<p>Why would you not want the top engineering school in the world and perhaps the top engineering school in the South to have research facilities in Huntsville? That is just more exposure across the board.</p>
<p>I’m in WI. Unfortunately, UA isn’t a target school for my location. I can encourage them to apply online like I did.</p>
<p>I don’t understand the basis of this entire “disagreement.” In this country, businesses and education aggregate surrounding areas of opportunity. There is a reason why commercial entities and universities might want to have offices near NASA, right? Did you ever think that perhaps NASA is somehow engaged with MIT and other high ranking engineering universities in ongoing projects that make it somehow feasible, if not mandatory, for those universities to have a presence there. This is no different than any company working with NASA or even hoping to work with them and determining that setting up offices there is somehow an economic benefit or business advantage. The State of Alabama and UA have absolutely NOTHING to do with it. If either the State or the UA would like to encourage some sort of “intervention” such that NASA would be incented to work with graduates from UA, then that is something that should be done, but it has nothing to do with MIT. Is this ANY different than companies that and universities that might be congregating near Silicon Valley, the NC Tech Corridor, or the areas surrounding Washington DC? And yes, when a State or municipality give tax incentives for businesses to relocate to a community it is DEFINITELY about bringing jobs and the resulting economic impact to those communities. Here in IL, Sears is threatening to leave IL, taking with them 10s of thousands of jobs and the resulting economic spend of those people, which would have a HUGE impact on the community, local businesses, schools, etc. I would suggest that it is up to the UA to make those relationships with NASA such that NASA will look to do more with UA grads so that some of the 100s of millions of dollars being spent in that community on projects being worked on by NASA will flow to UA grads and undergrads in the form of grants, research projects and jobs. Stop worrying about what other commercial and educational entities are doing. The openning of the Huntsville office is a GREAT idea so that UA can be better placed to be near where the money is being spent on those projects and be better placed to bid and win on those projects for the benefit of the university. Good luck to them, and a BIG Roll Tide!</p>
<p>*I don’t understand the basis of this entire “disagreement.” *</p>
<p>Well, it’s just a situation where a student doesn’t quite understand the “big picture”. After reading the thread, hopefully, he’ll have a better understanding how things work. </p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>And this new office isn’t just about NASA…not at all. Huntsville is home to the second largest Research Park in the nation. Cummings Research Park. The number of Fortune 500 companies and other techie companies in Huntsville is amazing. </p>
<p>This is no different than any company working with NASA or even hoping to work with them and determining that setting up offices there is somehow an economic benefit or business advantage. The State of Alabama and UA have absolutely NOTHING to do with it.</p>
<p>Exactly. This state has an Iron Bowl, not an Iron Curtain. ;)</p>
<p>^^^ Thanks m2ck. I focused on NASA since it is probably the “primary” driver of the activity that has caused that area to grow over time historically. Companies come to support that work, and more companies come to support those companies that support that work, and so on and so on through primary, secondary and terciary economic relationships. Then, as you mention, the area takes on an independant impact. This is the kind of stuff micro economics and urban development classes teach at fine universities like UA! 
