I get how important athletics are to people on this board, and on the other board.

I get and can understand how disappointed people have been in campus leadership with respect to how they have handled the Athletics department.

But i am going to have to dissent when it comes to the matter of getting rid of Mark Mone as Chancellor. During his entire tenure as Chancellor, Mone has faced a budgetary situation that has required him to focus on the most important aspects of UWM, and athletics have not been as high on his list of important things as it is on the lists of Panther fans. i understand that difference upsets some people. But since he has been dealing, and continues to deal, with challenges to the existence of UWM as an institution of higher education, i think people need to cut the Chancellor some slack.

State support for the UW System has been declining for decades, but the cuts imposed on the system in the past seven years are unprecedented. Far and away the highest proportion of expenses in UWM's budget are personnel-related, so budget cuts largely become exercises in personnel management. Jimmy has been commenting on the open position in the ticket office. i can agree with him that it's an important position. As little as i like saying it, it is entirely possible that the position has not been filled not because Amanda Braun is incompetent, but because a request to fill the position was not granted. Offices all over campus have to request permission to fill vacancies, and have to make a case for why a particular position needs to be filled. i would think that a strong case would be made that the ticket manager position is important because it is a vital part of getting income for the athletics department. Especially, if the money that pays the salary and benefits of the position comes from "program revenue" (in this case, ticket sales), the position should be filled because tax dollars are not being spent on it; filling it does not affect the budget. If that is the case, and Amanda Braun has failed to make that argument in an attempt to fill the position, or has, as Jimmy suspects, just decided not to even try to get the position filled, that is indeed further evidence of her incompetence, and/or misplaced priorities. But that is not evidence of a lack of support for athletics on the part of Chancellor Mone; it is evidence that he is being forced by politicians to make really hard choices to try to keep UWM from moving backward, and has been doing a pretty good job of it.

Chancellor Mone is a good person to have at UWM for another important reason: his professional and research interests have to do with organizations, and what makes them succeed, knowledge which he has had to put to use in face of the budget cuts.

i am fully in agreement with the people on this board who think Amanda Braun is unworthy to hold the position she holds. i'd be happy to see her leave, as indicated by the signature on every one of my posts here and on the other board. But if you're going to get rid of Mark Mone, you'd better have someone lined up to take over who is going to be as good at or better than him dealing with the university's budget situation. And i don't think you're going to be able to lure Nancy Zimpher back here, or hire Donna Shalala.