<p>That is the ongoing battle. One side wants to become major research U and other likes the low pressure nature of how things have been while enjoying the benefits of a high R-1 teaching load. Basically a country-club life for academics.</p>
<p>“They should continue to differentiate and play to their strengths which is undergraduate liberal arts education.”</p>
<p>That does present a problem for them in a state that already has William & Mary. That’s going to cause brand confusion.</p>
<p>I agree with pizzagirl except . . . . GO DEVILS! 78,000 students can’t all be wrong!</p>
<p>As a completely biased alumnus, I read both the WaPo article and the report (PowerPoint). First - thanks to folks above who posted both.
Second - the report seems to me to miss the whole point of UVa, something every Wahoo knows.
UVa isn’t like other schools, it isn’t about what other schools are about. UVa was created for a reason, by one of the greatest minds in the history of civilization, with a clear purpose: to create the meritocracy that Mr. Jefferson intended to lead the new republic that he helped to create. It was the first university in the history of the world that was not centered on or affiliated with a religion. We didn’t even have a Chapel until the 1890s. In its architecture, designed by our only architect President, it was the Enlightenment city in miniature, a remarkable diagram about the interrelations of humanity and the transmission of knowledge. The template is there and its root motivations are still relevant.
Any analysis of What UVa Should Do that does not stick close to that charge, Thomas Jefferson’s vision, is clearly not based on an understanding of what the school is about. There is a reason, for example, that historically more Members of Congress are graduates of The University than any other. It’s what we’re supposed to do.
I’m an architect - a greater proportion of my classmates than average (admittedly anecdotally, but I am involved at a national level in my profession) are involved with public service, government, working at universities, etc., the institutions that form the tissue of our society. There is a reason that the institution the Federal Government established to train the leaders of its departments - the Senior Executive Service is…wait for it…in Charlottesville.
Talking about education with the intent to provide service to the nation is kinda trendy these days. The reality is that it’s what UVa’s been about since TJ rode his horse down the hill to oversee its construction and opening.
In marketing it’s called differentiation. There is a clear differentiation in terms of what a Virginia education is supposed to prepare you for. We’re supposed to help run the joint, to help lead the country in our chosen field.
I used to work for a large environmental and water engineering firm, in their Chicago office. There was an envi sci intern from UVa - this was 2-3 years ago. Unprompted, she told me the same thing when I asked her what she liked about Virginia. For her, the EPA’s not just a regulatory agency it’s about the value of the environment in what our country does and what we’re about. Folks who aren’t Wahoos can miss it.
It’s why I was skeptical when Terry Sullivan was made the President, because she wasn’t a Virginia grad, she didn’t know. Clearly she does now, she just needs to keep the explicit focus of The University on its founder’s intent. If she and the BOV can do that, we’ll be fine. There is just as great a need for public leaders in the various areas that Virginia excels at as there was in the coal-fired days when I attended.
The other biggie of course is the Honor System, something generic school analysis firms tend to overlook, undervalue, or just not understand. After 150 years or so it’s still at the heart of what we are. “On my honor as a student, I have neither given nor received aid on this examination.” It’s more than just words or a quaint scam. Always has been.
Basically, the report missed who we are and why the place was created in the first place. If we go forward with that in mind, The University will retain both its place and its purpose.</p>
<p>Wow, kinda scary that a UVa grad thinks that non-UVas do not understand environment as well as UVa grads. Talk about elitist attitude.</p>
<p>Thanks ericd, for the explanation.</p>
<p>kayf if that’s the way you interpret my remarks that’s not the case at all. The remark is about the EPA, the Federal agency, not about the environment itself, about it as a place to serve. I’m just saying that sort of service gets a special emphasis at UVa as a culture and tradition over the business implications, for example, or other envi sci programs which might place greater emphasis on research or pure science, and that the rather generic study of the school missed that aspect of the character of the place.
That said, there certainly is an elitism at and about UVa. I like to think it’s about setting high goals and taking pride in one’s affiliation with the school but it manifests in unflattering ways as well.</p>
<p>The reason why so many UVa grads work for Fed is because it’s the largest state employer. Va’s economy is driven by Fed presence. Enough of the UVa boosterism; it’s not some Magic Kingdom, and it’s been trying to compete with the Ivy League schools in the prestige rankings while forgetting its core mission to educate intelligent Virginia-state college students.</p>
<p>Higgins, exactly. UVa is a good school, but to say, as eric did, “For her, the EPA’s not just a regulatory agency it’s about the value of the environment in what our country does and what we’re about. Folks who aren’t Wahoos can miss it.” that UVAs grads have some ability that others don’t is, imho, arrogant and misplaced.</p>
<p>Sorry higgins - never enough of UVa boosterism. 
