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Do IT this week: Layering
Cleveland State says consultant not needed
By Carol Biliczky
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Saturday, Apr 11, 2009
The University of Akron is paying a consultant $25,000 a year to improve the executive and leadership skills of President Luis Proenza and other top managers.
Frank T. Grosser of FTGExecutive Group Inc. in Deerfield, Ill., provides customized coaching under the terms of an agreement that might be the only one of its kind among state universities in Ohio.
The agreement was first signed in April 2004 and has been renewed yearly.
UA spokeswoman Barb O'Malley said Grosser's services are available to about 40 members of UA's top leadership team, which includes Proenza, Provost Elizabeth Stroble, vice presidents and deans, although not all of them have met with Grosser, she said.
O'Malley said that the executive leadership must go through Proenza to access Grosser's services.
She said Grosser consults on such topics as how to be more productive and efficient.
''He has been in some of our
leadership retreats and provides some executive-level coaching on effective change leadership and change management,'' she said.
Susan Whealler Johnston, executive vice president of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges in Washington, D.C., said she believes coaching to be a great investment in the leadership.
''It may on the surface look like a lot of money spent, but it may ensure the executives' further success and ensure that they stay at the institution,'' she said. ''I would view that as a cost savings.''
She did not know if the number of executive consultants is increasing but her organization regularly gets calls from institutions asking questions about them or requesting referrals for one.
A sampling of some tax-supported universities in Ohio indicates UA might be in the minority in the Buckeye State.
Spokespeople for Ohio State, Kent State, Bowling Green and Cleveland State said they do not employ executive coaches for their top leaders. Some expressed surprise that any institution did.
''We firmly believe Mike does not need one,'' CSU spokesman Brian Johnston said of Cleveland State President Michael Schwartz.
In addition to his fee, Grosser is reimbursed for such expenses as airfare, ground transportation and meals.
Grosser did not return a call seeking comment.
Carol Biliczky can be reached at 330-996-3729 or cbiliczky@thebeaconjournal.com.
The University of Akron is paying a consultant $25,000 a year to improve the executive and leadership skills of President Luis Proenza and other top managers.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Akron, oh
Posted 06:58 AM, 04/11/2009
Well it is not like Plusquellics Governmenrt. It seems to work for Akron U which is productuve. Seems like the Mayor and council never could take good advise and then use it.
Canton, OH
Posted 08:53 AM, 04/11/2009
WOW !!!! What a waste of money. . .
Akron, OH
Posted 10:03 AM, 04/11/2009
These highly paid, highly educated folks need a coach????
Akron, Oh
Posted 11:29 AM, 04/11/2009
It's called ongoing education. It's a great investment using a very small amount of money, but the Anti-University of Akron Speaking Urinal and small minded Akron hicks will find fault with it. Education never stops...at least for people who actually use their brains. And, the name of the institution is The University of Akron not Akron U.
Posted 11:40 AM, 04/11/2009
Akron U.
Akron, Oh
Posted 11:45 AM, 04/11/2009
Hick!
hudson, oh
Posted 12:16 PM, 04/11/2009
The athletic teams toss that money away each week just for laundry.
WAKE UP!
Akron, OH
Posted 02:16 PM, 04/11/2009
That's about $1/student/year. Extravagant? Not hardly.
Orrville, Oh
Posted 02:23 PM, 04/11/2009
Graduating students from Sunday schools, public schools, private schools, home schools, colleges, and universities that can’t read, write, think for themselves, count change without a calculator, or know that Natural Law (what Mother Nature, God, or Whatever Power decreed to be the reality of the real world), God, democracy, capitalism, the US Constitution, and free, fair, and affordable commerce. Demands every corporation, farmer, business, outsourcer sweatshop, and nonprofit, tax-exempt, organization and Church markets the cost in the wholesale and retail price of his or her product and service; Of every workers, consumers, and taxpayers living (including pension and health care). Enabling parents to love, nurse, nurture, discipline, protect, and provide, for every child (job) they conceive and fund schools, infrastructure, national security, government services, and etc.; with money derived from wages or independent business profit.
Demands college administrators consult with a consultant!
Akron, OH
Posted 04:22 PM, 04/11/2009
@bilbo- So, how long have y'all belonged to TNS??
