It’s not fake news. But TU is in good shape financially. How higher education is financed takes more of an explanation that you want. But here’s the cliff notes:
TU, like most private schools, is heavily dependent upon tuition dollars for day to day operating funds. Payroll. Benefits. TU had some unanticipated large costs, some old debts that needed to be retired, some growing pains, and then enrollment started to decline once US News changed their ranking criteria to focus on social justice issues and TU took a plummet. So there was a cash crunch. CoVid didn’t help, but we are in much better shape than 2 years ago and much better than disgruntled faculty, the Tulsa World, and some on this board would have you believe.
Residential education may be changing dramatically. And some of our best potential students may be foregoing uni altogether. So next Fall will be uncertain. But things are not bad. We just can’t get over extended, have major boosters back out of pledges, or have the bottom fall out of energy stocks due to the change in Presidential administration.
In short, we are fine. We just need to think hard on whether giving $2 to $4 million dollars to Frank Haith to not coach is better than having him coach, unscrewing how we fundraiser and plugging that money into infrastructure. He’s out performed the preseason expectations of coaches/media polls every year he’s been here except this one.
TU may fire him. I don’t know. But if it doesn’t happen, don’t think it’s because we don’t have the money or the institutional desire. Don’t confuse caution and wisdom with malaise or misfeasance.
