{"id":409,"date":"2018-05-09T16:06:55","date_gmt":"2018-05-09T16:06:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/2018\/05\/09\/laheys-legacy\/"},"modified":"2020-09-05T19:43:17","modified_gmt":"2020-09-05T19:43:17","slug":"laheys-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/2018\/05\/09\/laheys-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Lahey&#8217;s legacy: The good, the bad and the expensive"},"content":{"rendered":"<div\n        class=\"\n          image-block-outer-wrapper\n          layout-caption-below\n          design-layout-inline\n          \n          \n          \n        \"\n        data-test=\"image-block-inline-outer-wrapper\"\n    ><\/p>\n<figure\n            class=\"\n              sqs-block-image-figure\n              intrinsic\n            \"\n            style=\"max-width:2500.0px;\"\n        ><\/p>\n<div\n              \n                style=\"padding-bottom:66.68000030517578%;\"\n              \n              class=\"\n                image-block-wrapper\n                \n          \n        \n                has-aspect-ratio\n              \"\n              data-animation-role=\"image\"\n              \n  data-animation-override\n\n          ><br \/>\n            <noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Library.jpg\" alt=\"Library.JPG\" \/><\/noscript><img class=\"thumb-image\" data-src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Library.jpg\" data-image=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Library.jpg\" data-image-dimensions=\"2500x1667\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" alt=\"Library.JPG\" data-load=\"false\" data-image-id=\"5af21b1ff950b7362d46c916\" data-type=\"image\" \/>\n          <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">By Grace Manthey<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">John Lahey is Quinnipiac University\u2019s longest standing president. In 2014 he was the second-highest paid in the country, making over $3.7 million a year, according to an article from <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/highest-paid-college-presidents-2014-12\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Business Insider<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">However in a few short weeks the reign of Lahey will end and Judy Olian will take over. As the university\u2019s first female president, Olian will be making history. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">But Lahey already has. For the last 31 years Lahey has expanded the physical campus and increased the population. But he\u2019s also dealt with the consequences of that growth.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">When the university hired Lahey as president in 1987, Russia was still called the Soviet Union. Ronald Reagan was president. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/charts\/hot-100\/1987-01-03https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/charts\/hot-100\/1987-01-03\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Walk Like an Egyptian<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"> was the number one song. &nbsp; <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">And the quad on Quinnipiac\u2019s main campus didn\u2019t even exist. According to an article from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.qu.edu\/content\/dam\/magazine\/documents\/spring2018mag-full.pdf\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Quinnipiac Magazine<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">, Lahey was the one who first envisioned the current \u201cquad.\u201d Prior to 1987 it actually resembled more of an \u201cL,\u201d with just the library and a classroom building to the left. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Lahey and his team of architects built and renovated nearly 10 buildings amongst the three different campuses: <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 1989: Echlin Center <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 1993: Lender School of Business with the Ed McMahon Communications Center <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 1995: School of Law (now the Center for Communications and Engineering) <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2000: renovated the Library, the Student Center and Buckman Theaters <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2007: The York Hill arena <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2007: North Haven campus<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2009: York Hill residence halls dorms<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2013: Frank H. Netter M.D. School of Medicine <\/span><\/p>\n<p>   <iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"juxtapose\" width=\"100%\" height=\"587\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.knightlab.com\/libs\/juxtapose\/latest\/embed\/index.html?uid=c1708dca-441a-11e8-b263-0edaf8f81e27\"><\/iframe> <\/p>\n<p><em>Slide the white line back and forth to see changes from QU in 1991 to QU in 2017. Notice that while the school had built Echlin by 1991, it hadn&#8217;t built Center for Communications and Engineering, and it has also expanded the dorms since then. Also, York Hill was still just a hill back in &#8217;91.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">But all this expansion came as a result of the growing enrollment. The university needed somewhere to put the students they were admitting. <\/span><\/p>\n<div\n        class=\"\n          image-block-outer-wrapper\n          layout-caption-below\n          design-layout-inline\n          \n          \n          \n        \"\n        data-test=\"image-block-inline-outer-wrapper\"\n    ><\/p>\n<figure\n            class=\"\n              sqs-block-image-figure\n              intrinsic\n            \"\n            style=\"max-width:960.0px;\"\n        ><\/p>\n<div\n              \n                style=\"padding-bottom:58.33333206176758%;\"\n              \n              class=\"\n                image-block-wrapper\n                \n          \n        \n                has-aspect-ratio\n              \"\n              data-animation-role=\"image\"\n              \n  data-animation-override\n\n          ><br \/>\n            <noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/PopGrowth-Rates-01.png\" alt=\"PopGrowth Rates-01.png\" \/><\/noscript><img class=\"thumb-image\" data-src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/PopGrowth-Rates-01.png\" data-image=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/PopGrowth-Rates-01.png\" data-image-dimensions=\"960x560\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" alt=\"PopGrowth