Breaking News: UD’s Harker Gets Out While the Gettin’s Good.
Going to…the Philly Fed. Guess someone else will have to address campus diversity. BTW, I didn’t know this:
Harker is also a director of Pepco Holdings Inc., the utility company that owns the former Delmarva Power & Light Co. in Wilmington.
Jeez. being one of the highest paid university president’s in the country wasn’t good enough for him.
Will be interesting to see the remaining administrators make themselves indispensable to the new boss.
Unless the next one’s Gorbachev or William Friday.
Could be Jack Markell’s next move?
Timing’s not right.
Besides, there are plenty of others besides Markell who are capable of sharing Harker’s disdain for a well-rounded college education.
Harker was a corporate fundraising type. Precisely what the Trustees look for. He turned his nose up at academia and the students/faculty who come with it. Over/under on the next President having ties to Goldman Sachs (as Harker did), 50-50. I’m taking the over.
AQC,
I’ve been chatting up that possibility with friends and associates for more than a year I now. I still see it as an ideal destination for the governor, but the timing of Harker’s move and the vacancy in the lieutenant governor’s office seem to make it less likely.
Assuming the governor had interest (I think he should but don’t know for sure), it would have been an easy move with Matt Denn as his heir apparent. But my crystal ball clouds when I think of Gov. Jeff Bullock. A capable manager and dedicated public servant, yes; but a governor who hasn’t held elective office, I’m not so sure.
Can’t help but think what might have been for this scenario had Matt still be LtGov. Imagine the looks on the faces of all the Bidens if Jack had had to opportunity to move into Hullihen Hall, thus setting up Matt at Woodburn to run as an incumbent seeking a full term. Priceless!
@mediawatch
The timing ain’t necessarily an issue. The university can announce that it is conducting a careful nationwide search via a search firm, name a 12-18 month interim president, and take us right out within a couple months of the end of Markell’s term (DSU did it that way six years ago).
That said, I think Jack has other things on his mind.
Steve,
I’ve contemplated that, and I agree that’s it’s possible. Just seems like too facile a setup — stretching the search out for more than a year when the guy you want is right under your nose.
Yes, Jack may well have other things on his mind, but why run for House or Senate where you’d have no seniority and likely be in the minority. He probably wouldn’t be on Hillary’s A-list for possible cabinet secretaries. (In fact, he’d have a better chance of securing a cabinet position under a Republican president, especially one who is a former governor.)
Fun to speculate and hypothesize. It is a job that squares with his interest in education and he’d likely be compatible with the UD trustees.
I don’t see Markell running for another office, so what’s he got to lose by leaving the Governor’s office early?
AQC,
In terms of Jack only thinking in terms of what’s best for Jack, no harm if he decides to do something else tomorrow, whether it’s president of UD or a 10-year vacation in Tahiti.
However, those who serve as governor do leave a legacy and are subject to public perception. Bailing midway through a term to advance your personal interests is a little different when you’re governor than if you’re treasurer or insurance commissioner. Given the turmoil in the education system, much of it instigated by the governor himself, a midterm departure would be seen by some as “gettin’ out while the gettin’ is good,” and such a characterization would not be soon or easily forgotten.