
My working theory, meant to penetrate the fog of pleasantry about Melinda’s contributions and value and what a catch she is for SUNY Geneseo (which is a similarly small school with just over 3000 students), is that she decided she couldn’t do her thing given the fiscal situation. SUNY New York receives hundreds of millions annually in support, and its legislature is almost as woke as the university system. Talk about a safe space, though, I’m not sure why Geneseo decided on Treadwell?
I wish her luck. I’m sure she’ll do fine there, and it does leave an opening that the NH University system needs to fill. How about someone more in line with how the New Hampshire legislature sees things, at least lately?
Any chance at all?
It would have to have been someone who survived in the Academy for many years, and the odds of that person being male and “intact” seem unlikely. I predict another modern woman with short hair, a hyphenated name, a “studies degree,” and perhaps even a minority. The Democrat party can’t seem to nominate anyone like that for elected Federal office, so maybe they will try to compensate by applying pressure here.
And what, after all, would KSC do with an actual academic who put learning ahead of the social justice bullshite?
