Malloy wants to invest $1.5 billion in science, tech at UConn

[BarkingDog]

Courant is reporting the governor will announce his plan thursday at Pratt.

http://www.courant.com/community/mansfield/hc-uconn-engineering-school-0131-20130130,0,4906946.story

Malloy's intentions aside, I have to think this nails AAU down for the university. Does the conspiracy kitty have an opinion?

 

[Fishy]

This sounds awesome, but let's say the Boneyard has a suggestion to 'tinker' with the plan....

We set aside $1.4B for science and tech at UConn...and save one teeny weeny little $0.1B for miscellaneous expenses..

And then we stuff that $0.1B into an envelope which we then stuff into Jim Delaney's jacket pocket.

 

[Askgreek]

Glad to see some people are thinking B1G!

 

[Dann]

This sounds awesome, but let's say the Boneyard has a suggestion to 'tinker' with the plan....

We set aside $1.4B for science and tech at UConn...and save one teeny weeny little $0.1B for miscellaneous expenses..

And then we stuff that $0.1B into an envelope which we then stuff into Jim Delaney's jacket pocket.

to save on postage, i volunteer to drive it to his house. well on 2nd thought, i dont know if this fanbase wants me to be the one doing that. most likely i'll flip my car on the way there. ok i will pay some 1 else the gas. i will just get drunk and text u for updates every 5 minutes.

how about we take a couple mil off that? expand the rent and build a puck barn and w/e else?!?!?

 

[Fishy]

If we get the envelope into his pocket and all goes well from there, we'll have plenty for the barn, the baseball field and whatever other gaudy s*** we might need.

 

[huskymedic]

""I think it is terrifically visionary and even more so in today's environment of fiscal constraint," said Howard Gobstein, executive vice president of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities in Washington, D.C."

APLU and AAU are like Siamese twins...

Hmmm...

"The investment will also help to maintain and keep the best talent in the state, Gobstein said, adding that Ohio, Pennsylvania and California have invested in the same areas."

 

[zls44]

The state is making up for lost time with these investments. Love to see it.

 

[Huskieforlife]

Looks like he reads the board. He's #B1GHardest with that type of money.

 

[RS9999X]

Dan's running a billion dollar deficit. February will be an interesting month.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I am as happy as any UConn grad to see this, but where does the money come from? The state is running a huge deficit and the state pension plan is under pressure to put it mildly.

 

[Fishy]

You have to spend money to make money.

This is an investment in the future - that money is the grass seed that develop into a beautiful lawn of prosperity.

Plus, I don't live in Connecticut, so I don't care - just find the money somewhere.

 

[CAHUSKY]

Plus, I don't live in Connecticut, so I don't care - just find the money somewhere.

Me either, fuc k it, give em' $5,000,000,000 Malloy!

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I don't think UConn needs to be bigger, at least at the undergraduate level. There are enough idiots there as it is. I think an investment in the graduate programs would pay off better than attracting more undergrads. There just isn't the demand for a UConn education to maintain the current standards, which are fairly high, and grow the student body. Something would have to give. UConn is better off getting more selective, not less.

 

[sportsart]

I am as happy as any UConn grad to see this, but where does the money come from? The state is running a huge deficit and the state pension plan is under pressure to put it mildly.

Lawmakers and the State Bond Commission need to approve it so my wild guess is....bonds maybe?

 

[auggie22]

2.5b for uconn 2000 programs.
.2b for tech park
.86b for health center
1.5b for science/tech investment

5b in state funded capital improvements projects, over thirty years.

 

[Marty Jackson]

had herbst not attacked the boneyard we could have done another fund drive. the way we raised 30k, we'd be halfway to $1.5b by the end of feb.

 

[SubbaBub]

I don't think UConn needs to be bigger, at least at the undergraduate level. There are enough idiots there as it is. I think an investment in the graduate programs would pay off better than attracting more undergrads. There just isn't the demand for a UConn education to maintain the current standards, which are fairly high, and grow the student body. Something would have to give. UConn is better off getting more selective, not less.

I think the idea behind this is to dilute the saturation of idiots.

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Waquoit]

had herbst not attacked the boneyard we could have done another fund drive. the way we raised 30k, we'd be halfway to $1.5b by the end of feb.

True, that. Actions have consequences.

 

[UConn9604]

had herbst not attacked the boneyard we could have done another fund drive. the way we raised 30k, we'd be halfway to $1.5b by the end of feb.