At least we know how to have a good time at our own expense:
[Stephen</a> Colbert Salutes U.Va.'s Class of 2013 - YouTube](<a href=“Stephen Colbert Salutes UVA's Class of 2013 - YouTube”>Stephen Colbert Salutes UVA's Class of 2013 - YouTube)</p>
<p>Besides, higgins…you or an offspring didn’t happen to get rejected by The University, did you? I ask because the green of envy really isn’t your color. Sorry, but Virginia’s core mission isn’t just directed at in-state students.</p>
<p>In fact, UVa gives way more preference to Virginia students, both in admission and in tuition, than is deserved. The state has so de-funded UVa, to such a laughably small percentage of the university’s operating income (it’s something like 3% now, I know it’s in the single digits), that UVa now basically acts as a charter school. Its core mission is to educate, not mainly to educate Virginians.</p>
<p>Eric - I appreciate your thoughts.</p>
<p>However, many other UVa students and grads do have to watch out for their arrogant elitism, some of which derives from their experience in sheltered segregation academies during their high school years. It is those attitudes that make people stereotype UVa. Of course, it is an incredibly diverse place with students from over 50 countries, and we need to publicize that diversity.</p>
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<p>Was this comment really necessary? UVa has a reputation as being elitist. Comments like this don’t help.</p>
<p>“For her, the EPA’s not just a regulatory agency it’s about the value of the environment in what our country does and what we’re about. Folks who aren’t Wahoos can miss it.”</p>
<p>OK, that’s ridiculous. There are plenty of UVA grads who have run polluting companies and worked for administrations and congresspeople whose goal was to neuter the EPA. And on the flip side, there are many other colleges and universities with a much cleaner history of being true to what our country is about than UVA (I nominate Oberlin, which graduated women and African-Americans more than a century before UVA did either). Wahoos are perfectly capable of missing the point; in this case, I think you’re one of them.</p>
<p>I very much appreciate ericd1112’s impassioned and articulate defense of UVa and its special mission. Of course, making that case still raises the question whether an institution “so conceived and so dedicated can long endure”. Uniqueness can be a market differentiator that enhances success, but unfortunately sometimes being too unique is a sign that an institution is out of step with the times and will soon face an existential crisis. A unique feature that does not, in fact, confer some sort of advantage, is not a feature that is going to survive for long, or its host.</p>
<p>So the question is, is there still a demand for the sort of education Jefferson contemplated, and how much are taxpayers and students willing to pay for it (vs. whatever Harvard and the University of Maryland are doing)?</p>
<p>^^^agree with DecideSomeHow</p>
<p>All your finacial questions answered (with the correct amount of UVa spin…err presentation…)</p>
<p>[Questions</a> and Answers, Financing the University 101, U.Va.](<a href=“http://www.virginia.edu/finance101/answers.html]Questions”>http://www.virginia.edu/finance101/answers.html)</p>
<p>Looking at the Academic Division (Pulling out the hospital/Medical Center, which drives a signifcant amount of revenue through patient fees…healthcare…its a money maker), State appropriation make up 10.2% of income(while Tuition and Fees make up 32.4%).</p>
<p>Some UVa alums still living in the 50’s–1850s.</p>
<p>[Tudor?s</a> Jones seeks to clarify remarks on female macroeconomic hedge-fund traders - Richmond Times Dispatch: Virginia News](<a href=“http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/article_939a145d-1c7d-5987-aee8-a01735c22826.html]Tudor?s”>http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/article_939a145d-1c7d-5987-aee8-a01735c22826.html)</p>
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<p>It appears that many Wahoos also miss it. One example is Virginia’s Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli ('91), who calls the EPA “an agency of mass destruction.” [url=<a href=“Ken Cuccinelli Tax Plan Ad - The New York Times”>Ken Cuccinelli Tax Plan Ad - The New York Times]Cuccinelli?s</a> D</p>
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Likewise, ramping up STEM fields will cause brand confusion with Virginia Tech?<br>
Hmmmm…I doubt it.</p>
<p>There are plenty of people that have ties to UVa that think Tudor Jones is, well, lets just say don’t share his views. No matter how large a donor you are it doesn’t make you anything more then an interested party like the rest of us. He doesn’t represent the university in any way.</p>