Suffolk University Moving off Beacon Hill for Downtown

czsz said:
And locals take insane pride in the city, though in its status quo rather than its growth.
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In other words, Montreal is taking pride in being innovative, Boston is taking pride in being old....
 
As the ladies of the night would say, "Yes she's pretty, but I've got experience!".
 
If Boston is an "old" lady of the night, she's gotten way too many nose jobs, put on way too much makeup, and played way too young and dumb to make her experience count for much.

Think of the Greenway as the result of a plastic surgery gone wrong...in an attempt to fix an earlier one gone worse.
 
Really? Because when I lived in Boston, all I ever heard was people complaining about the city and how they wish it were more like [insert city they most recently travelled to here]. Bostonians take pride in their institutions, namely the sports teams. They take pride in not being New York. Bostonians on the whole aren't invested in making their city a better place the way Montrealers are. There's a few that are but, as you say, are more for the status quo and stifling development in order to serve their own ends. Montrealers express their pride in wanting to make the city an international destination mainly because they know the city has nothing else going for it. How long til Boston reaches that point?

Of course, all this development and aspirations for international glory have meant that the corruption and involvement of organized crime in Montreal politics makes Boston look like preschool playground in comparison (the mayor had a security detail placed on him out of fear of a mob hit).

Either way, I don't want to turn this into a pissing match over which city takes more pride in itself, I just don't see Boston aspiring to make itself into something greater than it is the way Montreal does. Boston is happy to rest on its laurels of how things always have been done. I guess it's just the conservative Puritans in us.

Disclaimer: I exclude most of you from my ideas of how Bostonians perceive their city. You guys do have a pride and a desire to make the city a better, dynamic, interesting place to live. I just wish there was more of you, that's all.
 
I love many things about Montreal. I like its joie de vivre -- I loved going there in particular between the ages of 18 and 21, and I won't say anything about any "Super Sex." I like the fact that its relatively cheap real estate means that the high streets in neighborhoods like Plateau Mont-Royal or Mile-End are full of lots of quirky shops with nary a chain or bank to be found (which can also make it a pain in the tuckus to pay for things, given a lag in adoption of credit cards in restaurants there). And I like a lot of Montreal's unsung neighborhoods -- Canada's meritocratic, skills-based immigration policies mean it's a lot more of a melting pot than American cities are, and you have all sorts of middle-class Bengalis, Chinese or Ukrainians living amongst the natives in vibrant neighborhoods with great restaurants/bars where an NYC or Chicago has ghettoes due to our emphasis on low-skilled/illegal migrants and barriers to educated foreigners.

I also find Montreal's pride in being French and all that entails -- the world political capital of French Canada, the world fashion capital of French Canada, the world cultural capital of French Canada, the world dining capital of French Canada, etc. -- endearing.

But I've gotta step in and say that in all my trips to Montreal (the last one being this August) I've always found their modern architecture to be a mainly negative mixed bag, even in comparison to Boston, and much of the downtown area -- including Vieux-Montreal -- to be markedly shabby. Filene's aside, the city center seems much smaller, more economically depressed, and more derelict than Boston's. Even stately McGill feels like it could use a good refresher. Montreal invested heavily in building in the '70s (hey, it was the Trudeau days), and it really shows. Lots of nasty '70s apartments, not to mention the mess of the Parc Olympique area. And the dominant theme in contemporary architecture seems to be sprawl in the 'Burbs, "Fedders Specials" in the city neighborhoods, and a small amount of big new buildings downtown. Even one of Tom's pictures of Montreal's new structures linked below, L'?difice Chaussegros-de-L?ry, has struck me as hideous in person. The popular and newly redeveloped Old Port area seems like it was done on a tight budget (and look for images of the new Montreal Science Center there -- we'd freak out if it was built in Boston). One of the few recent developments I like, the public atrium at the Canadian World Trade Center, is basically a glassed-over and slightly mall-ish alleyway that would probably bring howls of "Disneyfication" from urban planners.

I do love Montreal, and Montrealers probably see their city as occupying a much more important place than many Bostonians do ours (the world's No. 2 Francophone city vs. the No. ... 100? English-speaking one), but I don't think we need to put ourselves through the ringer by comparing Boston to Montreal's recent architectural endeavors.
 
