UConn Adopts Bold Academic Vision

[Seaa Blue]

Can I ask you guys a question? Where does UConn stand right now in the endowment picture. I would imagine considerably behind Michigan, but where would you guys fall right now compared to the BIG as a whole?

$392MM is, um, ~half that of the next highest Big Ten member, Rutgers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Ten_Conference
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Connecticut
http://uconn.edu/pdf/UConn_Facts_2012.pdf

But SH wants to make it $1B.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/09/uconn-president-susan-her_n_893962.html

 

[CL82]

Well now certainly looks like the time to make that push. You've got a President that really gets it and a Governor willing to invest in the future of UConn. Couple those with that fund raising expert and the academic side of UConn is definitely going to reap some reward in the not so distant future. By the way, can UMass get Herbst and Malloy when you guys are done with them?

Yes as to Malloy, no to Herbst.

 

[CL82]

$392MM is, um, ~half that of the next highest Big Ten member, Rutgers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Ten_Conference
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Connecticut
http://uconn.edu/pdf/UConn_Facts_2012.pdf

But SH wants to make it $1B.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/09/uconn-president-susan-her_n_893962.html

True but UConn has an actively supportive legislature which should count for significantly more than that difference.

 

[hardcorehusky]

True but UConn has an actively supportive legislature which should count for significantly more than that difference.

On Tuesday night, President Herbst spoke in Hartford. What struck me was when someone asked about AAU as a goal, she called it more of a by-product of what the university is doing.

In essence, if we raise the endowment BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, we do that through fund raising and attracting faculty who can be productive. The more productive the faculty, the quicker the endowment dollars come from the government and major corporations. She cautioned that a lot of schools were research schools in the early 1900's and have been part of AAU for a long time, we are playing catch up here.

To me, with Josh Newton, the new head of the UCONN FOUNDATION, a more coordinated money seeking process that is being put into place, re-knowned faculty coming to the school to teach and conduct research, she has us on the right path.

 

[BlueMAB]

Right. Many small businesses don't have bean counters either. They hire out.

Seriously though, we're experiencing a level of dysfunction that didn't exist after this army of professionals invaded.

I talked to my kid's teacher last week. My kid's "quarterly report" had 6 different categories for her Literacy assessment, and under each category there were 8 different criteria, with a sentence explaining each assessment (graded 1-5). There were 8 other subjects that were similar, bu this teacher was only in charge of Literacy. I multiplied the number of assessments she had done of my daughter over the last 2 months (48) by the number of terms 4 (4 x 48 = 192) x number of students 26 (192 x 26 = oh about 5000) and realized this teacher was doing 5000 assessments per year in just one subject! When did she have time to do this? I asked. She rolled her eyes (not at me, but in sympathy) and said, "During classtime." She writes notes in her iPad as she observes students at work.

Tell me about the American mania for efficiency. And to twist a Teddy Roosevelt quote, "The business of America is Big Business."

Right. Because public education is run exactly like small businesses.

 

[upstater]

Right. Because public education is run exactly like small businesses.

Who said that?

Are you asking if it was more efficient before? Well, if it wasn't efficient, how did it manage to have 75% full-time faculty at a lower cost? So you get rid of the full-timers, hire efficiency experts, and costs go up.

 

[huskyrob1]

Can I ask you guys a question? Where does UConn stand right now in the endowment picture. I would imagine considerably behind Michigan, but where would you guys fall right now compared to the BIG as a whole?

See my post earlier in this thread, page two I think.

 

[Stray_Dog]

I hope knuckle draggers like you do put me on ignore. If you are too stupid to understand what I am saying, then just shut up. I am tired of explaining posts to you. Also, look up the meaning of diatribe.

Okay everyone, I will ask you for I did as Nelsonmuntz suggested (LOL - I know, why???, but please humor me)...I looked up the definition of diatribe and here it is:
an angry and usually long speech or piece of writing that strongly criticizes someone or something.

Now, as far as posts go, on average his appeared to be rather long when compared to most on here. And I do feel he was criticizing the SH WM plan which would require 2-3 billion give or take a billion. So does the definition of diatribe work??? You be the judge!
I am just tired of his presentation of facts to support his view and when one major factor is dis-proven, we are still expected to accept the rest of the argument.

 

[BlueMAB]

Who said that?

Are you asking if it was more efficient before? Well, if it wasn't efficient, how did it manage to have 75% full-time faculty at a lower cost? So you get rid of the full-timers, hire efficiency experts, and costs go up.

