Louisiana vs State

[VObserver]

Currently Louisiana is #49 in percentage of college degrees... we even trail Puerto Rico.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...nal_attainment

So I'm not sure that making a college education even harder to get will change Louisiana's fortunes.

I sort of agree with you both. Only the Statewide Universities should have graduate schools, law schools and medical or veterinary schools. The rest should be undergrad only.

[CajunFun]

are they the only “state” that is also an “A&M”?

The Morrill Land-Grant Acts, beginning in 1862, took the sale of public lands and directed the proceeds to certain universities, almost all of them public, to create agricultural and mechanical colleges. Most (all?) of them added 'A&MC' to their names. Most of the nation's 19th century colleges with 'State' in their name were benefited or created in this way. The older schools, the 'U of X,' were generally liberal arts schools dedicated to 'pure' learning, as well as medicine and law.

As most of you know, Tulane was the original UL, the liberal arts college. When Paul Tulane left them his fortune, they went private... which created a situation that only occurs in two or three states, where one major university was left to cover both liberal arts and applied disciplines.

[CajunFun]

I sort of agree with you both. Only the Statewide Universities should have graduate schools, law schools and medical or veterinary schools. The rest should be undergrad only.

I don't necessarily disagree with you... nor do I necessarily agree. Instead, I ask this question:

Why?

1) If the purpose of a graduate program (I will ignore professional degrees for now) is to produce PhDs, why should we underwrite them with our tax dollars? There is a glut of PhDs, our colleges can hire excellent faculty for much less money, and devote our funds into strengthening the undergrad experience.

2) On the other hand, if graduate programs produce tangible and intangible benefits to the character and intellectual activity of a university, then why should some citizen-students enjoy these benefits, and others be denied?

I've been thinking about these things for years... I tend to the idea that graduate programs and research make the campus lively. But I have to immediately concede that liberal arts colleges, which do not stress research and graduate studies, provide some of the best educational experiences for undergrads.

We don't define our goals and processes very well, nor do we measure them well. So it's not easy to make decisions.

And FWIW, right now I am working on a book-signing tour for the fall, during which I will also try to visit colleges and present a talk I am preparing, 'A Scientist Explains the Coming Rise of the Liberal Arts.'

It's complicated...

[thecajunitalian]

Louisiana - 5th in all time wins at 1,795. 6 WCWS, 8 Super regionals, 32 Regionals

LSU Poop - ? in all time wins at 1,236. 6 WCWS, 9 Super Regionals, 24 Regionals

Suck on that!!!

[R1Letterman]

Times Louisiana has won the Red Stick regional: FOUR
Times State A&M has won the Lafayette regional: ZERO

[Grantvb]

A little Digging:

Arizona: 2091 wins, 25 WCWS, 16 Super Regionals, 35 Regionals (8 titles)

UCLA: 1882 wins, 32 WCWS, 13 Super Regionals, 39 Regionals (13 titles)

FSU: 2194 wins, 11 WCWS, 10 Super Regionals, 35 Regionals (1 title)

Michigan: 1873 wins, 13 WCWS, 11 Super Regionals, 29 Regionals (1 title)

Oklahoma: 1954 wins, 19 WCWS, 16 Super Regionals, 29 Regionals (6 titles)

Not bad company...

[ZoomZoom]

UL, LaTech, UNO.

And Southern, abet not a ULS program.

[VObserver]

I don't necessarily disagree with you... nor do I necessarily agree. Instead, I ask this question:

Why?

1) If the purpose of a graduate program (I will ignore professional degrees for now) is to produce PhDs, why should we underwrite them with our tax dollars? There is a glut of PhDs, our colleges can hire excellent faculty for much less money, and devote our funds into strengthening the undergrad experience.

2) On the other hand, if graduate programs produce tangible and intangible benefits to the character and intellectual activity of a university, then why should some citizen-students enjoy these benefits, and others be denied?

I've been thinking about these things for years... I tend to the idea that graduate programs and research make the campus lively. But I have to immediately concede that liberal arts colleges, which do not stress research and graduate studies, provide some of the best educational experiences for undergrads.

We don't define our goals and processes very well, nor do we measure them well. So it's not easy to make decisions.

And FWIW, right now I am working on a book-signing tour for the fall, during which I will also try to visit colleges and present a talk I am preparing, 'A Scientist Explains the Coming Rise of the Liberal Arts.'

It's complicated...

Different universities have different missions. The mission of Research Universities like certainly Louisiana and LSU&A&MC@BR and arguably UNO and Louisiana Tech is not the same as the mission at the other public universities in the state. The focus at R1 and possibly R2 Universities is Research, with the hope that said research will promote the rise of industrial and other business growth in the state. Graduate schools are absolutely necessary for research, as the bulk of research is done by graduate students under the guidance of faculty. Of course these schools also provide undergraduate education.

The focus, and in very large part the actual purpose of the regional universities in Louisiana is to provide undergraduate education across a broad range of majors.

The state can of course survive with no graduate programs at all, but it cannot thrive without them and the fruits of the research they spawn.

Given the anti-business nature of the political structure in Louisiana much of the fruits of research generated by Louisiana universities is forced to leave the state in order to grow the economies of Texas, Tennessee, Florida and other business friendly states; but that is another issue entirely.

[cajun4life]

Currently Louisiana is #49 in percentage of college degrees... we even trail Puerto Rico.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...nal_attainment

So I'm not sure that making a college education even harder to get will change Louisiana's fortunes.

Quality over quantity.

[CajunFun]

Quality over quantity.

We have some of the lowest college production rates in the US. Low educational levels correlate with poorer health, higher crime, more child and other abuse, more illicit drug use, poverty, and a host of other ills.

As Louisiana so generously demonstrates.

So I guess I'm missing where the quality comes in...