Whammer Jammer by Magic Dick sounds good.
Gies Memorial Stadium
Ryllini
- Lombard
This is the way. This should be what the boys come on to the field to. Specifically about the 127 mark through the orange smoke.
Too bad we didn’t feel the same about Shad Kahn. One of our most generous alumni billionaires was slapped in the face twice by denying him an honorary doctorate. Is our relationship with him irreparable? Time will tell but I know former Chancellor Jones had made it a priority to try to bring him back into the fold.
I cannot remember, but wasn't the decision not U of I's to not give him an honorary degree? I could be pulling this literally out of no where, but I thought I read a couple years ago that some how Illinois' government got involved in that decision. Again, could be making that up.
Faculty Senate. Voted on twice over ten or so years and rejected both times. That group is out of its mind.
Professional jealousy. Insecure little people determined to punish success.
Ahhh faculty senate, not Illinois senate. My bad.
I seriously doubt that. But it was definitely an odd choice.
Then why else might they have voted no twice? Is his portfolio of accomplishments lacking in some way?
chiefini
- Rockford, Illinois
It was TOTALLY political. Josh was/is furious…
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I have (next-to) zero problem with the renaming of the stadium given the donation and Gies' father being a veteran, but this is definitely the right move ... "ILLINI" is still a damn cool name within college sports, and we should highlight it in such a prominent location.
As someone who sees this daily, I like it too. The windows probably weren't *designed* to hold ILLINI, but the window/letter count matches and there's a nice symmetry to it. GIES looked a little awkward in there, like an add-on.
Political is one thing. But the exact quote "Professional jealousy. Insecure little people determined to punish success." is ridiculous. The Illini faculty is quite successful in their own right as well. Most of us on this forum would be thrilled to be as successful as many of them are.
Perhaps, but only 200 faculty and 50 students are a part of it--that is 5-10% of the faculty. My assumption is that those highly successful ones are not the ones that get involved with things like this.
I’m just saying insecurity is part of the mindset that leads one to reject a highly accomplished person for political reasons. Small people abuse the power of their positions to undermine others with whom they disagree on political matters. Confident people do not. Faculty should be above such temptation, capable of grading results objectively.
Dismissing it as “just politics” suggests it’s to be expected. Sorry, but I expect better. Faculty should be role models. It’s in the University’s interest to celebrate Khan alongside other accomplished alumni. IMO politicizing recognition is shameful.
The “No” vote was 75-37. Those votes are 3% of the 2500 faculty in campus.
Like you, I assume truly successful faculty have far better uses for their time than playing political games in the Faculty Senate. It’s probably a frustrated, jealous minority sabotaging Kahn’s honorary degree.
I say this from a perspective where I have family who were faculty and leadership at Illinois.
Many, many faculty are very successful, but many have minimal understanding of, or appreciation for, success in the private sector. And they have the luxury of never having to change or evolve their views because they exist in an academic bubble and are tenured (and yes, I know many consult in the private sector).
The reality is that Kahn is very important to the university (as are all very successful and wealthy alumni), especially in this new world of athletics, but the faculty living in their tenured bubble either do not understand or do not care about the role Kahn can play not only in athletics, but also in helping drive enrollment and the university's overall reputation through many different avenues.
U of I has a history of pissing off wealthy alums, and it has done a lot of damage over the years, and will continue to do so unless something changes.
They like to pretend they are the Supreme Soviet.
Sounds like a lot of people who have no real information or facts behind the decision making. But go ahead and keep blaming "jealousy". 