The problem is that everyone uses the *same* structure and template for Joomla sites... And it's typically the same template... Given that the basic design of this template has not changed drastically since the days before Joomla forked from Mambo, it's like looking at the same website for the last 8-9 odd years... I had my first experience with Mambo in 2004... It's just painful that websites look exactly the same.... Have a look at the websites below that were
There is a misunderstanding on the purpose of a CMS, it's supposed to allow the designer to focus on design and not the back end, hence make a better site faster. It's not a substitute to great design and creativity.
On the website in question, the biggest issue I have is the combination of fonts.... the choice of fonts is rather poor, cursive fonts should be used rather carefully in academic/corporate websites. Best to stick to the 'boring' but less risky non-cursive fonts.