It is 2027. Rising ocean levels (not man-made, of course) have caused the Mississippi to collapse an enormous sinkhole under LSU, and the entire university is gone. Fortunately no one was hurt or killed; although it was a school day, there weren't any athletic events scheduled, so no one was on campus.
At the same time, Tulane has watched the water rising around New Orleans with alarm. They have decided to move their campus to the Catskills, with the intention of reviving the Borscht Belt along the lines of Triangle Research Park in North Carolina.
Not much of the Legislature and other state officials are left. Although no one was injured in the initial LSU collapse, repeated elected officials dove into the LSU sinkhole hoping to recover at least one of the national championship trophies.
The 7 remaining Louisiana elected officials have come to UL, and have told us that we must lead the state. Our funding will increase dramatically, but we must explain how we will use our resources to actually lead Louisiana. We are charged with accomplishing these 5 things:
1) Improve all of our public colleges, and increase the college graduation in the state.
2) Improve all of K-12 education.
3) Improve the economy of the state.
4) Increase the number of innovators and entrepreneurs in Louisiana.
5) Improve arts & culture in the state.
How should we design UL? With LSU gone, should we put as much of our resources into athletics? What should be the balance among research, undergraduate education, and graduate education? What role do the arts and liberal arts play in our new goals?
And what role, exactly, do each of the preceding play in achieving our 5 charged responsibilities?