I thought you were being sarcastic in your last response. You seemed to be saying small business behave the same, then provided the teacher's countless assessments as an example. It was a total non sequitur.

 

[huskyrob1]

At or near the bottom (w/o doing research because I am lazy). That is why we brought in a fundraising heavy-weight from Emory (I think he pulled down >$1B in 6 years). I expect that number to start growing significantly in the near term.

Not only do you need a great fundraiser but you also need a really good money manager to invest those funds and make them grow with the least amount of risk. During the financial crisis in 08-09 many big schools saw their endowment funds fall in value by as much as 80%, many were invested in big banks and investment brokerages like Lehman Bros and Bear Stearns. Herbst has to make sure the guy she hires for that job is a good one.

 

[upstater]

I thought you were being sarcastic in your last response. You seemed to be saying small business behave the same, then provided the teacher's countless assessments as an example. It was a total non sequitur.

We're clearly not on the same page. I wrote that the bureaucrats were imported from the business world.

 

[Gfunk]

1) She didn't collect welfare.
2) there is no moral hypocrisy to collecting social security after being forced to pay into it.
4) the Medicare claim isn't clear cut
3) neither of your claims are accurate anyway.

http://freestudents.blogspot.com/2011/10/lying-about-ayn-rand-and-social.html?m=1

FYI, my second post from above meant to outline your arguments. It's definitely anyone's right to claim their government benefits, esp the types they paid into & Rand wasn't struggling as much as some have suggested here or other boards, financially speaking, health different story. But I'm not a fan of her philosophy & influence - it's rather primitive to me - her followers as well. But no doubt, she's influenced tremendously powerful and gifted people - that doesn't mean I agree.

I agree with some of your other thoughts as well.

I'm a leftist libertarian - I root for fair play, multiculturalism, hard work, innovation, utmost environmental sustainability & certain greater good benefits (public education, a smart & low-key military, public transportation of all sorts, etc.) - to me these tenets are no kidding common sense, thus I wonder why government enforcement is often required. I value individuality, but I love my family and friends as well & truly like to share the beautiful experiences of my life with others. Individuality of the selfish kind leads to loneliness and greater emphasis on materialism, no thanks. I'm not a fan of corporatism or big government & almost always root for small businesses and local governments (<-- very underrated).

On the other hand, between Big Government and Big Business, the latter has been getting way with murder, literally speaking, for centuries. I truly think too many corporations have set humanity much further back than helped. We know all to well the issues of Big Government - the arguments are beyond cyclical at this point. I could argue my points against corporatism until I'm blue in the face - problem is too many pro-business type conservatives don't get it when the evidence is right there in front of their faces.

 

[BlueMAB]

We're clearly not on the same page. I wrote that the bureaucrats were imported from the business world.

Yes, I understand that. I think your use of the term "business world" is far too broad, when you really mean corporate America.

It's not important, but large corporations are not the majority of employers in the country. While they may be trending toward the rampant inefficiencies of large bureaucratic governments, they must remain profitable or they will cease to exist. The same isn't true for governments. But again, that's not really that important.

sorry to get off topic, and I don't even want to begin to discuss ayn rand on this board, I should have left that alone, but when people spread lies and distortions, sometimes it is hard to ignore them.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Okay everyone, I will ask you for I did as Nelsonmuntz suggested (LOL - I know, why???, but please humor me)...I looked up the definition of diatribe and here it is:
an angry and usually long speech or piece of writing that strongly criticizes someone or something.

Now, as far as posts go, on average his appeared to be rather long when compared to most on here. And I do feel he was criticizing the SH WM plan which would require 2-3 billion give or take a billion. So does the definition of diatribe work??? You be the judge!
I am just tired of his presentation of facts to support his view and when one major factor is dis-proven, we are still expected to accept the rest of the argument.

It wasn't a criticism. READ THE POST.

 

[upstater]

Yes, I understand that. I think your use of the term "business world" is far too broad, when you really mean corporate America.

It's not important, but large corporations are not the majority of employers in the country. While they may be trending toward the rampant inefficiencies of large bureaucratic governments, they must remain profitable or they will cease to exist. The same isn't true for governments. But again, that's not really that important.

sorry to get off topic, and I don't even want to begin to discuss ayn rand on this board, I should have left that alone, but when people spread lies and distortions, sometimes it is hard to ignore them.

