I screamed at my computer just now

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DrHullabaloo
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I screamed at my computer just now

Post by DrHullabaloo »

I've been staying out of the loop, and I really have not been paying attention to who is staffing at TAF/Greenwave Club. Did the rest of you get the email from the new-ish Assistant AD for the Greenwave Club?

I don't doubt that he is a very fine person. I hope he has been hitting his numbers and wish him tremendous success with his endeavors. But this opening line, literally made me go out my mind: "My family and I arrived at Tulane ten months ago and it has been incredible learning about New Orleans."

!!!!

Why does Tulane as an organization REFUSE to hire from our own patch? And incessantly hire outsiders who try, but wind up doing little to connect with our fragmented fan base and our diaspora of alumni. Every generation of hires at Tulane has to go on a "listening tour", then they inevitably move on, we hire another batch of outsiders and then wonder we always wind up with this disjointed communication network of alumni and fans.

I got to chat with Coach Jones during the Hall of Fame weekend and one of the things he mentioned was that he would love to help with development. Has he been asked? if not why hasn't he been asked? There's so many former Greenies who are doing great things and who could be great Ambassadors for athletics.

Anyways, my rant for a Monday.
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Re: I screamed at my computer just now

Post by tulaneoutlaw »

I got the email too. I'm not as close to the situation as you Dr. H, but I agree with the premise, if there are qualified people around. I too hope he's wildly successful.
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Re: I screamed at my computer just now

Post by Baywave1 »

Disagree on negative view of the letter. Would any here rather have arrogant over-confidence versus humility/self-deprecation from some "young out-of-town know-it-all hotshot?"

As concerns hiring: Tulane recruits nationally. Yes too often we are still a resume builder instead of a destination but it is what it is.

Universities continually fight tendency to be inbred. It's a balance. Tulane still hires an enormous number of alums and our Board is majority alums. Key execs? A mixed bag.

I just want them to all perform including our letter writer and of course, if they do, to stay. However how many of us had the same employer for decades?
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Re: I screamed at my computer just now

Post by windywave »

This is the ass backwards egocentric bellybutton gazing way of thinking that drives me nuts.
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Re: I screamed at my computer just now

Post by DrHullabaloo »

Remember when Jaime Garza campaigned to be TU president? What's he been doing since then.

I'm just wondering out loud here.
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Re: I screamed at my computer just now

Post by long green »

windywave wrote:This is the ass backwards egocentric bellybutton gazing way of thinking that drives me nuts.
This. 100%.

Wait, whose way of thinking did you have in mind?

There is a lot to be said for raising good people from your ranks but the best person is the best person.
Last edited by long green on Mon Nov 13, 2017 10:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: I screamed at my computer just now

Post by windywave »

long green wrote:
There is a lot to be said from raising good people from your ranks but the best person is the best person.
THIS
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Re: I screamed at my computer just now

Post by DrHullabaloo »

Baywave1 wrote:Disagree on negative view of the letter. Would any here rather have arrogant over-confidence versus humility/self-deprecation from some "young out-of-town know-it-all hotshot?"

As concerns hiring: Tulane recruits nationally. Yes too often we are still a resume builder instead of a destination but it is what it is.

Universities continually fight tendency to be inbred. It's a balance. Tulane still hires an enormous number of alums and our Board is majority alums. Key execs? A mixed bag.

I just want them to all perform including our letter writer and of course, if they do, to stay. However how many of us had the same employer for decades?
Here's the dynamic that I get to see. Tulane Executive who has no personal skin in the game and no "war stories" to chat about, trying to connect with a disconnected alum and generate excitement about giving to Tulane. Neither one of them has any emotional or personal vested interest.

Our investment in Tulane Homecoming and overspending on graduation has been mitigating that disconnect that our alumni have back to the University. But I feel strongly that we HAVE to have a marquee alum out doing road shows and not some poor sap that doesn't even know New Orleans.

