PonyFans.comBoard IndexAround the HilltopFootballRecruitingBasketballOther Sports

US News Rankings

General discussion: anything you want to talk about!

Moderators: PonyPride, SmooPower

Re: US News Rankings

Postby EastStang » Wed Sep 23, 2020 11:26 am

I think our name believe it or not does scare off some college counselors who do not understand that SMU is a liberal arts school not too much different than Duke or Harvard for that matter. Our admissions people are constantly saying that we have the same background as Duke, just a denominational name.
UNC better keep that Ram away from Peruna
EastStang
PonyFans.com Super Legend
 
Posts: 12393
Joined: Fri Feb 15, 2002 4:01 am

Re: US News Rankings

Postby PonyTime » Wed Sep 23, 2020 11:57 am

Mustangs_Maroons wrote:I have always believed that we should target a provost or chancellor that is in place at an aspirational university, not someone that comes from the University of Missouri, Ole Miss, or Kansas, or one of these type of state schools. We need someone that is at an elite institution that will see the benefit of becoming a President at a university such as ours that is greatly positioned and primed to take us to another level. What a legacy that could be for someone. I'm sure we will pay top dollar, but we tend to go after Toyotas and Hyundais where there are top of the line Mercedes out there.


Last time we hired a president from Duke, that worked out well. :roll:
"Moral Victories Make Me Sick" - TR

Image
User avatar
PonyTime
PonyFans.com Legend
 
Posts: 3932
Joined: Tue Dec 17, 2002 4:01 am
Location: The Green Elephant

Re: US News Rankings

Postby AfricanMustang » Wed Sep 23, 2020 12:29 pm

Mustangs_Maroons wrote:Pepperdine is certainly not an aspirational school. It’s probably very similar in many regards to SMU - sat scores, student profiles, etc.

I meant aspirational schools those that I would place into three buckets: I) elite private academic institutions that have D1 sports in P5 program: Stanford, ND, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Duke and II) elite private universities that don’t have P5 D1 programs but that we would benefit greatly from academically: Uchicago, WUSTL, Rice, and III) those Ivies that have a smaller school feel (and have the benefit of D1 sports): Brown, Dartmouth.

Pepperdine is like us - those listed about are true aspirational private universities.


Fair enough.

SMU officially considers the following as "Aspirational Peers" - Boston College, Boston University, Brandeis, Carnegie Mellon, Emory, Northeastern, Notre Dame, Tufts, Tulane, U. of Rochester, USC, and Wake Forest.

It considers the following "Cohort Peers" - American, Baylor, Fordham, George Washington, Lehigh, Pepperdine, Syracuse, TCU, U. of Denver, U. of Miami, U. of Tulsa, and Villanova.

https://www.smu.edu/-/media/Files/PDF/A ... .pdf?la=en
“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.”
― C.G. Jung
AfricanMustang
Varsity
 
Posts: 358
Joined: Wed Jan 13, 2016 8:35 pm
Location: Washington DC

Re: US News Rankings

Postby Mustangs_Maroons » Wed Sep 23, 2020 3:10 pm

AfricanMustang wrote:
Mustangs_Maroons wrote:Pepperdine is certainly not an aspirational school. It’s probably very similar in many regards to SMU - sat scores, student profiles, etc.

I meant aspirational schools those that I would place into three buckets: I) elite private academic institutions that have D1 sports in P5 program: Stanford, ND, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Duke and II) elite private universities that don’t have P5 D1 programs but that we would benefit greatly from academically: Uchicago, WUSTL, Rice, and III) those Ivies that have a smaller school feel (and have the benefit of D1 sports): Brown, Dartmouth.

Pepperdine is like us - those listed about are true aspirational private universities.


Fair enough.

SMU officially considers the following as "Aspirational Peers" - Boston College, Boston University, Brandeis, Carnegie Mellon, Emory, Northeastern, Notre Dame, Tufts, Tulane, U. of Rochester, USC, and Wake Forest.

It considers the following "Cohort Peers" - American, Baylor, Fordham, George Washington, Lehigh, Pepperdine, Syracuse, TCU, U. of Denver, U. of Miami, U. of Tulsa, and Villanova.

https://www.smu.edu/-/media/Files/PDF/A ... .pdf?la=en


I think the list of aspirational schools is precisely what is wrong with our leadership.

