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From: Rick Seltzer
Subject: Daily Briefing: Beware of gifts
Good morning, and welcome to Friday, May 9. Emma Pettit wrote the footnote. Julia Piper compiled Transitions. Beckie Supiano wrote the rest. Get in touch:
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Good morning, and welcome to Friday, May 9. Emma Pettit wrote the footnote. Julia Piper compiled Transitions. Beckie Supiano wrote the rest. Get in touch: dailybriefing@chronicle.com.
How a gift can derail a presidency
It seems unlikely that any other college presidency will end quite the way Lori Varlotta’s at California Lutheran University did.
As The Chronicle’s David Jesse reports, Varlotta’s time at the helm was consumed with the details of an agreement between the university and a former congressman that “all centered around old papers and some office furniture.”
The short version: Cal Lutheran landed the papers of Elton W. Gallegly, a Republican who served 13 terms in Congress, and the two parties signed a gift agreement years before Varlotta arrived. But the former congressman later took issue with how the papers were archived. Later still, when Varlotta took down a public display of Gallegly’s office furniture to make room for the papers, the congressman waged a public-relations battle against the university and its president — and filed a lawsuit.
The dispute wasn’t the only challenge during Varlotta’s tenure — she also made pandemic-era budget cuts. But Varlotta said it impeded her ability to have the kind of impact she had hoped to.
A court has ruled against one part of the suit; the other claims are headed to a jury trial. In May 2024, after just a few years on the job, Varlotta resigned as president.
The circumstances may be singular, but what’s almost as striking is Varlotta’s candor in taking stock of what went wrong. Perhaps her story will save another president some trouble — or underscore a potential president’s reluctance to seek such a job.
Varlotta’s lessons:
Don’t be afraid to get your message out. In hindsight, Varlotta thinks the university should have shared its side of the story sooner to push back against Gallegly’s version of events.
Be cautious about gifts. College leaders must be clear, not just on the donor’s wishes but on how a gift will benefit their institution.
Be aware that outsiders face scrutiny. It’s a lot easier, Varlotta concludes, to pin blame on a new face with fewer allies.
For all of that, Varlotta hasn’t soured on the role entirely: On Thursday, she was named Antioch University’s next president.
For more from The Chronicle: “The 774 Words That Helped Sink a Presidency”
— Santa Ono, the sole finalist in the University of Florida’s presidential search, in an essay describing his “alignment” on principles including “the renewed emphasis on merit, the strengthening of civics and foundational learning,” and “rejecting ideological capture.” Ono, whose candidacy is supported by Gov. Ron DeSantis but has received resistance from some other Republicans, defended his decision to eliminate the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor’s centralized infrastructure for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and emphasized his commitment to combating antisemitism. (Inside Higher Ed)
To submit a new-hire announcement, email people@chronicle.com. You can also find Transitions online here.
On Thursday, white smoke alerted the world that a new pope had been chosen. Robert Francis Prevost, who took the name Pope Leo XIV, is notable for many reasons, not least of which that he’s the first American to hold the holy title. But for our newsroom — or more accurately, for one particular reporter in our newsroom — Prevost’s selection hits close to home: He’s an alum of Villanova University.
I (Emma) attended Villanova from 2012 to 2016. When the pope news broke, my college-group chat erupted with elation, and with jokes. Did we think the new pope had ever eaten the addictive “Fat Cat” sandwich — composed of chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, fries, and bacon shoved between bread — from the late-night spot on the corner of campus? Did we think he’d ever ventured to Maloney’s Pub, a now-shuttered dive bar known for its birthday fishbowl-drink deal and its absence of clean bathrooms? (He most likely has not. Maloney’s opened in 2002 and was the type of bar to attract the likes of me and my friends. Prevost graduated in 1977 and is the type of person to become the pope.)
On X, the reaction was more mixed. One person observed that “against all odds, people who went to Villanova are somehow about to get even more annoying.” Yes, yes, we are! Does Georgetown University have a pope? Does the University of Notre Dame have a pope? I didn’t think so! (Briefing readers, please do not fact-check me on this dunk. If there is some honorary degree for some pope floating around out there, that does not count.)
To the Villanova haters, I ask: After our last few men’s basketball seasons, don’t you think we deserve a win?
And to Prevost, I say: Once a wildcat, always a wildcat.