Rates-01.png\" data-load=\"false\" data-image-id=\"5af21a951ae6cf11018c33aa\" data-type=\"image\" \/>\n          <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">The graph above shows growth rates for Quinnipiac and Hamden over 30 years, according to <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hamden.com\/content\/7089\/7093\/7091\/7133\/7373.aspx\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Hamden&#8217;s website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">, the Quinnipiac registrar and Quinnipiac\u2019s annual reports, which are on file in the library (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/drive\/folders\/1T_EAIXDmVUOHb54C4YU3Z80x9HOasvlK?usp=sharing\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">photos of select pages are available here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">). In all but seven of those years, QU\u2019s growth rate exceeded Hamden\u2019s. The school\u2019s enrollment dropped only one year, but Hamden\u2019s population dropped or stayed virtually the same about half of the three decades.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">And although reasons for an increase in enrollment aren\u2019t definite, some peaks in growth rates happened around the same time as university expansions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">For example, according to Quinnipiac Magazine, the university opened the law school in 1995. The next year there was a small spike in enrollment rate. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Also, after President Lahey\u2019s 2006 <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.courant.com\/news\/connecticut\/hc-quinnipiac-president-lahey-apologizes-20150429-story.html\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">agreement with the town of Hamden<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"> to offer housing for all students on campus, the University saw its first negative growth rate in years in 2007. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Quinnipiac had not yet built the York Hill dorms; the expansion had only been approved in 2006. By the time the dorms were finished in 2010, the university had the highest growth rate in a decade. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">However, with this growth came tension, as more young adults opted to live in off-campus housing in the surrounding town.&nbsp; <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">And in recent years, students having parties in off-campus housing have caused some conflicts between the town of Hamden and Quinnipiac. Although the university does offer housing for students for all four years, President Lahey said it\u2019s unrealistic to expect all students to choose that option.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">&#8220;If we&#8217;d built 500 more beds, more students would have come on campus, but there would still be the 20 percent who wouldn&#8217;t. It wouldn&#8217;t solve the problem, and we&#8217;d have hundreds of empty beds,&#8221; said Lahey in an interview with the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.courant.com\/education\/hc-quinnipiac-university-hamden-0308-20150307-story.html\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Hartford Courant<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"> in 2015.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Since 2015 total enrollment has increased by close to 1,000 students. To keep the peace with the town, QU plans to expand housing. On March 27, the Hamden Planning and Zoning Commission <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hqpress.org\/blog-2\/2018\/3\/30\/hamden-approves-quinnipiac-residence-hall-expansion\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">approved Quinnipiac\u2019s plan<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"> to build senior housing on York Hill, including over 200 more beds.&nbsp; <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">But it\u2019s only a few problem houses a year that hurt the university\u2019s relationship with the town. During the most recent school year eight noise complaints came from homes that had permits to rent to students, according to records from the Hamden Police Department (there may be landlords that rent to students without permits).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">However there were close to 300 noise complaints over the same amount of time, spread across the entire town. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span><\/p>\n<p>   <iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=107YbEc43fvz3MZDFLozqo8nst8cWPnsJ\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>The black icons are addresses of noise complaints filed with the Hamden Police Department. The purple dots are addresses that have permits to rent to students. It should be noted that there may be some homes that do not have a permit to rent to student, but students may still live in some of the homes that are close to the Quinnipiac campus.&nbsp; <\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">So despite the growth of Quinnipiac during the Lahey years, his tenure hasn\u2019t been perfect. In 2015 <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.quchronicle.com\/2015\/04\/wherever-wigo-lahey-goes\/\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Lahey attended an off campus party<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"> during \u201cMay Weekend,\u201d a notorious party weekend at QU. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">In an attempt to \u201cbe humorous\u201d with the students, Lahey <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=y0YNGPqW4-A\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">celebrated their May Weekend party<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">, and his remarks enraged some Hamden residents and Quinnipiac alums. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cI deeply regret having made these remarks, for which I sincerely apologize. I have already personally conveyed this apology to Interim Mayor Jim Pascarella and renewed my commitment to work with him and town officials to resolve these long standing student housing issues in the immediate future,\u201d Lahey said in a statement in 2015.