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Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2010 18:59:37 -0400 1 of 910
From: Suffolk University <mailer@suffolk.edu>
Subject: Message from the Chairman of the Board of Trustees
To: Suffolk_all_students@lists.suffolk.edu

Dear Members of the Suffolk University Community,

President Sargent has informed the Board of Trustees that he is retiring today. At a special meeting, the Board has accepted his retirement and unanimously conferred the status of president emeritus on him in recognition of his extraordinary years of service to Suffolk University.

As I stated in the press release below, I can think of no university that could be prouder of a president than we are of President Sargent. He has devoted his entire career and all of his energies to the betterment of Suffolk University, and in particular to its students. President Sargent has been a transformational force in the growth of this institution, and I speak for the Board in thanking him for his outstanding service.

The Board of Trustees will create a search committee to conduct a nationwide search for the purpose of identifying a successor.

University Provost Barry Brown will assume responsibilities for the Office of the President, overseeing day-to-day operations while the search process takes place.

Below is a press release with additional details of President Sargent?s many contributions to Suffolk University.

Sincerely,
Andrew C. Meyer, Jr., Esq.
Chairman of the Board of Trustees
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Suffolk University President David J. Sargent to Retire; Receives Emeritus Status

David J. Sargent, who has led Suffolk University through a period of unparalleled academic growth and whose passion for the institution became his life?s work, announced his retirement as president today. At a special meeting, the Board of Trustees unanimously conferred the status of president emeritus on him in recognition of his extraordinary years of service.

Under President Sargent?s leadership since 1989, Suffolk has grown to a major urban university serving a student population from across the country and the world.

?No university in this country could be prouder of a president than we are of David Sargent, who has done so much to serve the University and the wider community,? said Andrew C. Meyer, Jr., Esq., chairman of the Board of Trustees, and a former law student of President Sargent. ?The contributions he has made as a leader and an architect for growth will serve as a model for future presidents of universities who attempt to achieve a similar level of excellence.?

?As a professor, Law School dean and president, David?s singular focus on growing and expanding Suffolk?s potential to serve students has made a huge difference in the lives of thousands who have walked through these doors,? Meyer continued. ?He will forever leave his imprint on this institution, and I speak for the whole Board when I say how profoundly grateful we are for his many years of service.?

Meyer announced that the Board of Trustees will create a search committee to conduct a nationwide search for the purpose of identifying a successor. University Provost Barry Brown will assume responsibilities for the Office of the President, overseeing day-to-day operations while that process takes place. Brown has served Suffolk since 1976, as an esteemed law school professor and, more recently, as provost.

President Sargent, 79, is one of the nation?s longest serving college presidents, and his more than half a century of service to Suffolk University is nearly unparalleled in higher education. A 1954 graduate of Suffolk University Law School, he returned to the University in 1956 as a professor of law before becoming dean of the Law School in 1972 and assuming the presidency of the University in 1989.

?I feel privileged to have been at this University for such a long period of time,? President Sargent said. ?It is a uniquely wonderful institution. Its students, faculty and staff have become my extended family. Suffolk today is a vibrant and thriving institution dedicated to academic excellence and social responsibility.?

As the University?s eighth leader, President Sargent has taken great pride in hewing closely to the University?s founding mission of providing access and opportunity for all deserving students.

President Sargent has strengthened and expanded the University?s academic programs, introducing Suffolk?s first doctoral degree programs as an extension of its wide array of graduate-level offerings. Internationally, Suffolk University now has campuses in Madrid, Spain, and Dakar, Senegal. In Boston, the New England School of Art & Design has come under Suffolk?s mantle during President Sargent?s tenure. And the University?s dedicated faculty remains committed to scholarship, teaching and learning. Today, 91 percent of Suffolk faculty members hold Ph.D. degrees and the undergraduate faculty to student ratio is 1-to-12.

President Sargent?s tenure saw the establishment of many important centers of research at the crossroads of public policy, law and business, including:
? The Center for Global Business Law and Ethics
? The Center for Innovation and Change Leadership
? The Juvenile Justice Center
? The Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service
? The John Joseph Moakley Institute on Public Policy and Political Leadership
? The Center for Women?s Health and Human Rights
? The Barbara and Richard M. Rosenberg Institute for East Asian Studies
? The Suffolk University Political Research Center

The Sargent era of institutional growth has seen the addition of four residence halls, including the recently opened Modern Theatre residence hall, a new Law School, and an administrative building that houses the Mildred Sawyer Library, and the soon-to-open, magnificently restored Modern Theatre performance space.

