text: Such humor (or is  it cynicism?) may well be appropriate.  However it's pretty clear that a radical shakeup at the U of O was long overdue IF the institution is to flourish.  Phil Knight did much to facilitate such change on the sports side (though let's not ignore  his generous contributions to the library and law school which balance things out a bit).  And President Schill (BlackFaces aside) has initiated  extraordinary changes (starting with rather  visionary aspirations and infusions of promising new leadership) on the academic/research fronts, the results of which are just starting to manifest.  Seriously reorienting a complex institutional organism is somewhat akin to shifting the course of a gigantic sea vessel heading toward a fatal crash.  It requires time, enormous smart effort, and can only occur incrementally.  From Ms Dietz's account, it would appear that  Provost-to-be Banavar could be another significant step in a positive re-orientation and, if so, worth every penny