I got a phone call from a former freshman year dorm-mate who was asked to join some fundraising board for Tulane that meets here in December. For 25 years she's been out in the "wilderness". She lives on the west coast and complained about all of the things that her graduate school university does to keep alumni in the loop, that she thought Tulane doesn't do. Except that Tulane does do some of those activities, but they just do a really poor job of getting the word out. I spoke with her for almost 2 hours on the phone bringing her up to speed on all things Tulane. The person who recruited her to be on this fundraising board WAS ALSO a) not a Tulane alum and b) not from New Orleans. I don't even work for Tulane. This is ridiculous. This is a problem.
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Re: I screamed at my computer just now

Post by Private Joker »

I received the e-mail too and didn't have a reaction either way. I guess it's like anything else, moderation in all things. Some people with long-time ties mixed in with the best talent you can find is the way.
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Re: I screamed at my computer just now

Post by Baywave1 »

DrHullabaloo wrote:
Here's the dynamic that I get to see. Tulane Executive who has no personal skin in the game and no "war stories" to chat about, trying to connect with a disconnected alum and generate excitement about giving to Tulane. Neither one of them has any emotional or personal vested interest.
"No vested interest?" If Fritz doesn't win he's gone. If your letter writer doesn't raise the expected funds, he's gone. yada yada yada.

Again Tulane may be a resume builder but you still have to perform or it won't be a stepping stone.

Working at Tulane is no different from anywhere else. You still have to know your product to succeed. If you come to Tulane as a glorified order taker and don't do your homework to prepare then you better expect your next stop to be fast food and not Harvard or P5.
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Re: I screamed at my computer just now

Post by DrHullabaloo »

Baywave1 wrote:
DrHullabaloo wrote:
Here's the dynamic that I get to see. Tulane Executive who has no personal skin in the game and no "war stories" to chat about, trying to connect with a disconnected alum and generate excitement about giving to Tulane. Neither one of them has any emotional or personal vested interest.
"No vested interest?" If Fritz doesn't win he's gone. If your letter writer doesn't raise the expected funds, he's gone. yada yada yada.

Again Tulane may be a resume builder but you still have to perform or it won't be a stepping stone.

Working at Tulane is no different from anywhere else. You still have to know your product to succeed. If you come to Tulane as a glorified order taker and don't do your homework to prepare then you better expect your next stop to be fast food and not Harvard or P5.
This is kinda my point. It's a constant cycle of "new".

They couldn't have sent out a joint fundraising letter penned by a more memorable alum? Say from recent Bobby Boudreaux recipient Tommy Hightower? They had to lead with an opening that was "Hey, I know nothing about y'all, but it's been fun getting to know you, now please send us money?"

What kind of operation are we running here?
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Re: I screamed at my computer just now

Post by DrHullabaloo »

I am serious. The last time I remember receiving a fundraising email from a significant alum it was from Bobby Duhon, like 3 or 4 years ago?

What I am saying is that they could do so much better, and this pitch fell short.
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Re: I screamed at my computer just now

Post by Private Joker »

DrHullabaloo wrote:I am serious. The last time I remember receiving a fundraising email from a significant alum it was from Bobby Duhon, like 3 or 4 years ago?

What I am saying is that they could do so much better, and this pitch fell short.
That is a good point. Have the assistant AD play a back-office role, and use prominent Tulane athletes to make the pitch.
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Re: I screamed at my computer just now

Post by Baywave1 »

DrHullabaloo wrote:I am serious. The last time I remember receiving a fundraising email from a significant alum it was from Bobby Duhon, like 3 or 4 years ago?

What I am saying is that they could do so much better, and this pitch fell short.
Our goals are the same. We simply disagree on this specific communication.

I definitely agree (and the Tulane development folks would as well) that contribution requests from peers like high profile alums are often the most effective fund raising pitches.
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Re: I screamed at my computer just now

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Funny, I have been donating steadily to Tulane for coming up on 40 years, and I never worried one way or another about where the people who were asking were from. All that mattered was that they wore OGSB and were invested now. I had never stepped foot in New Orleans before I got off that Southern Airways jet in 1974, naively wearing my corduroy sport coat and tie into the August heat.

