Herbst Stepping Down

[upstater]

Maybe you haven’t noticed but UConn isn’t in the Big Ten or AAU?

Where exactly Professor do you propose the money come from to keep spending?

When you're bottom 20 in the USA states in funding Higher Ed., the answer is elsewhere.

 

[upstater]

Considering what they pay me and the revenue I directly support being over a billion dollars a year, I'd say, yeah. I'm pretty much a bargain.

Public Universities need to narrow their scope and eliminate whole departments that don't directly prepare their students to find meaningful employment. The role of the public university has changed. If the word "studies" is included in a major it can pretty safely be eliminated.

Yeah, I support revenue of 2 billion a year!!!

Anything with Studies in it isn't even a department. It has no faculty lines. These are interdisciplinary majors free-riding on the back of other departments. Which shows you don't know what you're talking about, but you are good at spouting taking points.

 

[Robertelamin]

Unfortunately that's how everyone views it. Fans, the media, etc. They completely dropped the ball and it will set us back decades. Our peers are now a bunch of directional schools. When you look at it long term it's awful for the brand and positioning of the university. Being in the same sentence as ECU makes me want to vomit.

Once East Carolina declares its independence from North Carolina it won’t look that bad.

 

[JMick]

When you're bottom 20 in the USA states in funding Higher Ed., the answer is elsewhere.

What are you even talking about? The president doesn't control how much money the state gives the university

 

[whaler11]

This is unbelievably stupid.

You can't compare this to buying yachts and airplanes. Did you get a mortgage to buy a house?

Guess what! You, an individual, went into debt to improve your future value.

If you insist on viewing government spending the same way as you view individual spending then this is how you should view it.

Connecticut, by investing in UConn, is investing in the future.

Good gravy.

You really don’t have any connection with reality.

There is no money to invest.

There is no money to invest because they can’t pay back the DEBT THEY ALREADY HAVE.

I don’t view gov’t spending the same as personal spending - but have you noticed NOT EVERY GOVERNMENT GETS TO HAVE EVERY NICE THING THEY WOULD POSSIBLY WANT. There needs to be a path to pay off the debt.

I’d love some of you reality deniers to move here and actually see what’s going on - you’d start singing a different tune.

Watch your taxes rise, your property values continue to drop, your friends, family and coworkers move elsewhere, state funding for local schools disappear halfway through the year...

All this BEFORE we get to the bad part of the pension crisis.

If you think 2019 looks bad for UConn wait til we get to the mid 2020s.

 

[storrsroars]

She's leaving the right way, plenty of notice and promises of a smooth transition. Speculating on her announcement, my bet is she wants to drive growth at another, maybe private, university. Fighting to maintain adequate levels of UConn funding in a rapidly declining state isn't of interest to her. Certainly understandable.

Or maybe she recognizes potential in Stamford...

 

[UConn990411]

Lol, there are a lot of strange groups on this board, but the Herbst haters might be the strangest.

 

[huskysupporter]

When you're bottom 20 in the USA states in funding Higher Ed., the answer is elsewhere.

Oh stop. Nobody is asking UCONN to cut their spending to pauper levels. They continually get a pass while other state agencies suffer cuts and layoffs. They need someone in there who knows how to reduce inefficiencies and waste.

UCONN has continually gotten a pass during the fiscal crisis of the last ten years.

 

[JMick]

Lol, there are a lot of strange groups on this board, but the Herbst haters might be the strangest.

We're you a student while she was there?

 

[huskysupporter]

And my comment is not judging Herbst in any way, just pointing out how UCONN continuously gets a pass. And because they operate knowing they won’t be touched, I can’t even begin to imagine the waste (and I am not talking about the ludicrous salaries for some professors. That’s an entirely different discussion)

 

[Guapo]

I thought you might try answering the question.

He doesn't answer questions and if you try and make a counter argument he insists that he understands addition and subtraction.

