Meanwhile in Ruston...

[CajunNation]

…..llHey Doc Fun…..was the former President Jay Taylor that really got Ltur going for a bit…..He scared me with his outlook……also it seems to me that ULM is quickly moving up to not be second fiddle in the North…..recent acquisitions seem to be going their way…..donation U with the State Farm building some years back and the latest one! Talk about their rivalry/direction if you would!

I think we need Dr. Fun to give us a Ted Talk.

[CajunFun]

I think we need Dr. Fun to give us a Ted Talk.

Funny.

Really, we want T-Joe to give us a talk. But he wouldn't tell us what we want to know, he wouldn't tell us everything that's cooking for UL. He doesn't want people to know; I only know tiny bits and pieces.

But ask yourself this: which Louisiana college president is currently the political master? T-Joe was our lobbyist for years. An administrator back then once told me that, by himself, T-Joe had created so much movement for UL that some schools thought we had a lobbying team.

Nope. Just one guy.

And then he was head of Regents, where he saw ALL the political machinations.

I have seen criticisms of T-Joe here from time to time. I don't understand everything he does, and sometimes he has me scratching my head. But there's no doubt in my mind that he has taken UL to a position far beyond where we could have hoped when he became president. I have looked at some numbers. You are all aware that in research funding, we are in the top 100 public US universities.

But here's a couple of things to consider. First, look at all of those top 100 who have medical schools. I think if you look at research funding at schools that don't have med schools, we are in the top 10, maybe top 5. Second, when you then factor in our funding; our size; our number of faculty; and our ridiculously small number of PhD programs (11!), I'm not sure anyone in the country comes close to our success.

And with T-Joe, we're succeeding in sports, too. I think other schools look at us like we used to look at Marshall, Boise, UNT, Troy, you name it. This stuff takes time, patience, and focus.

T-Joe is only the 6th UL president in 125 years (just 4 of them account for 116 years). That is unheard of, most university presidents don't last a decade. There are, of course, downsides to having long-tenured presidents such as we have had. But the upside is, if you've got someone who understands the game, and who has ambition, you can move very, very fast.

[Cajunsmike]

I’ve learned not to talk ____ about techs athletic programs cause somehow it always comes back to bite us in the ass. Just let them rot.

Wise approach. Having no one sign up for your basketball camp has to be disappointing however. Ours occurred recently. Social media pictures of it looked like we had a decent no. of kids participate. Our current players were a big part of it.

[USLJim]

And to think, when Mike White (current UGA MBB HC) left Ruston to become the UF HC, Dusty May (top Mike White asst.) badly wanted the Tech HC gig but was passed over.

Dusty May, now the HC at FAU, who just took them to the Final Four and will likely have a preseason Top 10 ranking.

History of bad decisions up there.

You forgot they passed over Kim Mulkey, the biggest blunder of all

[ZoomZoom]

F. Jay Taylor, if you may recall, researched the topography of Shreveport and Monroe before building Wyly Tower at Tech so he could brag about having the tallest building in North Louisiana.

That mentality permeates everything the necksters do to this day.

[Louisiana84]

Hey, Joe! Tech's period of suffering should last a long time. They deserve it.

[60swerethebest]

UL’s CoE has included I Tech in its numbers. ITech is changing to Engineering Technology. Stronger program which will be accredited under the same umbrella as our Engineering programs. Tech includes the College of Science in their engineering numbers. Hard to evaluate and compare.
I like to look at research to see what we’ve accomplished. Add up all research in the UL system that isn’t UL and compare to UL. Mind blowing. We are growing exponentially.
And new R1 status is opening new doors.

[CajunFun]

Based on the news of the numerous rewards our engineering students always seem to win, as well as tier 1 status if they really want to argue name correctness.... What should be the definition of tech?
When I hear tech associated with other states I always it is the best engineering school in that state that has the title tech, it seems in Louisiana that is up for debate.

Is it best, is it largest, should it be based on number of students, number of degrees or percentage of the rest of the school.

Well, how should we measure success? Because ultimately a university's success should be measured by the success of her graduates.

For instance, some rating schemes look at salaries. First of all, that's the kind of statistic that is prey to errors:

"Jeff Bezos walks into a convenience store, and instantly, everyone in the place becomes a billionaire.

"On average."

And income is often a product, not of education, but of ambition, even narcissism. The people who make a lot of money are not necessarily smart or talented or passionate about their work.

They're often just passionate about money, which I hope we would agree, is less than we want of our college graduates.

So how do we measure 'success'? And remember that I argue, not for workforce development, but citizen-force development. Someone who is a success should be a valued member of her team at work, but also a valued member of her neighborhood, her PTA, her civic club... and most of all, a devoted, loving parent & spouse.

And then there are other considerations. Would the best program for someone with an ACT of 30 be the best school for someone with an ACT of 20? Would the best program in petroleum engineering be the best in mechanical, or electrical, or civil?

I do not begrudge Tech her engineering program. We need engineers, and for people north of Alexandria, that is a place that they can commute to, if they cannot manage living on campus. It can be a long commute, but if someone has the goal, it's possible.

[ZoomZoom]

It’s just a matter of time until UL surprises State and all their subservient former satellites with a “OH S! How that happened” moment. Something academically so big that can’t be absconded by State and their fan club universities just are relegated to naval lint relevancy.

Maybe the good Lord will let me see it.

[CajunJack55]

Well, how should we measure success? Because ultimately a university's success should be measured by the success of her graduates.

For instance, some rating schemes look at salaries. First of all, that's the kind of statistic that is prey to errors:

"Jeff Bezos walks into a convenience store, and instantly, everyone in the place becomes a billionaire.

"On average."

And income is often a product, not of education, but of ambition, even narcissism. The people who make a lot of money are not necessarily smart or talented or passionate about their work.

They're often just passionate about money, which I hope we would agree, is less than we want of our college graduates.

So how do we measure 'success'? And remember that I argue, not for workforce development, but citizen-force development. Someone who is a success should be a valued member of her team at work, but also a valued member of her neighborhood, her PTA, her civic club... and most of all, a devoted, loving parent & spouse.

And then there are other considerations. Would the best program for someone with an ACT of 30 be the best school for someone with an ACT of 20? Would the best program in petroleum engineering be the best in mechanical, or electrical, or civil?

I do not begrudge Tech her engineering program. We need engineers, and for people north of Alexandria, that is a place that they can commute to, if they cannot manage living on campus. It can be a long commute, but if someone has the goal, it's possible.

Fun, would love to hear your opinions on todays Supreme Court ruling...but i know this board couldn't handle it....