Roll Tide!</p>
<p>NASA since it is probably the “primary” driver of the activity that has caused that area to grow over time historically.</p>
<p>Yup! that’s why Huntsville’s nickname is “Rocket City.”</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Not research facilities, but offices to lobby for grants and projects that these companies award for R&D. In basketball recruiting, Anthony Grant, like all coaches in other states, has said he wants to put a curtain around the state of Alabama such that the best HS basketball players come play for him instead of Kentucky and North Carolina.</p>
<p>This is what UA should be doing, too, but it was apparently too busy having wine and cheese receptions in Peoria to notice that their competitors were coming into to its home turf to swoop in and set up these offices. For a university that claims to want to be one of the big boys, this was a major gaffe.</p>
<p>feeno, if you’re comments are really based on the presumption that it took UA too long to set up their own office in Huntsville to be more able to react and respond to the opportunities there, I cannot comment. However, I can speculate that it is likely tied to the real focus that has been placed on raising the visibility of the STEM programs at UA. A campaign, which obviously runs in parallel to the efforts to grow that aspect of the University. Really, your argument regarding the other universities setting up shop there though carries no practical weight. UA certainly has no sway over what they choose to do, and the State of AL has no reason (NONE) in setting policy that excludes entities, commercial or otherwise, from expanding their presence in the state. If they bring jobs, people fill those jobs, and people SPEND money in the state AND some even send their kids to college at UA.</p>
<p>All I’ve questioned is why UA took so long to get with the program and why the state (which has an economic development agency) didn’t nudge them along as well as out-of-state universities come in to stake a claim. This whole discussion about government intrusion came from elsewhere.</p>
<p>Okay, I see where it’s coming from. Just to be clear now, I am not advocating that state government bar other universities from lobbying corporation and government agencies in Alabama.</p>
<p>* This whole discussion about government intrusion came from elsewhere. *</p>
<p>???
I think you’re forgetting your own words…</p>
<p>*but why are Georgia Tech and MIT **allowed **to set up shop?! *</p>
<p>Then when loring posted: *You think the state can tell Boeing and the rest that they have to ignore MIT and GT?
*</p>
<p>You replied with: I think they can. That’s the whole point of tax incentives.</p>
<p>then wrote:</p>
<p>*I’m asking how **the state and UA stood by and allowed **out-of-area schools to swoop in and set up offices to lobby for research grants for this long.
*</p>
<p>*It’s not too much to ask of companies taking state money to give preferential treatment to in-state entities over out-of-state ones *</p>
<p>You may not have meant to, but you were essentially advocating a heavy-handed over-reaching position that the state and the university should have taken. </p>
<p>*but offices to lobby for grants and projects that these companies award for R&D. In basketball recruiting, Anthony Grant, like all coaches in other states, has said he wants to put a curtain around the state of Alabama such that the best HS basketball players come play for him instead of Kentucky and North Carolina.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Ok, this isn’t sports; technology development is far more important that sports. And, preventing competition by putting up limitations only discourages innovation.</p>
<p>Furthermore, every state doesn’t have these companies. So what you’re suggesting is that if states don’t have these companies within their boundaries, then their top research universities should be SOL. </p>
<p>And BTW, Coach Grant couldn’t “put a curtain” around the state as much as he’d like to. Even Saban can’t prevent football players from this state from choosing to play for - say - Georgia or LSU or wherever. It’s Grant’s job to convince potential players that he can put together a Kentucky-quality team year after year.</p>
<p>While I wish Bama had opened these offices earlier, it’s not like the University has been sitting on its hands the last few years.</p>
<p>Just to let some of y’all know. I’ve been working here on the arsenal for about 2.5 years now and UA has taken over. There is an intern program out here where they hire recent college grads and train them for 2 years to get them ready for their career. I was lucky enough to be an intern, but the great thing was that of the 30 or so interns they hired I counted at least 20 that were UA grads that graduated with me. I only counted about 3 Barn grads and the rest were from Alabama A&M and UNA. Not only that, but the head of Marshall Space Flight Center ( Mr. Lightfoot I believe) is a UA grad. So while there are probably more AU grads as aerospace engineers the ones that are in charge of those nerds are UA grads. A lot of the Management at these Defense companies on Research Park are also UA grads. I know this is eating the Auburn grads up, because they realize that they no longer have a foothold of Huntsville and more importantly of Engineering of any kind. </p>
<p>Roll Tide!</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>Yes, my older son was an intern on Redstone Arsenal for 3 years. It was a great opporunity and the pay was pretty good!</p>
<p>Mom2collegekids, does he still work out here? If so, who does he work for?</p>
<p>No, he’s now in a PhD program in another state.</p>