One idea behind getting prominent professors to colleges -- such as Nobel Prize winners in the sciences -- is they bring their entire lab with them to the new campus and the money tends to follow them. That includes government research dollars and grants from private foundations. The AAU is not only looking at which university is ranked where in research dollars. they also look at the prestige of the place. I believe some of the colleges trying to get into the AAU may have more total research dollars than some current members -- but could be wrong. The AAU more than anything is a relatively small group which represents the interests of U.S. research universities. Moreover, many state universities have Nobel Prize winners on their faculty. For instance, Iowa State has had a few Nobel Prize winners on its faculty. Cal Berkeley has a huge number of them. One unfortunate thing is that the only UConn grad to ever won a Nobel Prize, David Lee, moved his lab from Cornell to Texas A&M. I don't know if UConn was ever trying to recruit him. Because the faculty union wants all professors to get paid as much as possible, many current professors may be hesitant to hire world-famous professors -- at higher salaries. That is why it is better to fund the salaries of Nobel Prize winners through private funds. Also, B10 research-heavy schools like Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota or Illinois would be impressed if UConn had some Nobel Prize winners -- even if UConn had not yet gotten AAU status. The AAU would be impressed, too. Beyond this, having introductory courses or advanced courses taught by a Nobel Prize winner is helpful when trying to attract top students to a college or graduate program. I am sure these are all things that Susan Herbst understands very well. She is a highly respected university leader.
