<p>Interesting article from the LA Times: California</a> universities: UC officials fear departure of scholars for well-funded schools - latimes.com.</p>
<p>Looks like private schools that can afford to pay more, such as USC, are continuing to poach UC faculty. And the Regents fear greater losses given California budget uncertainty.</p>
<p>USC = University of Stolen Colleagues.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, but are you suggesting that the UC Regent’s issues of mismanagement and overcrowding are USC’s fault? USC isn’t “poaching” professors – the professors are leaving on their own accord and USC (as well as other schools) are making more attractive offers than the UC system can afford.</p>
<p>I don’t blame the UC professors for escaping to private schools. A job at a private research university is usually more stable, pays well and offers more opportunity to the professors.</p>
<p>The UC system is slowly becoming a joke. It’s sad that California didn’t seem to think funding the university system would be worthwhile when it decided to spend money elsewhere over the past 20 years.</p>
<p>Nope, it’s not USC’s fault at all. In the context of hiring away personnel, I ascribe no negative connotations to the term “poach”. Game hunting on the other hand…</p>
<p>I like the “Stolen Colleagues” moniker. It shows USC is serious about the quality of its faculty.</p>
<p>I personally don’t like it. It sounds way too negative and I don’t think USC would appreciate that being it’s new reputation either.</p>
<p>It’s not a new rep, though perhaps limited to academic circles. Duke was among the pioneers of the approach. And NYU and USC have followed suit.</p>
<p>Yes, in a sense, it’s buying prestige. But bring in top-notch faculty, and grant money and highly-qualified students will follow, making the university that much more attractive.</p>
<p>It’s a snowball effect – one that USC has managed very well under Sample’s and Nikias’s stewardship.</p>
<p>I’d like to add two cents to this…my son is going to be a freshman at USC this year, and I’m stoked about it. I was a UC product, and it makes me very sad to see the things going on there, but that is a seperate issue.</p>
<p>In private business over time and as a general rule, the best employees end up at the best companies with the best opportunities for advancement and opportunity. It makes me laugh to hear any negative connotations put against a University that is willing and able to invest in itself and its improvement. So the best UC professors are supposed to just suck it up and ignore their own future because of some greater obligation to the state? That sounds marxist to me. If the UC’s want to protect their best people, they should do it. People from the UC’s are very bitter, and rightfully so (I am one of them) because the system is being destroyed by lack of funding, gross mis-management, bloated organizational structures (owned by public employee unions), and also by social engineering in admissions resulting in a much lower quality student pool academically than would be possible if this were not the case.</p>
<p>I say high five to USC for being aggressive, laying out a plan and going to get it. Given the trend path that things are on, I think USC is going to be unstoppable for the next decade, and no amount of UC *****ing can stop that. On one hand makes me very sad, on the other hand makes me very happy for my son and for the incredible educational opportunity he is going to have at that school.</p>
<p>It certainly is a sad day for the UC with the steep budget cuts, but there’s nothing that can be done about it. At least UCLA and Berkeley probably won’t be horrifically affected by this. I feel bad for the other UCs though.</p>
<p>Also, University of Stolen Colleagues is better than University of Spoiled Children or Second Choice, although some might say not better than University of Sexy Children (which sounds really creepy if you think about it lol)</p>
<p>haha, I had not heard the stolen colleagues one, that is very funny… And yes, dramatic improvement over spoiled children!!!</p>
<p>Recruitment of top faculty is not limited to USC. Universities across the nation recruit constantly to enhance their faculty. New labs, top notch equipment, bright students, higher salaries, promotions, collaboration with premier colleagues and even better weather can all be part of persuading a rising star in academia to move to another university. </p>
<p>Recently SC has recruited some outstanding new faculty from Oxford, Northwestern, Cambridge and other universities. In a previous post, "British Scholars Join USC Faculty, brief biographies of some new faculty were included.</p>
<p>Maybe if the UCs paid their professors as well as their administrators, USC wouldn’t have this opportunity to skim-off some great UC professors.</p>