But, I haven't really seen any proof that's true.

Good gravy.

You really don’t have any connection with reality.

There is no money to invest.

There is no money to invest because they can’t pay back the DEBT THEY ALREADY HAVE.

I don’t view gov’t spending the same as personal spending - but have you noticed NOT EVERY GOVERNMENT GETS TO HAVE EVERY NICE THING THEY WOULD POSSIBLY WANT. There needs to be a path to pay off the debt.

I’d love some of you reality deniers to move here and actually see what’s going on - you’d start singing a different tune.

Watch your taxes rise, your property values continue to drop, your friends, family and coworkers move elsewhere, state funding for local schools disappear halfway through the year...

All this BEFORE we get to the bad part of the pension crisis.

If you think 2019 looks bad for UConn wait til we get to the mid 2020s.

Your counter "arguments" aren't even lining up anymore.

You asked that poster why he doesn't buy yachts and airplanes.

I said to view high-ed funding like buying a house.

And you countered with...whatever this comment was?

You view having a "nice" flagship university as discrestionary spending, I view it as a necessity. Connecticut doesn't exist in a vacuum, in order for the state to stay vital and competitive you need investment.

If the state follows your path, it might as well pack it in. Let each county petition to join NY or MA.

 

[TRest]

Not sure if this fits anywhere in the narrative, but UConn just decided to make on-campus housing available to Hartford and Avery Point students. Which I believe is a way of filling somehow empty dorm space and, at least as far as Hartford is concerned, an expanded, shiny regional campus nobody asked for.

 

[JMick]

He doesn't answer questions and if you try and make a counter argument he insists that he understands addition and subtraction.

But, I haven't really seen any proof that's true.


Your counter "arguments" aren't even lining up anymore.

You asked that poster why he doesn't buy yachts and airplanes.

I said to view high-ed funding like buying a house.

And you countered with...whatever this comment was?

You view having a "nice" flagship university as discrestionary spending, I view it as a necessity. Connecticut doesn't exist in a vacuum, in order for the state to stay vital and competitive you need investment.

If the state follows your path, it might as well pack it in. Let each county petition to join NY or MA.

I think you're missing whalers point because he veered off track. If the president isn't given money to spend then they can't spend it. She knows the budget is getting cut and is getting out of dodge.

 

[Guapo]

Oh stop. Nobody is asking UCONN to cut their spending to pauper levels. They continually get a pass while other state agencies suffer cuts and layoffs. They need someone in there who knows how to reduce inefficiencies and waste.

UCONN has continually gotten a pass during the fiscal crisis of the last ten years.

I don't think anyone is against eliminating waste and inefficiency, but there are a lot of people arguing to turn UConn into a trade school.

 

[whaler11]

I thought you might try answering the question.

She doesn’t give a lick about sports, finds them to be at odds with her desires for a university (which is a fair opinion if one is honest about it.).

She hired a complete clown as Athletic Director who may have permanently killed the football program.

Under their watch the CR music stopped and ended up the biggest net loser in college sports. Blame will be ascribed elsewhere as well but they are not innocent bystanders.

She proved to be a unethical snake - lurching from tying her own fortunes to Ollie to trying to shoot him to sun on NCAA technicalities.

The experience at games continues to devolve, attendance dropping, revenues flatlining.

The hockey program is the perfect example.
We are in Hockey East - Awesome! Now where exactly do they play when the XL Center finishes collapsing?

An on paper success that looks more unsustainable every day.

So other than essentially being in worse shape than any other major college athletic program after her 8 years - yeah she’s been awesome.

Thankfully some of the people who predated her arrival continue to perform. Imagine things without Geno. Bleak.

 

[Guapo]

I think you're missing whalers point because he veered off track. If the president isn't given money to spend then they can't spend it. She knows the budget is getting cut and is getting out of dodge.

Maybe. But if that's the case, he needs to make better and clearer arguments.