President Sargent is a past recipient of the American Trial Lawyers Association Award for service to the Bar and to the public, a recipient of the John Joseph Moakley Public Service Award, and holds an honorary doctor of laws degree from Suffolk University.

Suffolk today, has a devoted alumni base that is more than 60,000 strong, and a student population of nearly 10,000. It remains committed to educating students to become lifelong learners, as well as professionals who lead and serve the communities in which they live and work.
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"The Sargent era of institutional growth has seen the addition of four residence halls, including the recently opened Modern Theatre residence hall, a new Law School, and an administrative building that houses the Mildred Sawyer Library, and the soon-to-open, magnificently restored Modern Theatre performance space."
 
Montreal is great, and I do think it's decently diverse, but a bigger mixing pot than American cities I doubt. I've been there a few times and remember seeing about 6 black people. I also question how much of a Latino presence it has. And according to wiki its 26% non-white, just about all New England cities (southern atleast) are more colorful than that and we're one of the whitest parts of the country. And I'd say the single biggest reason why American cities might have more ghettos was our policy of completly shitting on a people for 300 years. And also exploiting and them everystep of the way towards equality. So today when poor imigrants arrive here they are often forced to go to affordable places and where they then often go is to our pre-existing hoods. Most white people's families 100 years ago first started off in similar tenaments as well, but unlike African Americans white Americans could advance up the ladder, or at-least their kids did.
 
Montreal, and Canadian cities in general, have many more Asians, Middle Easterners, and people from the Indian subcontinent than most US cities (possibly not Boston, at least if you're comparing with Montreal -- Toronto and Vancouver probably are different). Is that not the same ethnic diversity you're talking about? Why are people from Asia not "diverse," presumably meaning "non-white" (sorry, white people!), but blacks/Hispanics are? Canadian cities represent a huge range of diverse peoples, spanning a much larger swath of the globe than most US cities.

There are also large numbers of black people, primarily from Haiti, in Montreal.

But Canada is known around the world for having intelligent policies that help the educated and skilled from any country on earth immigrate. In the US, the fact is that we keep the educated and skilled out -- which is why I have a number of co-workers who went to US universities, have worked here for years but feel they won't be able to get green cards and are looking to Canada. Meanwhile, we don't enforce any laws with the unskilled, uneducated and illegal. You allow tens of millions of them to do as they please, and how on earth can you be surprised if you have income inequality, ghettoes, poverty, etc.? My time driving around the outer fringes of Montreal tells me that Canada has been able to attract foreigners who do a much better job of integrating and climbing the socioeconomic ladder.
 
If America didn't take the poor and uneducated a whoping majority of white Americans never would have came here in the first place. But I do agree that accepting educated imigrants is a good idea.

Secondly you are out of your mind if you think Canada, the vanilla of the world, has more diversity than American cities. You ever see the Last King of Scotland when he's spinning the globe trying to find an adventure. I mean maybe wikipedia is wrong but:

"Some 26% of the population of Montreal and 16.5% that of Greater Montreal, are members of a visible minority (non-white) group.[69] The most numerous minorities are Blacks (7.2%), Moroccans (2.8%), Latin Americans (2.1%), South Asians (2%), and Chinese (2%).[69] Visible minorities are defined by the Canadian Employment Equity Act as "persons, other than Aboriginals, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour"

I'm not all that impressed. I've heard Toronto and Vancoover are more asian influenced and that is cool. And I consider all three legit cities w/ culture and diversity, but compared to US cities....I still think they're African and Latin influences are quite small. And I'd say Miami, Boston, Philly, Chicago, San Fran, LA, N.O., and NYC just off the top of my head are more diverse and mixed. Keep in mind how truelly beautifully potent African American culture has been globally. IMO EASILY the most influential ethnicity on the planet for the last 100 plus years. No one can really deny they're dominance/brilliance/influence in music, dancing, athletics, and comedy. They also get very high marks in literature, fashion, and acting. And that ethnicity is allmost exclusively found here.

And finally my wife is South African, I've come to learn the cultural differences between African and Euopean culture is far more vast than the differnces amongst Europeans. I think both should be celebrated, but in terms of a true cultural spectrum if Africa isn't well repped you arn't on the same level. Although I will have to admit that Indian and Asian cultures are quite differnt than the west as well. But both of those populations are well repped in the US. And what about Pacific Islands people. Hawaii's got us covered, not too sure about Canada.
 