The very best thing a UConn alum or fan can do to improve our stature right now is (assuming you can afford it) is to mail an extra $100 to the UConn Foundation (or the UConn Athletic Development Fund, or any of the funds at the Health Center, etc.).

Our biggest strike right now is our pathetic endowment, which is the lowest of any BCS school (ranked no. 215 in 2011, right behind behemoths like Rhode Island School of Design, Clark University, the University of the South and the University of Wyoming). It is a noose on both our reputation and our growth potential, as well as an implicit false indicator of our lack of quality as an institution, and can only be cured by more principal and more time.

 

[junglehusky]

As a scientist, I approve of this. Though I still will probably wind up looking for future employment in Boston or NJ (if I leave the bench and go into medical/science writing, that's where those jobs are).

 

[mikeinmanila]

The very best thing a UConn alum or fan can do to improve our stature right now is (assuming you can afford it) is to mail an extra $100 to the UConn Foundation (or the UConn Athletic Development Fund, or any of the funds at the Health Center, etc.).

Our biggest strike right now is our pathetic endowment, which is the lowest of any BCS school (ranked no. 215 in 2011, right behind behemoths like Rhode Island School of Design, Clark University, the University of the South and the University of Wyoming). It is a noose on both our reputation and our growth potential, as well as an implicit false indicator of our lack of quality as an institution, and can only be cured by more principal and more time.

Totally agree about the need to dramatically improve UConn's pathetic endowment. This has to be - and is - very high on Herbst's list of priorities.

If everyone gave even a little every month, the endowment would build to something respectible in 5-10 years (I started giving $100 per month last year and don't miss not having the money to spend on less important things).

By way of comparison, my wife went to Michigan and they got her to start giving the day she graduated. We get weekly updates and emails encouraging us to give more. Michigan has a nearly $8B endowment (one of the largest in the US). UConn's is currently endowment is around $350M. This is a huge negative. Most major universities have at least a $1B endowment...so we have a LOT of catching up to do.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The endowment is Herbst's top priority based on the interviews I have heard. Given the size of UConn's alumni base and the large corporate and financial services presence in the state, it should be easy to move that needle a few hundred million with better marketing.

 

[UConn9604]

The endowment is Herbst's top priority based on the interviews I have heard. Given the size of UConn's alumni base and the large corporate and financial services presence in the state, it should be easy to move that needle a few hundred million with better marketing.

Here's where I got those numbers from -- we were at about $317 million in 2011. To break the Top 100, we'd need about $720 million.

That's an insanely steep uphill climb, but it's not insurmountable. If 50% of our alumni gave $100 per year from age 22 to 32 (i.e., the first ten years after graduation), and 30% of our alumni gave $1000 from age 32 to 42 (i.e., the next ten), we'd be in very, very good shape.

Unfortunately, the "suitcase school" mentality lasted from the end of World War II through the end of the 1980s, when we finally started taking ourselves seriously. After all, the dorm cafeterias didn't open on weekends until about 1990. Thank you, Jim Calhoun and Geno Auriemma.

http://www.nacubo.org/Documents/res...wment_Market_Values_Final_January_17_2012.pdf

 

[NOLAMike]

It's important to remember the distinction between the annual fund and the endowment. Supporting the UConn Club or, for example, CLAS through their annual appeals does not move the needle for UConn's endowment unless you specifically designate your gift for an endowed fund. Most of the solicitations we receive in the mail are for current operating use - the annual fund. Only gifts to endowed scholarships and other endowed funds impact the numbers we are discussing. I was a university fundraiser for 6 years before moving to the "for profit" world and would always encourage alums to support both endowed and annual funds. Just remember that a gift of any kind or size from an alum each year is important because alumni giving percentage is a component of US News rankings. I encouraged even disgruntled alums to give just a dollar or 25 cents, because that was a louder protest than not giving since the vast majority will do nothing.

-from iPhone. Please excuse typos

 

[John Greene]

I am as happy as any UConn grad to see this, but where does the money come from? The state is running a huge deficit and the state pension plan is under pressure to put it mildly.

According to the article all Malloy is annnouncing is a plan for the state bonding commission to authorize 1.5B of borrowing for UConn. The servicing of this debt along with prior debt will come out of future operating budgets. Therefore you need to increase the number of students to pay for it in the future. By the way they have to be undergrads. Grad students on balance cost a university much more than they pay.