With apologies to Dr. H and her ilk, I’d file this under First World problem. Smacks of Old Money New Orleans, you didn’t go to my high school parochialism. In my day the great majority of Tulanians WERE from New Orleans and Louisiana in general, and those alumni are exactly the ones who are disengaged now. I am not going to give any more or any less if the Tulanian doing the asking is from the 70118 area code or is Dr. Bobby Brown. Heck, the first stud QB wearing OGSB I remember was Roch Hontas and he was from, what, Ohio?
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Re: I screamed at my computer just now

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TUPF wrote:Funny, I have been donating steadily to Tulane for coming up on 40 years, and I never worried one way or another about where the people who were asking were from. All that mattered was that they wore OGSB and were invested now. I had never stepped foot in New Orleans before I got off that Southern Airways jet in 1974, naively wearing my corduroy sport coat and tie into the August heat.

With apologies to Dr. H and her ilk, I’d file this under First World problem. Smacks of Old Money New Orleans, you didn’t go to my high school parochialism. In my day the great majority of Tulanians WERE from New Orleans and Louisiana in general, and those alumni are exactly the ones who are disengaged now. I am not going to give any more or any less if the Tulanian doing the asking is from the 70118 area code or is Dr. Bobby Brown. Heck, the first stud QB wearing OGSB I remember was Roch Hontas and he was from, what, Ohio?
God forbid we dare to showcase some pride in our own, and toot our own horn. People love to be acknowledged, and Tulane has visibly been making amends in acknowledging our own people. It could extend to the email pitches. I am just saying.
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Re: I screamed at my computer just now

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Have you talked to Troy about it? President Fitts? They are both at the vast majority of Athletics events, and i’ve Never had a problem with being able to walk up and talk to them. I’m sure if people are calm, and offer suggestions, and not demands, they would, at the very least, listen politely.
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Re: I screamed at my computer just now

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noladave wrote:Have you talked to Troy about it? President Fitts? They are both at the vast majority of Athletics events, and i’ve Never had a problem with being able to walk up and talk to them. I’m sure if people are calm, and offer suggestions, and not demands, they would, at the very least, listen politely.
I have access to speak with all of these people personally. I am ranting on the internet instead.
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Re: I screamed at my computer just now

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TUPF wrote:Funny, I have been donating steadily to Tulane for coming up on 40 years, and I never worried one way or another about where the people who were asking were from. All that mattered was that they wore OGSB and were invested now. I had never stepped foot in New Orleans before I got off that Southern Airways jet in 1974, naively wearing my corduroy sport coat and tie into the August heat.

With apologies to Dr. H and her ilk, I’d file this under First World problem. Smacks of Old Money New Orleans, you didn’t go to my high school parochialism. In my day the great majority of Tulanians WERE from New Orleans and Louisiana in general, and those alumni are exactly the ones who are disengaged now. I am not going to give any more or any less if the Tulanian doing the asking is from the 70118 area code or is Dr. Bobby Brown. Heck, the first stud QB wearing OGSB I remember was Roch Hontas and he was from, what, Ohio?

Also, I am just saying that we have one of the lowest giving rates by percentage of our alumni among our peer schools. We have vast rooms for improvement, and loads of untapped potential. I am critiquing that using another "Hi, I'm the Newest New Person" email fell flat on me.
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Re: I screamed at my computer just now

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DrHullabaloo wrote:
TUPF wrote:Funny, I have been donating steadily to Tulane for coming up on 40 years, and I never worried one way or another about where the people who were asking were from. All that mattered was that they wore OGSB and were invested now. I had never stepped foot in New Orleans before I got off that Southern Airways jet in 1974, naively wearing my corduroy sport coat and tie into the August heat.

