PonyFans.com

http://www.uh.edu/about/tier-one/index.php

All jokes about "cougar high" aside, Houston has joined an impressive list: Tier-1 research universities, joining only Texas and Rice within the state of Texas.

Congrats to them, everyone wins when schools get better.

Does anybody know if our school is looking to move in this direction?

See, ponyboy, I happen to think you can havve it both ways, and that SMU should. I applaud the direction the engineering school seems to be headed with more lab facilities, etc. No reason you can't teach engineers and have them help the school benefit society at the same time through research.

Putting aside for a second the issue that emphasis on research hurts teaching, there are two primary sources of funding: government and corporations. Taking money from either does not come without demonstrably significant problems.

ponyboy wrote:http://chronicle.com/article/Scientists-Fault-Universities/125944/

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/331/6014/152.summary

http://www.empowertexans.com/node/1066

Yes, there is a debate, I'm well aware of this. Notre Dame, for one, is an excellent school that has specifically and publically chosen not to go in this direction.

However, Houston has long had a reputation as not much more than a 'commuter school' who just happens to have NASA ties based largely on not much more than location. The fact that they have pulled their resources together and gone after an identity, put their school in the discussion and reached a goal, is laudible. Last time I checked, working to discover a cure for cancer, or mathematics, or sanskrit or whatever is worth something on a resume. Is that at the students expense? Well, it's their tuition, let them decide.

I'm just curious, are we looking to move in this direction?

leopold wrote:http://www.uh.edu/about/tier-one/index.php

All jokes about "cougar high" aside, Houston has joined an impressive list: Tier-1 research universities, joining only Texas and Texas A&M within the state of Texas.

Congrats to them, everyone wins when schools get better.

Does anybody know if our school is looking to move in this direction?

FIFY, using info from your link.

leopold wrote:http://www.uh.edu/about/tier-one/index.php

All jokes about "cougar high" aside, Houston has joined an impressive list: Tier-1 research universities, joining only Texas and Rice within the state of Texas.

Congrats to them, everyone wins when schools get better.

Does anybody know if our school is looking to move in this direction?

The Carnegie website specifically states research tiers are based on funding and not quality of students or research.

Still cougar high, only with more research grants.

leopold wrote:

ponyboy wrote:http://chronicle.com/article/Scientists-Fault-Universities/125944/

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/331/6014/152.summary

http://www.empowertexans.com/node/1066

Yes, there is a debate, I'm well aware of this. Notre Dame, for one, is an excellent school that has specifically and publically chosen not to go in this direction.

However, Houston has long had a reputation as not much more than a 'commuter school' who just happens to have NASA ties based largely on not much more than location. The fact that they have pulled their resources together and gone after an identity, put their school in the discussion and reached a goal, is laudible. Last time I checked, working to discover a cure for cancer, or mathematics, or sanskrit or whatever is worth something on a resume. Is that at the students expense? Well, it's their tuition, let them decide.

I'm just curious, are we looking to move in this direction?

Attaining T-1 status is not a big goal for us. Conducting quality research is, but not as a drive to gain T-1 status...............

When I worked for Stanford in the department that proposed and negotiated an indirect overhead rate on govt. sponsored research there were numerous regulations about cost of buildings be passed on to the govt. resulting that the complete cost is never recovered.

I live in houston and even us locals think of it as just a community collage

Here's a community collage:

Since NASA has pretty much mothballed manned space flight for awhile. Those NASA engineering types need to work somewhere.

ponyboy wrote:Putting aside for a second the issue that emphasis on research hurts teaching, ...

that is fundamentally wrong and a very backwards way of thinking.

ponyboy wrote:Here's a community collage:

well played