What's in a name?
The Jambar EDITORIAL BOARD
Issue date: 2/2/10 Section: Opinion
At President Sweet's State of the University in August, he spent a great deal of time explaining what lies ahead for YSU under the label of an urban research university, but not everyone agrees on what it is or how to get there.
Sweet said that within a five-year transition period at the university, YSU could transform into an urban research university, which he said would be helped along by funding the Centers of Excellence, which are Materials Science and Engineering, Applied Chemical Biology, International Business and the Rich Center for Autism. The question still hasn't been answered yet about the Centers; are they more important than all the other departments on campus? To our administration, no, but to Chancellor Fingerhut, yes.
YSU is not the only college to have the label. Other Ohio universities include Cincinnati, Cleveland State, Wright State, Toledo, Akron and Shawnee State. Regardless of size or funds, one staggering statistic remains: YSU has the lowest percentage of graduate students. The transition to an urban research university will hopefully bridge that gap, but no one knows how yet.
In her open forum for presidency, Dr. Cynthia Anderson said it best: When she was in a meeting with 45 people, almost every person had a different definition of what the phrase urban research university meant. Even better, all four presidential candidates had different ways of transitioning the university to become one.
Are we following another Ohio university's lead for an example, or are we making one of our own?
Sweet said that within a five-year transition period at the university, YSU could transform into an urban research university, which he said would be helped along by funding the Centers of Excellence, which are Materials Science and Engineering, Applied Chemical Biology, International Business and the Rich Center for Autism. The question still hasn't been answered yet about the Centers; are they more important than all the other departments on campus? To our administration, no, but to Chancellor Fingerhut, yes.
YSU is not the only college to have the label. Other Ohio universities include Cincinnati, Cleveland State, Wright State, Toledo, Akron and Shawnee State. Regardless of size or funds, one staggering statistic remains: YSU has the lowest percentage of graduate students. The transition to an urban research university will hopefully bridge that gap, but no one knows how yet.
In her open forum for presidency, Dr. Cynthia Anderson said it best: When she was in a meeting with 45 people, almost every person had a different definition of what the phrase urban research university meant. Even better, all four presidential candidates had different ways of transitioning the university to become one.
Are we following another Ohio university's lead for an example, or are we making one of our own?
Be the first to comment on this story