<p>I’m starting a new thread in response to something parent56 asked me in another thread because it was off-topic to that particular thread.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Those rumblings are nothing new. </p>
<p>Did you see the letter that a trustee sent to the UAB Alumni Association, telling them to worry more about the medical school slipping in the rankings (?) than a football stadium.</p>
<p>Then you have the folks you claim the UAB football program is a nefarious ploy by Auburn to destroy Alabama football (???). And then there are many at UA (including probably some on the BoT) who would agree to let UAB divest from the UA system, so long as that includes divestment from the medical school and the hospital. And it doesn’t surprise me that UA and UAH interests would but heads over the new research office… </p>
<p>This is getting downright petty. I don’t follow the politics of other state - does this sort of thing happen anywhere but Alabama?</p>
<p>feenotype… i think the stadium at UAB and the closure of the hockey team and the research office at UAH just brought this into the headlines again… agree the rumblings have been going on for a while. …have been reading a bunch of blogs etc and news reports…doubt anything will change anytime soon</p>
<p>I could be wrong, but I believe that the tension originates from the fact that UA finally woke up and realized sometime in the eighties that UAB and UAH were dominating it in terms of research. Also, which other state’s flagship has to compete with two sister institutions for research dollars? UA should have never moved the med school to Birmingham, though I suppose it did the state well overall. But Birmingham Southern, or Samford could have filled in the gap there like Emory does in Atlanta. </p>
<p>I understand why UAH gets so much attention, given its location, but UA should never have let its Engineering program have to struggle to maintain domination over its sister campus. </p>
<p>Just imagine if Auburn let Auburn Univ. of Montgomery develop a law school. It would be a reasonable and logical move, but it would not be in AU’s interest to do so.</p>
<p>That’s what I’m asking. Is this a situation replicated in other states similar to Alabama? (Comparing Alabama to Georgia or California doesn’t work well.)</p>
<p>I say cut em loose! UA should be more aggressive in Huntsville. Why didn’t they complain when AU set up an office there? I say its also a matter of jealousy. Just look at their campus.</p>
<p>In Maryland there is a bit of a battle going on between University of Maryland(s). College Park wants to “merge” with Baltimore Campus, the basic reason is to take control of the law school, but there are many other implications. Including some of the research. </p>
<p>So to answer your question, I think that when state schools are spread out over a number of campuses, there is good potential for competition that is not in the best interest of one of the schools.</p>
<p>I truly believe that UA has become the defacto State flagship and top tier University in the State of Alabama and has all the momentum on her side.</p>
<p>It’s nice to see we finally have some BOT members who will fight for UA and not kowtow to UAB and UAH. We are The University of Alabama. Those other two would not exist without us.</p>
<p>For years, Auburn fans and alumni have argued that UAH’s Engineering program is superior to UA’s. I think it was ridiculous for the state to make UAH the dominant Engineering program in the years after NASA set up camp in Huntsville. Why the state didn’t focus its resources on the school with the most powerful and generous alumni base is beyond me. I think AU, UAH and UAB realize the jig is up, and that UA’s programs are taking over, thus, the angst and anger from those camps. Again, no one at UAH complained when Aubie set up shop in Huntsville, so they need to sit down and shut up.</p>
<p>just to add… i wont get into an argument about the reasons to stay as uasystems or to separate, or whether UA is best, and uab and uah wouldnt exist…obviously i will have a different view of uab than some on here. I only posted the link for feenotype as he had posed a question about the research center in huntsville,</p>
<p>but i will say i dont really understand the problem with accepting that as it stands now…the 3 schools are part of one system… each with their own strengths…why does it have to be so competitive …between schools that could just compliment each other…a success at one school should be seen as a success for all in the system. I can understand competition with auburn, but why against your own.</p>
<p>From what I’m reading, the University of Maryland at Baltimore is comprised solely of professional schools. It doesn’t have undergraduate schools in liberal arts, engineering, business, etc. That makes it slightly different than the case of UA and UAB. But thanks for that example; it’s a good starting point for me, because I think I’m going to do some reading on the matter.</p>
