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Auchter's Art: MSU's Board can't change Engler

John Auchter
/
Michigan Radio
Which is the more plausible scenario?

The second best advice I ever gave my kids was "Remember to do the things you're supposed to do and don't do the things you're not supposed to do." Pretty sound, right? Covers the bases, for them and for me. Of course, it helped they all had (and still have) really good moral compasses.

 

But the best advice I gave them was this: "Don't stake the success of any relationship on your intention to change the other person — you can't 'fix' people, so don't try to fix them."

 

So, is everybody familiar with John Engler? He was the governor of Michigan for quite some time. He also was a legislator. I've never met him, but I've drawn a lot of cartoons about him. So I feel fairly confident in saying the second of the two scenarios I presented in the cartoon is the more likely. This is not a criticism, it's an assessment based on loads of evidence.

 

I leave it to you to judge. But if it was the objective of the Michigan State University Board to appoint an interim president who would work tenaciously to minimize the impact of the Larry Nassar case and related issues, then they made a logical choice.

 

But let's not delude ourselves into thinking Engler is something that he is not. He's not nuanced. He's not subtle. Often he's not particularly nice. He's a doer, a dealmaker. He operates forcefully for his team. So if that's what MSU wants, that's what MSU got.

 

My advice, then, to the MSU Board would be: Don't stake the success of your relationship with Engler on any intention to change him. I would also hasten to add that they should take care to do the things they are supposed to do and not do the things they are not.

 

John Auchter is a freelance editorial cartoonist. His views are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Michigan Radio, its management, or its license holder, the University of Michigan.

 

Since 1995 John has created Michigan-based editorial cartoons for the Grand Rapids Business Journal, the Grand Rapids Press, and MLive Newspapers. His cartoons are currently featured at MichiganPublic.org and are syndicated to newspapers through the Michigan Press Association. John is an active member of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. You can view an archive of his editorial work and other cartoons at Auchtoon.com.
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