With apologies to Dr. H and her ilk, I’d file this under First World problem. Smacks of Old Money New Orleans, you didn’t go to my high school parochialism. In my day the great majority of Tulanians WERE from New Orleans and Louisiana in general, and those alumni are exactly the ones who are disengaged now. I am not going to give any more or any less if the Tulanian doing the asking is from the 70118 area code or is Dr. Bobby Brown. Heck, the first stud QB wearing OGSB I remember was Roch Hontas and he was from, what, Ohio?

Also, I am just saying that we have one of the lowest giving rates by percentage of our alumni among our peer schools. We have vast rooms for improvement, and loads of untapped potential. I am critiquing that using another "Hi, I'm the Newest New Person" email fell flat on me.
:roll: that's the school as a whole genius. Per win, we probably have one of the highest for athletics

Have you considered the fact the alumni association sucks and the change in the philosophy of the school has alienated people too?
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Re: I screamed at my computer just now

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I'm not sure who we could have hired locally with the qualifications we need to accomplish our goals in the athletics department. Should we hire people from UNO's AD? Dillard? Xavier? If we want people with Division 1 experience who are local, then we'll have to go to Southeastern, UL-L, or LSU. The former two are beneath our standard, while the third is, well, LSU.

I get the frustration about outreach. I really do. I'm working with my local alumni chapter to get better (by the way, today is National Networking Night in all of our chapters). If we want more alumni performing outreach, then WE are the ones who have to take the torch to make it happen.

I know your "letter writer" and I have spoken to him multiple times about Tulane athletics, NOLA, and other topics. He is emotionally invested in our school, and it's not just because he receives a paycheck from there. He also travels across the country to meet with alumni and supporters during much of the year. He stops by in Yulman to talk to us both in Westfeldt and in Glazer.

Please, if you want me to make an introduction, just ask. PM me.

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Re: I screamed at my computer just now

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windywave wrote:
DrHullabaloo wrote:
TUPF wrote:Funny, I have been donating steadily to Tulane for coming up on 40 years, and I never worried one way or another about where the people who were asking were from. All that mattered was that they wore OGSB and were invested now. I had never stepped foot in New Orleans before I got off that Southern Airways jet in 1974, naively wearing my corduroy sport coat and tie into the August heat.

With apologies to Dr. H and her ilk, I’d file this under First World problem. Smacks of Old Money New Orleans, you didn’t go to my high school parochialism. In my day the great majority of Tulanians WERE from New Orleans and Louisiana in general, and those alumni are exactly the ones who are disengaged now. I am not going to give any more or any less if the Tulanian doing the asking is from the 70118 area code or is Dr. Bobby Brown. Heck, the first stud QB wearing OGSB I remember was Roch Hontas and he was from, what, Ohio?

Also, I am just saying that we have one of the lowest giving rates by percentage of our alumni among our peer schools. We have vast rooms for improvement, and loads of untapped potential. I am critiquing that using another "Hi, I'm the Newest New Person" email fell flat on me.
:roll: that's the school as a whole genius. Per win, we probably have one of the highest for athletics

Have you considered the fact the alumni association sucks and the change in the philosophy of the school has alienated people too?
If you think the alumni association "sucks", then take on a leadership role and work to make it better.

Also, our giving rate is improving, at least according to what Fitts told us last week in Atlanta. And we expect more improvement after December 8th.
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Re: I screamed at my computer just now

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Sophandros wrote:I'm not sure who we could have hired locally with the qualifications we need to accomplish our goals in the athletics department. Should we hire people from UNO's AD? Dillard? Xavier? If we want people with Division 1 experience who are local, then we'll have to go to Southeastern, UL-L, or LSU. The former two are beneath our standard, while the third is, well, LSU.

I get the frustration about outreach. I really do. I'm working with my local alumni chapter to get better (by the way, today is National Networking Night in all of our chapters). If we want more alumni performing outreach, then WE are the ones who have to take the torch to make it happen.

