High hopes for Herbert's junior year

his year marks Dr. Adam Herbert's third anniversary as president of the University. Let the Indiana Daily Student be the first to say: Congratulations -- you've made it through the freshman year and avoided the dreaded sophomore slump. You've done some good things in your time here. \nBut we can't help but notice that there are more than a few of your inauguration promises you haven't really addressed. We know that one was to make the satellite campuses stronger. Good goal, but let's get it done. "Mission differentiation" only matters if every campus actually is different. \nWe've also talked a lot about developing the life sciences at IU without sacrificing a liberal arts education, getting more money from the statehouse and expanding and repairing the buildings on campus. These are all fabulous goals -- but they're only goals until actual change is made.\nThe first year, it was understandable if you didn't accomplish much. Everyone knows that a person's freshman year is dedicated to learning the lay of campus. The Bryan House had to be decorated, you had to learn everybody's names and you had to figure out the one-way streets in Bloomington. The second year brought more troubles: administrative shortages, legislative fiascoes and more than your fair share of fiscal woes. Two sluggish years are more than understandable.\nBut now you've named new deans, developed an economic plan and you're planning on naming a new chancellor this fall.\nOnce all this is in place, what's holding you back?\nNothing. \n"It takes a long time to get things done in a University," Gros Louis said in Tuesday's IDS article ("Herbert discusses progress in 3rd year"). "It's a legitimate criticism of the University that we are not very nimble. We cannot react quickly. The president or the chancellor are not like CEOs of a company."\nGros Louis has a point. It's difficult to get things done quickly when a piece of paper has to have twenty different signatures to be made official. We know you inherited a pile of headaches when you took the job. That's why we're excusing you for the last two years. \nBut now we're issuing a challenge: Make this year count, Dr. Herbert. This is your time to shine. \n"In responding to (challenges facing the University), we must remain focused on who we are, even as we engage in the institution-building that will determine what we become," Herbert said in Tuesday's article.\nYou've had two years to figure out who "we are." \nDr. Herbert, you're in your "junior year." You know what you're majoring in, you know where all the buildings are and you know that 8 a.m. classes aren't worth the headache. \nNow that you've addressed the big "gotta deal with this now" problems, it's time to start hitting some of your inauguration goals. Keep in touch, and let us know how you're doing. We believe in you.