 

[huskysupporter]

I don't think anyone is against eliminating waste and inefficiency, but there are a lot of people arguing to turn UConn into a trade school.

Nobody is arguing to turn UCONN into a trade school. Not even Whaler.

 

[Guapo]

She doesn’t give a lick about sports, finds them to be at odds with her desires for a university (which is a fair opinion if one is honest about it.).

She hired a complete clown as Athletic Director who may have permanently killed the football program.

Under their watch the CR music stopped and ended up the biggest net loser in college sports. Blame will be ascribed elsewhere as well but they are not innocent bystanders.

She proved to be a unethical snake - lurching from tying her own fortunes to Ollie to trying to shoot him to sun on NCAA on technicalities.

The experience at games continues to devolve, attendance dropping, revenues flatlining.

The hockey program is the perfect example.
We are in Hockey East - Awesome! Now where exactly do they play when the XL Center finishes collapsing?

An on paper success that looks more unsustainable every day.

So other than essentially being in worse shape than any other major college athletic program after her 8 years - yeah she’s been awesome.

Thankfully some of the people who predated her arrival continue to perform. Imagine things without Geno. Bleak.

This was good and well thought out counter argument. B+/A-

 

[Guapo]

Nobody is arguing to turn UCONN into a trade school. Not even Whaler.

I agree that I don't think Whaler is, but there are people in the state legislature that are essentially arguing for that.

 

[huskysupporter]

And the most ridiculous thing is despite the spending, tuition continues to rise exorbitantly. Just got a notice I will be paying 33% more for my graduate program.

 

[whaler11]

He doesn't answer questions and if you try and make a counter argument he insists that he understands addition and subtraction.

But, I haven't really seen any proof that's true.


Your counter "arguments" aren't even lining up anymore.

You asked that poster why he doesn't buy yachts and airplanes.

I said to view high-ed funding like buying a house.

And you countered with...whatever this comment was?

You view having a "nice" flagship university as discrestionary spending, I view it as a necessity. Connecticut doesn't exist in a vacuum, in order for the state to stay vital and competitive you need investment.

If the state follows your path, it might as well pack it in. Let each county petition to join NY or MA.

It’s not my path. It’s the only path available.

Whether you view the spending as discretionary does not matter. It is by definition.

You don’t want to deal with reality. Those of us that are here... have no choice.

Everyone sure can sit 500 miles away with no financial skin in the game and lecture us about spending and investments. You don’t get the fiscal reality of Connecticut - what you think are options and choices do not exist.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I don't think anyone is against eliminating waste and inefficiency, but there are a lot of people arguing to turn UConn into a trade school.

Are you talking about my argument? That's a policy choice more than a budgetary one. But Herbst was all about STEM, which is the correct area of focus. Classic liberal arts have a place of course. But if the state is subsidizing/funding public education, then it should direct that money in a way that produces graduates who become meaningful taxpayers, not Baristas at Starbucks. Not just CT, every state. The whole higher ed system is a house of cards right now.

I liked Herbst. I think she had the right ideas for the most part. Partner with business, focus on STEM.

 

[JMick]

And the most ridiculous thing is despite the spending, tuition continues to rise exorbitantly. Just got a notice I will be paying 33% more for my graduate program.

Tuition is up just about everywhere. That's an entirely different discussion and a bubble waiting to burst

 

[huskysupporter]

I agree that I don't think Whaler, but there are people in the state house essentially arguing for that.

I don’t agree at all. I think people see that UCONN has to be part of the solution and they have streadfastky refused. Still hiring at a torrid pace. They live in a bubble.

 

[Guapo]

And the most ridiculous thing is despite the spending, tuition continues to rise exorbitantly. Just got a notice I will be paying 33% more for my graduate program.

Yes! This is bad and blame definitely falls on Herbst shoulders.

My whole argument from the start (and I guess I've strayed from this too) is that Herbst did some good and some bad. She's not purely bad as some here have suggested.