I know your "letter writer" and I have spoken to him multiple times about Tulane athletics, NOLA, and other topics. He is emotionally invested in our school, and it's not just because he receives a paycheck from there. He also travels across the country to meet with alumni and supporters during much of the year. He stops by in Yulman to talk to us both in Westfeldt and in Glazer.

Please, if you want me to make an introduction, just ask. PM me.

We can and we must all work together to make TU what we know it can be.
Hear, hear!
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Re: I screamed at my computer just now

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Sophandros wrote:
windywave wrote:
DrHullabaloo wrote:
TUPF wrote:Funny, I have been donating steadily to Tulane for coming up on 40 years, and I never worried one way or another about where the people who were asking were from. All that mattered was that they wore OGSB and were invested now. I had never stepped foot in New Orleans before I got off that Southern Airways jet in 1974, naively wearing my corduroy sport coat and tie into the August heat.

With apologies to Dr. H and her ilk, I’d file this under First World problem. Smacks of Old Money New Orleans, you didn’t go to my high school parochialism. In my day the great majority of Tulanians WERE from New Orleans and Louisiana in general, and those alumni are exactly the ones who are disengaged now. I am not going to give any more or any less if the Tulanian doing the asking is from the 70118 area code or is Dr. Bobby Brown. Heck, the first stud QB wearing OGSB I remember was Roch Hontas and he was from, what, Ohio?

Also, I am just saying that we have one of the lowest giving rates by percentage of our alumni among our peer schools. We have vast rooms for improvement, and loads of untapped potential. I am critiquing that using another "Hi, I'm the Newest New Person" email fell flat on me.
:roll: that's the school as a whole genius. Per win, we probably have one of the highest for athletics

Have you considered the fact the alumni association sucks and the change in the philosophy of the school has alienated people too?
If you think the alumni association "sucks", then take on a leadership role and work to make it better.

Also, our giving rate is improving, at least according to what Fitts told us last week in Atlanta. And we expect more improvement after December 8th.
Really? You want me to quit my job and move to NOLA and get an office in the alumni house? If they'll match pay, benefits, and quality of life, I'm all in.
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Re: I screamed at my computer just now

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Sophandros wrote:I'm not sure who we could have hired locally with the qualifications we need to accomplish our goals in the athletics department. Should we hire people from UNO's AD? Dillard? Xavier? If we want people with Division 1 experience who are local, then we'll have to go to Southeastern, UL-L, or LSU. The former two are beneath our standard, while the third is, well, LSU.

I get the frustration about outreach. I really do. I'm working with my local alumni chapter to get better (by the way, today is National Networking Night in all of our chapters). If we want more alumni performing outreach, then WE are the ones who have to take the torch to make it happen.

I know your "letter writer" and I have spoken to him multiple times about Tulane athletics, NOLA, and other topics. He is emotionally invested in our school, and it's not just because he receives a paycheck from there. He also travels across the country to meet with alumni and supporters during much of the year. He stops by in Yulman to talk to us both in Westfeldt and in Glazer.

Please, if you want me to make an introduction, just ask. PM me.

We can and we must all work together to make TU what we know it can be.
Well done, Soph. Positive, researched, helpful. What the heck are you doing on a message board? :lol:

Regarding the OP, I guess I can understand the need by some to be stroked but I have donated yearly pretty much on autopilot. Some years I hear from no one. Other years I get the “hey, I’m so and so and will be in Philadelphia next month and can we meet for coffee” sort of email. If I am available I do meet. Mostly I get the earnest calls from athletes thanking me. I actually think those are most fun. Oh to be young again and totally invested in what you are doing! Investment is what matters to me. If Tulane gets Dr. Bobby Brown or Matt Forte or the ghost of Howard K. Smith to call, it’s not going to change anything one bit.

However, maybe Dr. H. is onto something. Maybe the disengaged New Orleanian alumni really do want to be stroked, feted, invited to some krewe ball. Maybe it’s baked into the culture. All I can say is that as someone who adopted New Orleans in my many travels, I do not feel the need to check the bonafides of Tulane employees.
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