The US government is very profitable.

 

[Samoo]

Off the tracks again -
Just can't wait to get off the tracks again.
The Boneyard lives for having arguments without end
And I can't wait to get off the tracks again.

Off the tracks again
Disputing tangents with no relevance.
Eight more pages of self indulgence
And I can't wait to get off the tracks again.

Like a bag of hammers we'll argue almost anything.
From sports to government.
Wasting everyones valuable time along the way.
And our way
is off the tracks again.

 

[upstater]

Off the tracks again -
Just can't wait to get off the tracks again.
The Boneyard lives for having arguments without end
And I can't wait to get off the tracks again.

Off the tracks again
Disputing tangents with no relevance.
Eight more pages of self indulgence
And I can't wait to get off the tracks again.

Like a bag of hammers we'll argue almost anything.
From sports to government.
Wasting everyones valuable time along the way.
And our way
is off the tracks again.

The thread is titled "Bold Academic vision" and it involves gov't support of UConn. First post. I'm going to imagine that there will be some discussion of gpov't support for education in a thread with that title.

 

[Stray_Dog]

It wasn't a criticism. READ THE POST.

Wow, maybe you need to look up the definition of criticism ??? Or better yet look up the words negativity and pessimism - these are two words that clearly resonate through your persona.

 

[Jerry27]

Here's the full list - http://www.nacubo.org/Documents/EndowmentFiles/2013NCSEEndowmentMarket ValuesRevisedFeb142014.pdf

UConn's up 10% from last year but still a long ways away from catching up to the other schools. It's also possible to invest in the school itself without impacting endowment figures much so this isn't going to be a complete picture but it's an interesting metric to track.

We fall in at #210 but did you notice a hand full of spots down at #218 that can't be THE Michigan State could it?

 

[woomba]

We fall in at #210 but did you notice a hand full of spots down at #218 that can't be THE Michigan State could it?

There's 2 sources - check #47 - they have over $1.6B

 

[Jerry27]

There's 2 sources - check #47 - they have over $1.6B

They must separate their state university system, I noticed others like Texas at #3 is listed as a system, curious if that means the various state universities all in one or it's just a different name, like those that list it as a foundation? Either way at first I was like, holy crap they are that low!

 

[buddy]

$392MM is, um, ~half that of the next highest Big Ten member, Rutgers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Ten_Conference
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Connecticut
http://uconn.edu/pdf/UConn_Facts_2012.pdf

But SH wants to make it $1B.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/09/uconn-president-susan-her_n_893962.html

If endowment makes a difference in CR, then UConn is screwed again. Can someone explain to me why these figures make a difference in CR?

 

[Seaa Blue]

If endowment makes a difference in CR, then UConn is screwed again. Can someone explain to me why these figures make a difference in CR?

UConn is in no position to squirrel the money away right now, so what the school is doing makes complete sense.

My view is that endowments generally should not be at or above $1B. At some point you start gaining or losing millions overnight and the amount of energy spent managing the war chest that will never get directly spent becomes a significant line item in the budget. But that's another story, and to answer your question, I don't believe the endowment figures will keep UConn out of the Big Ten given the other positive activities taking place.

 

[upstater]

UConn is in no position to squirrel the money away right now, so what the school is doing makes complete sense.

My view is that endowments generally should not be at or above $1B. At some point you start gaining or losing millions overnight and the amount of energy spent managing the war chest that will never get directly spent becomes a significant line item in the budget. But that's another story, and to answer your question, I don't believe the endowment figures will keep UConn out of the Big Ten given the other positive activities taking place.

Endowments defray tuition costs and make schools more competitive. So they are important unless you trust your state legislature to keep supporting the state university.

 

[Seaa Blue]

Endowments defray tuition costs and make schools more competitive. So they are important unless you trust your state legislature to keep supporting the state university.

I know that some foundations have to "spend" a certain percentage of what they take in. I would do the same with endowments once they reach a certain level (and not let state legislators have an excuse).

 

[upstater]

I know that some foundations have to "spend" a certain percentage of what they take in. I would do the same with endowments once they reach a certain level (and not let state legislators have an excuse).

State legislators actually can't touch this money since it is locked away in private non-profit foundations. And they DO spend a certain % of the endowment. The reason schools want these to grow is so that they can fully fund the financial needs of students, which you can't do until they've grown enough. Harvard is there now, but no other school has gotten to the point of meeting every student's need AND funding operations.