I question how Boston U. move from cohort to aspirational? Boston university is ranked 42. is that really an aspirational school? I don't have have an issue with Tufts, but Tulane, Northeastern and even Rochester should not be aspirational schools.

We need to reassess really what SMU can be, and to me, an aspirational SMU is more like an Emory, Wake Forest (ND, Rice or Duke ideally) and certainly not have our ceiling be Boston U or Northeastern. We can agree to disagree.
User avatar
Mustangs_Maroons
Heisman
 
Posts: 1950
Joined: Sun Oct 02, 2011 11:03 am
Location: New York, NY

Re: US News Rankings

Postby AfricanMustang » Wed Sep 23, 2020 3:22 pm

Mustangs_Maroons wrote:
AfricanMustang wrote:
Mustangs_Maroons wrote:when you look at the universities that are ranked from 31 to where SMU is, it really is disappointing that we as a university have not been able to do more with the inherent strengths of the university (higher student profile, location in Dallas, inherently strong UG areas such as business, etc).

It's amazing how Turner has been here for so long. The guy is 74 - what other university has a president that is that old. No offense but we need new blood. We should get a provost from a university such as Duke, Brown, ND, WashU or Northwestern and hire then as president of the university. They will get us focused on the right things to get SMU to where it belongs on the academics rankings. Focus on research, professor recruitment and student scholarships. Forget now about new buildings and those damn fountains.


When you talk about focusing on research, isn't that what the new Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies with the accompanying $100 million is supposed to achieve?


That's not nearly enough although it is a step in the right direction. I admit we simply do not have the endowment and financial resources to compete with the large research universities (the leading private research universities and large state-funded programs) but improving our publishing and scholarly research will improve our rankings from a peer assessment perspective as well as draw better professors, and better students. AM - you know how this works in that it is all interrelated.

I also agree with your points on improving the 6-yr graduation rates. The very top universities I believe all have very high graduation rates and one in the 70%s simply does not cut it.


SMU announced the creation of the Moody School in November 2019, made possible by a landmark $100 million gift from the Moody Foundation. The investment in graduate-level education is fueling SMU’s move to join the finest universities in the country in its development of research with impact, delivered by top-notch faculty and graduate students.

Quick, a volcanologist of international stature, joined SMU in 2007 as the University’s first Associate Vice President for Research and Dean of Graduate Studies, with the responsibilities of supporting increases in research activity and the number of students graduating with a Ph.D. Since his arrival, research expenditures has increased from $14 million a year to $42 million a year, and annual graduation of Ph.Ds has increased from 45 to more than 70.

These increases contributed to SMU’s leap in 2011 past 55 sister institutions in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education to earn recognition for “high research activity.” The creation of the Moody School positions SMU to compete for coveted “R1” status, which is reserved for those institutions with the highest research activity.

“The new Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies is going to expand research efforts of SMU, the impact of which will benefit the universities, laboratories and businesses that employ our doctoral graduates,” said SMU President R. Gerald Turner. “Dean Quick is a passionate advocate for research and the cultivation of scholars, and is well-placed to deliver on the promise of the Moody School to deliver research with even greater impact.”

https://www.smu.edu/News/2020/Featured- ... ody-School
“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.”
― C.G. Jung
AfricanMustang
Varsity
 
Posts: 358
Joined: Wed Jan 13, 2016 8:35 pm
Location: Washington DC

Re: US News Rankings

Postby DanFreibergerForHeisman » Wed Sep 23, 2020 6:39 pm

PonyTime wrote:Last time we hired a president from Duke, that worked out well. :roll:

Yeah the worst time for SMU for so many reasons.
Shake It Off Moody
User avatar
DanFreibergerForHeisman
PonyFans.com Super Legend
 
Posts: 16484
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2000 3:01 am
Location: The 214

Re: US News Rankings

Postby tristatecoog » Thu Sep 24, 2020 1:25 pm

SMU has an endowment $200M more than Tulane, but Notre Dame's is $14B.
tristatecoog
Hall of Famer
 
Posts: 2893
Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2000 3:01 am
Location: Dallas, TX

Previous

Return to Around the Hilltop

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 15 guests