Quinnipiac University Vice President/Prevost, Mark Thompson, was spotted in his office asking his Magic 8-Ball if he would make a good successor to John Lahey, who will be stepping down from his role as University President at the end of the 2017-2018 academic year.
When asked about the prospect of becoming Quinnipiac’s first new President in over 30 years Thompson responded, “I would love to take on the challenge of following in John’s footsteps, but my Magic-8 ball wasn’t ready to commit to anything," Thompson explained.
"The best I could get out of it, one of my most trusted advisors might I add, was ‘reply hazy, try again.’ Before making any major life decisions I always consult my Magic 8-ball, and unless I can get at least a ‘signs point to yes’ I won’t make a move so as of now my name is off the table,” Thompson said.
Thompson has spent nearly twenty years at the university working various positions from Associate Dean of the School of Business to Senior VP forAcademic and Student Affairs, but a large amount still stands between Thompson and the presidency. Some have called Thompson’s ethics into question, many citing that he may have too large of a conscious and capacity for empathy to be the President of a private university.
Others think that he is far too lacking in experience regarding silencing the people of Hamden to take Quinnipiac to the next level. The board has yet to make a decision about Lahey’s replacement, but they had this to say on the matter: “Thompson has a lot of great qualities we are looking for in our next president. He has been a voice for the students; he is experienced, has great character, and even stayed during the whole lowercase ‘u’ fiasco. But, we aren’t sure how we are going to be capable of marketing it all if he can’t even get a co-sign from his own Magic 8-Ball; it’s just going to be a tough sell to the public”