You gotta wonder who is pushing Suffolk to make a bid for downtown project? Especially know that Sargent just got the boot.


Suffolk President David Sargent retires amid school controversy
By Jessica Van Sack
Suffolk University President David J. Sargent, who presided over soaring enrollment and expansion of the Beacon Hill campus, abruptly retired yesterday after months of simmering controversy over his lavish pay and behind-the-scenes jockeying to succeed him.

Sargent, 79, announced his retirement at the board of trustees? meeting late this afternoon. He has called the university home since shortly after his graduation from the law school in 1954. His contract was set to expire in 2013.

?The man is an institution,? said board of trustees Chairman Andrew C. Meyer. ?I think the president realized it was time to move on . . . and allow others to pick up where he has left off.?

Provost Barry Brown will assume Sargent?s responsibilities on an interim basis.

Jockeying to succeed Sargent began last year after the board extended his contract and approved his eye-popping $1.5 million-a-year compensation. In 2007, Sargent drew an astonishing $2.8 million in pay, including deferred compensation, making him the highest paid college president in America.

Sargent?s closest ally on the board of trustees, chairman Nicholas Macaronis, resigned last year after the outcry over Sargent?s hefty raise.

Among those who angled to replace Sargent were University of Massachusetts at Lowell Chancellor Martin Meehan, an ex-congressman, and Suffolk vice president John Nucci, a former Hub city councilor. It is unclear whether either is still in the mix.

Meyer said the board will form a search committee and scour the nation for the most qualified applicants.

Sargent worked his way up from law professor to become the college?s top dog 20 years ago. During his reign, Suffolk went from a lower-tier commuter school to a downtown institution with increasing Beacon Hill clout, a growing number of campus dormitories and a gleaming law school that bears his name.

Sargent released a statement saying, ?I feel privileged to have been at this university for such a long period of time. It is a uniquely wonderful institution. Its students, faculty and staff have become my extended family.?

jvansack@bostonherald.com | Visit Jessica Van Sack?s blog, On Politics


http://bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1290340
 
Dear Members of the Suffolk University Community,

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am pleased to announce that the Board has appointed Barry Brown to the position of Acting President and Provost of the University effective immediately. Acting President Brown has agreed to take on this additional role with the full responsibilities and authority of that office until a new president is identified and takes office.

The Board is in the process of constituting a full and representative presidential search committee, which will retain a national search firm that will assist the committee in recruiting and interviewing the highest-caliber candidates from across the country. Acting President Brown will be a member of that search committee, contribute to its deliberations, and as such will not be a candidate for president.

As Provost since August 2008, Brown has played a critical role in the life of this University. He has been instrumental in the careful oversight of the University?s finances during the recent national financial crisis and has been responsible for the successful planning and refinancing of the University?s debt resulting in the stabilization of the institution?s credit and bond ratings. Over the past two years, he has coordinated the restructuring and reorganization of University departments to respond to the dynamic growth of the institution, while at the same time making it possible to sustain our academic programs and, most importantly, increase the levels of financial aid offered to our students.

As a Professor of Law, Brown has taught courses throughout the Law School curriculum including Property, Land Transfer and Finance, Professional Responsibility, and Biomedical Law and Public Policy. He is the founder of the Law School?s nationally ranked Concentration in Health and Biomedical Law. He is widely published in academic journals on topics ranging from professional ethics to condominium law and in recent years biomedical law and public policy. He continues as founder and faculty advisor to the nationally recognized Journal of Health and Biomedical Law.

Brown began his legal career with the law firm of Goulston and Storrs in Boston. He later served as first assistant Bar Counsel and Counsel to the Clients? Security Board. As prosecutor for the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers, he litigated a number of important cases, including the reinstatement of Alger Hiss.

Brown holds an A.B. from Harvard College, an Ed.M. from Harvard School of Education, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

I am grateful to Barry for his tireless efforts on behalf of the University and on behalf of the Board, thank him for stepping into the critically important role of Acting President.

Sincerely,
Andrew C. Meyer, Jr.
Chairman of the Board of Trustees
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I wonder what this means for future projects. Isn't this the guy who was interested in the Filene's site?
 
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