@JBStillFlying - how’s this - Sonnenschein brought “the organization” to Chicago. I’d agree if you called O’Neill an “Old” Chicago man, but Chicago, in those days, was about as far from the “organization” as you could get. Do you really see O’Neill as an Organization Man - a pinnacle of Whyte’s Corporate america? Do you see “old” Chicago as the pinnacle of market values, as espoused by Organization Men… really? How would you classify Sahlins and Abbott and Sinaiko? Organization men as well?
Let’s be serious, again, Sonnenschein and Stone cut their teeth at Princeton and Wharton, and brought those views to leading Chicago. And the P & W views are wildly successful - why wouldn’t Chicago be the same, with its raw materials?
Also, I’m not sure when you were at Chicago for grad school, but as you may recall, Sonneschein was just as reviled for his execution. Remember that Randel actually sustained the pace of Sonnenschein’s changes (and, actually, increased some of them) without the same level of conflict.
Here’s a good example: I believe under Randel, Chicago built the (fairly ugly) Max Palevsky Commons near the Reg. Randel, being who he was, got this done with little fanfare or pushback. Sonnenschein, given his approach and heavy-handedness (remember, even profs said “he broadcasts, but does not receive”) would’ve gotten a lot more flack.
It wasn’t just that Sonnenschein made the right call and stuck with it… it was the way he executed his vision that rankled so many. There’s a reason Randel and Zimmer have endured no such conflict although they’ve stayed (or amplified) the course. As I recall, everything with Sonnenschein was a battle, because of his style.
Also, US News under Sonnenschein was a mixed bag, but, here’s a little history for you: Chicago’s US News ranking jumped (from 15 to 9) after Behnke, Boyer, and an Assoc. Provost went to the US News headquarters to meet with the rankings staff. Apparently, Chicago “misrepresented” some data to US News, and also could make some easy fixes (capping some classes at 19 rather than 20). Ever since that point, Chicago has been in the top 10.
Talk about innovating and thinking outside the box by these butt kickers, eh?
https://www.chicagomaroon.com/article/2006/10/2/u-of-c-jumps-to-ninth-in-us-news-rankings/
@marlowe1 - I avoided entirely camping out for classes and (gasp!) Scav as well.