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">But just in time for his retirement, Lahey seems to be easing tensions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">In a 2017 press conference, Lahey <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.quchronicle.com\/2017\/02\/lahey-improving-relations-with-hamden-university-contributes-1-4-million\/\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">presented Hamden Mayor Curt Leng with a $1.4 million check.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"> The money will support the arts and culture programs in Hamden, according to Leng.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cQuinnipiac and the town are on better footing right now than we have been in a very long time, and that is a great benefit to the university and to the town,\u201d Leng said at the press conference.&nbsp; <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Perhaps the goal of mending university-town relations is the reason for the increase in tuition. While the average student doesn\u2019t pay the current full tuition of over $60,000, according to annual reports, the amount has increased by over 200 percent over the last three decades. <\/span><\/p>\n<div\n        class=\"\n          image-block-outer-wrapper\n          layout-caption-below\n          design-layout-inline\n          \n          \n          \n        \"\n        data-test=\"image-block-inline-outer-wrapper\"\n    ><\/p>\n<figure\n            class=\"\n              sqs-block-image-figure\n              intrinsic\n            \"\n            style=\"max-width:960.0px;\"\n        ><\/p>\n<div\n              \n                style=\"padding-bottom:58.33333206176758%;\"\n              \n              class=\"\n                image-block-wrapper\n                \n          \n        \n                has-aspect-ratio\n              \"\n              data-animation-role=\"image\"\n              \n  data-animation-override\n\n          ><br \/>\n            <noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Tuition-01.png\" alt=\"Tuition-01.png\" \/><\/noscript><img class=\"thumb-image\" data-src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Tuition-01.png\" data-image=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Tuition-01.png\" data-image-dimensions=\"960x560\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" alt=\"Tuition-01.png\" data-load=\"false\" data-image-id=\"5af21966575d1f2a56796ee5\" data-type=\"image\" \/>\n          <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Adjusted for inflation, in 1988 the average student paid almost $12,000. The most recent year available showed that an average student pays about $40,000. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">And the university\u2019s revenue increase isn\u2019t just from tuition. Between 1988 and 2017 revenue from everything but tuition (including gifts, grants, and investment returns) increased nearly 400 percent, after adjusting for inflation. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">But the distribution of that money hasn\u2019t changed much over the years. The biggest difference in the expense data over the past 30 years was in student aid and scholarships, and sponsored research. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">In 1988 less than a quarter of Quinnipiac\u2019s expenses went to student aid and scholarships, but by 2017 it was close to a third. By increasing student aid, the university can increase enrollment and give opportunities for students who may not have been able to afford Quinnipiac\u2019s hefty tuition. <\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">&nbsp; <\/span><\/p>\n<div\n        class=\"\n          image-block-outer-wrapper\n          layout-caption-below\n          design-layout-inline\n          \n          \n          \n        \"\n        data-test=\"image-block-inline-outer-wrapper\"\n    ><\/p>\n<figure\n            class=\"\n              sqs-block-image-figure\n              intrinsic\n            \"\n            style=\"max-width:960.0px;\"\n        ><\/p>\n<div\n              \n                style=\"padding-bottom:54.77777862548828%;\"\n              \n              class=\"\n                image-block-wrapper\n                \n          \n        \n                has-aspect-ratio\n              \"\n              data-animation-role=\"image\"\n              \n  data-animation-override\n\n          ><br \/>\n            <noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Expenses-gif.gif\" alt=\"Expenses-gif.gif\" \/><\/noscript><img class=\"thumb-image\" data-src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Expenses-gif.gif\" data-image=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Expenses-gif.gif\" data-image-dimensions=\"960x560\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" alt=\"Expenses-gif.gif\" data-load=\"false\" data-image-id=\"5af218f5758d46437653b8cc\" data-type=\"image\" \/>\n          <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">While Lahey\u2019s departure has left students wondering how life at Quinnipiac will change under a new president, Lahey has his own plans.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">He plans to spend the colder months in Florida with his wife, Judy. But Lahey does plan to come back and teach a philosophy or logic course in spring of 2019, according to an interview with <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.quchronicle.com\/2018\/05\/moving-forward-looking-back-farewell-lahey\/\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">The Chronicle<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cI hope, I\u2019m leaving Quinnipiac as someone who doesn\u2019t take themself any more seriously than they have to and appreciates the people around them,\u201d Lahey said.&nbsp; <\/span><\/p>\n<h3>\u00a0<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\">As Quinnipiac\u2019s longest standing president John Lahey, has made an impact on the university community. Now he\u2019s retiring and handing the torch to another history-maker: Judy Olian, Quinnipiac\u2019s first female president. And although he\u2019s made a significant difference in the school, his run hasn\u2019t been perfect. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":410,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[227,230,228,229,4,164],"class_list":["post-409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-quinnipiac","tag-john","tag-ju","tag-lah","tag-lahey-retirement","tag-quinnipiac","tag-quinnipiac-history"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2669,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409\/revisions\/2669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}