Monday, August 20, 2018

Unclear on the Concept

What makes a university? I've attended two and worked at another, but I don't know if I could say.

That's OK. Neither can the University of Akron.

2 comments:

  1. Oh man, this story makes me sad; my dad's first permanent post was there (1969-1989). They were never a *great* school but they had some solid departments. I don't know, maybe I'm a dinosaur, but it seems like jumping on the "eSports" train isn't the direction to improve them.

    They also had a past president who used funds in fast-and-loose ways.

    There are SO MANY things in higher ed now that are making me tired and sad. I haven't figured out how many more big scandals it will take for me to throw up my hands, leave higher ed, and raise goats for a living, but I'm getting closer than I was in, say, 2014.

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  2. It seems as though the programs themselves were nearly done, with only a few students, so some cuts needed to happen somewhere. Combination, perhaps, or creating a more generalized degree that included several of them. And it would be one thing, I guess, if they were trimming other departments to provide education in those areas. But to develop competitive programs in them? What?

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