<p>Feeno, it is slightly different, but similar too. There is also University of Maryland Baltimore County…they do have the liberal arts. Not much going with them right now, but occasionally there are a few “discussions”. </p>
<p>I just wanted to use University of Maryland as an example of another state that has state school spread over different campuses and have competition/ disagreements going on.</p>
<p>Parent, the problem is that UAH and UAB want to maintain supremacy in the very programs that bring in the most research dollars. UA could no longer afford to just sit back and let its programs deteriorate, hence, the push for growth and the expansion of our facilities. Don’t forget that UA had one of the nation’s first engineering programs. We should have never let Auburn overtake us in that field, and we certainly shouldn’t be worried about accepting UAH. They should be worried about upsetting us. </p>
<p>Alabama is an average size state and can’t afford to let UA, UAB, and UAH have the same great engineering and science programs. They just can’t. I wish it weren’t true. If UA does not make inroads in Hunstville, it will not be able to compete with Auburn and other Southern engineering programs, so UAH should not be shocked that UA wants a piece of the action.</p>
<p>1 of every 25 dollars of the state budget is generated by uab</p>
<p>1 of every 33 jobs in the state is attributable to uab</p>
<p>uab is the states largest employer</p>
<p>for every dollar invested by the state in uab, $16 dollars is generated for the state economy</p>
<p>also if uab has worked hard to “maintain supremacy” and get those research dollars (more than all alabama schools combined) why would/should they say give it to the ua campus…much better for ua and uab to work together to the benefit of both</p>
<p>Did I ever say that UAB was a drain on the state? I don’t think I did. My only point was that the UA system took an opportunity away from Tuscaloosa when they moved the school to Birmingham. Actually, it probably made sense to do that from a state vantage point, although I think UA could have maintained a greater connection than they currently have to the School of Medicine. I hear that UA is going to expand its branch of the UA School of Medicine in the coming years. </p>
<p>But I stand by what I said about UAH. Even with NASA in Huntsville, it made no sense to invest so much money in the Engineering program there, when it could have been so much more successful by now at UA, had they not diverted resources to UAH. At the very least, UA could have made the Engineering Program at UAH a joint program with UA.</p>
<p>Don’t forget that this poor, average sized state has engineering programs at Auburn, UA, UAB, UAH, and South Alabama. That is ridiculous. The pie is split too many ways.</p>
<p>Alabama has a lot of universities for a state of its size. In practicality, it would be a good idea to merge the smaller universities (USA, UNA, UWA, Alabama A&M, etc.) into a single system with multiple campuses.</p>
<p>As for the larger schools, I would like to see more cooperation, not less. While feenotype mentioned not comparing Alabama to California, Alabama could definitely have a 3-tier university system with Tier I being UA, AU (including AU-M), UAB, and UAH, Tier II being the other universities, and Tier III being the community colleges. Auburn can keep its current name.</p>
<p>I agree with parent56 that the success of UA/UAB/UAH should reflect on the system as a whole rather than trying to cannibalize the success of the other two. In reality, the only difference between the 3 universities should be who signs the paychecks and what police departments patrol the campus (though UAPD can legally patrol the UAB and UAH campuses already). A student at one of the universities should be able to seamlessly transfer to another one of the institutions for a term or two with all graduation requirements being the same with a common course numbering system.</p>
<p>Ok, that sounds reasonable, but just remember that the pie is small, and why should the flagship, the one with the largest enrollment, donor and alumni base, have to compete with a smaller sister campus for funding for vital research? Don’t you think the state of Alabama could benefit more if the resources were concentrated on a campus like UA’s? Or Auburn’s?</p>
<p>well said seatide. and i agree that perhaps engineering should have been a joint program between ua and uah… but to play devil’s advocate… ua made the decision to make uah the engineering school…so i can see uah being upset with the research office. I would think they were not happy when auburn put an office there BUT as the previous thread stated… you cant stop other schools, mit, auburn etc from putting in an office…but why duplicate offices as uah can only view that as DIRECT competition… to undermine their program and research grants</p>
<p>Another reason for having a premier engineering department in Huntsville is the participation of all the high-technology businesses that are located here because of NASA and Redstone Arsenal. Many companies work closely with the UAH engineering department. They would not be nearly as involved with a program on the Tuscaloosa campus.</p>