Akron, OH
Posted 05:22 PM, 04/11/2009
@Slovensko, what? When did making improvements to strive for success become a waste?
akron, oh
Posted 06:44 PM, 04/11/2009
wow, i'm glad to see that loren eberly hasn't lost that je ne sais quois that makes him so uncomprehendingly endearing...
canton, OH
Posted 06:56 PM, 04/11/2009
Wow looks like Woosters Village Idiot needs to go back to school. He typed 300 words of garbage.
but i guess thats all he could before passing out....
Akron, Oh
Posted 07:13 PM, 04/11/2009
@Betamax - please make sense. Say what you mean instead of being a cryptic a hole
Cuyahoga Falls, Oh
Posted 10:06 PM, 04/11/2009
Aw...and here everyone said Doc Proenza was such a "bright fellow"...that's why he was worth all the money the Board of Trustees have lavished on him since he was hired...sigh...who really deserves the performance bonus?
Yeah, right, the U. of A. is absolutely a "fair value for the dollar"-ha! All while the public universities in Ohio are ranked 2nd or 3rd highest in cost in the Nation (TIME MAGAZINE-2006)! That's said with full recognition of the politics involved...up to and including the current Board of Trustees, et al.
All while the U. of A. had to subsidize it's sports program to the tune of, what, 10-13 million dollars last year? Of course, MOST nationally recognized public universities have to do the same...so where's the "Doc P" edge that justifies the second highest retirement contribution of public university presidents in the Nation? I guess if certain sports programs can be the beneficiary of a tutor, why not Doc Proenza?
Is it in the aid provided to the major shareholders in order to increase their success(retention/graduation rate)? Um...does the term "ranked third tier, alphabetically" ring a bell? If not, avail yourself of the U.S. News & World Report's Best Colleges In America special edition...or Forbe's Magazine's same...or Kiplingers...and the list goes on.
Ah...but I'm just a "malcontent", eh? I'm certainly glad I'm just a taxpayer and not a "tuition-payer"!
Akron, OH
Posted 10:31 PM, 04/11/2009
@rupert54, so now when people try to make improvements for themselves and their staff, they no longer deserve raises?
Any strong leader and organization supports continuing education.
Akron, OH
Posted 10:32 PM, 04/11/2009
@rupert54, the fact is UA is priced correctly for its market. It typically falls in the middle of the state tuition rankings in Ohio.
http://www.uakron.edu/tuition/compare.php
Copley, OH
Posted 07:35 AM, 04/12/2009
waste / fraud / abuse
Akron, OH
Posted 09:06 AM, 04/12/2009
A consultant is someone who can go out in the world and see what's going on in your field and make recommendations to you regarding what you need to do to stay competitive. $25,000 a year is peanuts for what this service can do for the university. Hiring this consultant means that UA is serious about competing and getting even better at what they do. Maybe by using this strategy they can move out of that third tier and go even higher.
Geez, it is so flagrant that the ABJ hates UA, I can only wonder why. UA is the best thing about Akron, and our only hope for Akron's survival.
Akron, Oh
Posted 09:20 AM, 04/12/2009
Here is why this paper hates UA: The Akron Beacon Journal can no longer manipulate and control the university as it has in the past. The same goes for the mayor's office. At one time both entities basically ran the university by telling its president what to do and when to do. Neither entity has that corrupt power today...thank God!
Akron, Oh
Posted 09:24 AM, 04/12/2009
rupert54 is Robin Anderson
Akron, Oh
Posted 09:38 AM, 04/12/2009
taxpaying citizen - are you also afraid of the boogy man? Look out he's right behind you along with waste, fraud and abuse. Oh, and I do believe the sky is falling too.
Posted 01:23 PM, 04/12/2009
Michael Jordan had a coach--so does Lebron---in fact hey had several. The huge majority of top people have coaches, go to seminars, etc--this is ongoing learning---if you stay in the same place--things pass you. This is a very small sum--Akron U had done well and if other educational organizations in Ohio are not doing this or have some other means--they are out of touch with their own reality---Education. These professionals who provide this service can make a hige difference in many little and big ways---just even being tuned in to ideas from other businesses and other colleges/univiversities can prove valuable to growth. Too often the BJ postings as compared to other cities around--reflect a negativeness--of small thinking, limited growth, limiting decisions--these things hold everyone back.
